Social Media in the Workplace
By: Abe Cruz, Achilles Group Intern
October 17, 2011
Today, social networking is as common as sending an e-mail at home or from work. Employees can exchange updates on Facebook and Linkedin, post opinions on Twitter, or tag themselves or others in photos. How does this affect your business?
Clients use social networking to make buying decisions, corporations promote new products and services with tweets, and customer service takes on a life of its own. All of this is occurring beyond the traditional company workspace and firewalls. As a result businesses need to have a proactive approach to instruct their employees on social media exposure, personal and company effects, and proper behavior. Social networking is a revolutionary tool that will only continue to advance, so companies should establish a communications plan with specific guidelines to minimize the risks involved.
Policies and Training are Key
Setting up these guidelines is just the beginning. In fact, the actual solution lies in how employees change their behavior. The first step that a business must carry out is a firm commitment to fully inform and train its employees on their social networking policies and the risks of social media.
Policies and training are principal no matter how organizations decide to take advantage of social networks, whether it's to reach out to customers or to communicate with and supervise employees. It is a good strategy by organizations to address interactions among clients, employees and job candidates by creating and exchanging friendly policies. Simply prohibiting the practice of social networking in the workplace is not a viable solution. Awareness campaigns and training must follow the policy changes.
Although the line between personal life and work can be blurry at times, your social media policy must not be so ambiguous. Policies should clarify to management and staff members the consequences of non-compliance and how their actions can violate the company's code of conduct regarding privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property. If an employee identifies themselves as an employee of the business, they must understand that they are also representing the company. Anything they upload online about the company becomes can be shared across many social sites and may have a negative impact on the business.
Questions to Consider
- Have you reviewed and discussed with Human Resources your approach and policies regarding social networking in the workplace?
- Have you clearly stated your expectations to employees about their interactions on social media sites especially where they are identified with your organization?