Social Media Policies At Work
There are many people who have got multiple accounts on social media. Even the businesses are not shying away from having accounts on the social media networks. This is why there is an imminent need of having social media policies that could help the organization in ensuring that their employees' use of Social Media will not expose the company into any sorts of public embarrassments or legal complications. Why Businesses need a Social Media Policy? When it comes to the social media policy, the definition would be that it is a guidance document decided by an organization on the things that their employees and representatives can say on the different platforms of social media. The employees of any particular business or organization will have to follow the Policy for usage of Social media in order to ensure that they are not saying or sharing the wrong things that can shatter the company's image. So, there is no doubt about the fact that the social media policy is really important for business organizations.
Social media laws at work
While all employees should be encouraged to interact and represent the company brand, in social media, these employees should proactively handle queries, too. Kabani says, "The best way to find a social media advocate within the company is to seek out the person or team of people who are most passionate about communicating with customers in social media. They may already be doing so without you knowing it. Seek those people out and train them well to represent your brand. " Establish Ground Rules Establish ground rules for employee participation in social media. You walk a fine line with employees. You need to allow employees the freedom to engage in social media, yet protect the company at the same time. Kabani suggests taking a look at Intel's social media policy which is comprehensive. The Emerging Technology Department at the Air Force has created this flow chart of their own social media guidelines and David Meerman Scott highlights their social media strategy in his blog post. So, examples do exist online.
Pro Tips for Implementing a Social Media Policy While implementing a Social Media Policy for your company, it is important to take inputs from the employees, as employee participation is inevitable. Your guidelines should be flexible, so they can cover all the Social Media networks and their changing trends. Your Social Media Policy should not be limited to any specific Social platform, because it is not essential that the Social Media Platform that is pertinent now will also be contemporary in future. While making Policy for Social Media, the most important thing you need to ensure that you do not discourage your employees to using Social Media Platforms. Your policy should encourage employees to use Social media actively, and for this, you should educate them about the best tools that can help them use the real potential of Social Media. Now, as you are well aware of all the things related to Social Media Policy, let me share a Social Media Policy Template for you, so you can get see the practical implementation.
Social media is not the problem--the problem is with time management, which can be corrected. " Creating a policy Company leaders should generally allow employees to use social media during work hours, said Wright. "Social media is ubiquitous for us--it's our new telephone, and it's not going anywhere, " Wright said. "Social media is the way in which we connect not just with friends, but with our Rolodex. " But policies can make a difference in how often employees use these platforms, the Pew study found: At companies that do have a social media policy, 30% of workers said they use social media while on the job to take a break--compared to 40% of workers whose employers do not have such policies. Many companies devised social media rules based on Walmart's policy, Wright said, which the NLRB gave a stamp of approval to in 2012. Social media policies should align with the company's culture and industry, Wright said. Organizations should tap different divisions, including public affairs, legal, and marketing when composing social media policies, she added.
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Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and even Instagram are a part of the modern workplace today. These tools are no longer just for personal use since many people use them in their professional lives as well. In the workplace, social media sites are being used for purposes such as marketing, employer branding, and corporate social responsibility. For instance, recruiters use LinkedIn to find and connect with candidates and sales professionals use it for lead generation. Many employees use Google + for the chat feature to connect instantly with colleagues or conduct industry Hangouts. As HR consultants, we are often asked about the pros and cons of allowing social media in the workplace when developing workplace social media policies. The Pros Vs. Cons of Social Media at Work Pros: Recruit/source potential candidates Corporate brand awareness/ employer branding Brand ambassadors and increased engagement Low cost investment Ability to reach a wide audience Targeted marketing Networking capabilities Ability to conduct research and focus groups Training and Development Cons: Decreased productivity/ lack of focus Security and privacy concerns Inappropriate online behavior Brand reputation risks If your company does not have a social media policy, it's a good idea to consider putting something in place.
If work breaks are crucial to productivity, it's possible that social media use during breaks may also be a net benefit as long as it is not abused. Employee morale may suffer if the workplace is seen as being too restrictive. A ban, especially if accompanied by the blocking of social media sites, tells employees that you do not trust them to monitor their own time and productivity. Disallowing social media at work can take away important opportunities for employees to promote the organization and network in ways that can help the company. Social media also acts as a way for the employee to grow their network and stay connected in the industry—which could help the organization. It can be a way to reach out to clients who are also on social media. As such, taking this away during the workday can have unanticipated negative effects. An overly-strict social media policy may be a detractor for would-be job applicants. Another Note: Don't Let Social Media Restrictions Go Too Far It's also important to remember that even with a workday usage ban in place, that does not mean the employer has the right to control all employee social media activity.
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Introduction. Social media represents a vast online community where customers, partners, suppliers, and shareholders come together to share information, promote products and services, and exchange opinions and experiences. [ Company name] recognizes the limits and risks of social media, and how it can affect our company's brand, public image, and core values. Therefore, we have created this social media policy to lay out a framework of tested social media guidelines and protocols. Purpose. The purpose of this social media policy is to (a) outline the social media guidelines and protocols of the company, (b) define the rules that apply to both corporate and personal social media use, and (c) to explain the company's disciplinary action process for policy violations. Scope. This social media policy applies to all [ company name] employees, including paid interns, volunteers, contractors, and seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees. [ Company name] defines social media as any form of electronic communication or application that enables users to create online communities and share knowledge, opinions, media, and private and public messages.
The social media policies would help them with that. They are the best thing ever and you will find out after you create them. Now, as you are well aware of the benefits of Social Media Policy, the time has come to know about different things that should be included in your Policy. The first thing that you need to understand here is your Social Media Policy should be divided into two parts. First one should be for the official account of the company and the second one should be for all the employees. So, let us have a look at the things that your Policy of Social Media should include- What to include in a Social Media Policy? There are different sections of a Social Media Policy that have to be comprised and now, we will be delving deep into those- 1) Employees Guidelines & Regulations It decides the behavioral conduct of employees on different Social Media Platforms. Different things that it should cater are brand guidelines, Social media etiquette, consequences, confidentiality, personal use of Social Networks, etc.
The NLRB's position is that by federal law, employers cannot prohibit (or even discourage) employees from discussing their wages, benefits or conditions of employment. Because employees are just as likely to chat about their job complaints online as they are on the job, the laws protecting employees' communications extend to what they do on the internet. So whether employees are talking by the water cooler, on the internet, or in any other public forum, Section 7 of the NLRA, at its most basic level, gives employees the right to discuss their wages, benefits, and other conditions of employment. These protections are so broad that they apply to all employers, regardless of whether your employees have formed a union or have any desire to. Many of you probably have a policy that forbids your employees from conversing about their wages, benefits and working conditions. Even if every other doctor you know has that policy, you should not. Even having such a policy violates the provisions of the NLRA, even if you never take action on it to fire or discipline an employee.
One of the biggest areas to be wary is when trying to ban "bad-mouthing" the organization. On the face of it, asking employees to refrain from saying things that could damage the company's reputation seems like it should be a reasonable policy. But the problem is when such a ban goes too far. A blanket ban on commenting about the organization online could be interpreted as trying to suppress an employee's right to concerted activities—a right that is expressly protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Employers need to be sure not to be so general as to dampen employee rights to discuss working conditions, which is protected. Even policies that are more specific and seemingly within company rights are subject to strict scrutiny; it's best to get the assistance of legal counsel to be sure that any social media policy is not overly restrictive such that it violates employee rights. *This article does not constitute legal advice. Always consult legal counsel with specific questions.