Comment On Social Media
Social media, have you as a company embraced it or have you shied away from it? Whichever camp you are in, the social media phenomenon continues to gather pace like a juggernaut.
Given that the majority of people spend a substantial amount of time on social media, it may be unpopular amongst employees to block or place an outright ban on any access to social networking sites at work. Further, do you really want to lose the opportunity to exploit any business advantages that you may gain?
Perhaps companies should start thinking of setting up computers that just deal purely with social networking sites and inform employees that during their lunch hour they can only go these particular computers to access any social networking sites during a certain time period. Some companies already do this. What about an employee who blogs regularly and has followers or knows how to set up a website, why not use them to set up the company website and/or assist in marketing your product rather than going to an external provider, thereby saving you an expense?
There are so many advantages to social media; unlike other mediums, social media presents opportunity for companies to portray a very positive image in the public domain, they can lead to finding out information about candidates on recruitment and also, to a certain extent, evidencing cases involving the employee. But surely for most businesses now, the use of social media may add to the profitability of the company.
However remember, if you are embracing social media, you must have a clear, concise policy in place so that your employees are well aware of the dos and don’ts when engaging in social media sites.
Policies need to include but not limited to:-
· Employees not posting comments that are derogatory, racist or discriminatory in any nature online;
· Set out that this extends to out of the office as well;
· Set out guidelines on confidentiality (i.e. not to post confidential information regarding the business online);
· Set out times when they can access the sites so as to not affect productivity;
· Ensure that employees do not post personal data about their colleagues online otherwise this may be a breach of data protection.
In order for this juggernaut not to engulf you, understand social media and terminology and ensure that you have correct policies in place to minimise any damage to the business.
For more information on the above or for advice on any other employment issue please contact our employment department on 020 7354 3000 or e-mail employment@colmancoyle.com
You can also follow us on twitter: CCemplaw
Author: Krishna Santra
Date published: 30th November 2011