Social Media Education Key in the Workplace

 Online Reputation, Social Media in the Workplace, Social Media Risks  No Responses »
Jul 082013
 

For the past five years social media has continued to grow significantly in the professional arena as it becomes more entrenched in the workplace.

For employers this presents a number of opportunities to not only connect externally with clients and customers but also internally with employees. With these opportunities, however, comes multi layered and complex issues which employers need to manage.

As the blurring of the lines between personal and professional continues the risk management of these issues is substantial for employers to take seriously. It is not only the reputational damage of an organisation that is at stake in terms of risk, it covers a myriad of other legal and operational issues.

One of the key issues for organisations moving forward is education around social media. Here are some main points:

Understand Social Media:

Employers need to educate themselves about social media, the technology and the consequences. They need to be proactive and find solutions.

Have a Social Media Policy:

All organisations whether large or small need a social media policy and guidelines in place around usage and expectations of social media.

Employers Need to Partner with Employees:

Working together with employees is much more effective that simply providing them with a list of what they can’t do on social media. This will not work. Instead provide training and education around expectations.

Social media is impacting the workplace in many ways. This will only continue to grow as social media usage increases. Risk management of these issues is crucial in making sure that organisations minimise their risks where social media is concerned.

How do you manage social media in the workplace? Share your thoughts…..

Thanks for reading!

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 Posted by on 8 July, 2013 at 2:11 pm

Does Your Workplace Have A Social Media Policy?

 Online Reputation, SMEs, Social Media Policy, Social Media Risks  No Responses »
May 172013
 

In an ever increasing online, mobile and connected world, social media is becoming an important tool for business. However, there are also risks that need to be managed. For many employers, they refuse to engage with social media. But not understanding this space is no longer a valid reason for ignoring it.

A key social media issue for workplaces is the boundary between personal and professional for employees.  These two aspects of people’s lives are now merging together making it challenging for employees to separate work from home.

Negative information online can affect an employer’s reputation and therefore employees need to be careful what they post.  There are numerous examples of employees behaving badly online while discussing their employer.  But employers can’t control employees using social media platforms outside work hours.

So what is an employer to do?

A solid Social Media Policy can be extremely valuable in managing risks and providing guidelines to both the employee and employer.  A policy that is tailored to the culture of the workplace supports business to navigate the world of social media.  As the popularity of social media continues to grow employers need to communicate to their employees what their expectations are in relation to social media.

Without a Social Media Policy business is leaving themselves open to reputational, legal and operational consequences.

Does your workplace have a social media policy? How does it operate?

 

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to ‘tweet’ or ‘repost’ this article or leave your comments….

 Posted by on 17 May, 2013 at 6:05 pm

Safeguard your Business from Social Media Risks

 SMEs, Social Media, Social Media Policy, Social Media Risks  No Responses »
Dec 032012
 

Social media provides SMEs with many opportunities to communicate with customers, provide customer support, strengthen relationships and build brand awareness.  These are valuable to any business, however, at the same time, social media also exposes business to risk.  These risks can be loosely classified as follows:

Reputational Risk:

Whether it’s employee bad behaviour or damaging customer service, business needs to ask “how protected are the company’s brand and reputation?”  There are plenty of examples which illustrate negative social media publicity.

Legal Risk:

From accidental disclosure of confidential information to defamation and false and misleading content from third parties, business needs to comply with laws and regulations.

Operational Risk:

It is essential that organisations know how exposed they are to disruptions to its operations which may occur from viruses or malware.  Just as the Internet and email pose risks so too does social media.

Navigating these risks is fundamental to safeguarding business interests and relationships.  These risks are no different to the offline world.  They have now just progressed to social media and business needs to be alert and proactive.

One of the most effective ways to manage these risks is a Social Media Policy which is implemented together with employee training and education, which is ongoing.  A policy must be tailored to each business to cater for diverse values, beliefs and different industries.

As well as minimising exposure to risk, a Social Media Policy also provides the opportunity to deliver guidelines to engage in social media.  It can empower team members to responsibly use social media to obtain the organisation’s strategic goals and can be a positive engagement tool.

It is important that all SMEs are proactive and protect their business interests.

Thanks for reading!

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 Posted by on 3 December, 2012 at 9:51 am

Employers Can Manage Social Media Risks

 Online Media, Online Reputation, Social Media, Social Media in the Workplace, Social Media Policy, Social Media Risks  No Responses »
Sep 102012
 

Social media is growing rapidly and with it comes endless opportunities and many advantages for business.  However, with hand held devices increasing and social media sites embedded in people’s lives comes a blurring of the lines between professional and private space.  Bearing this is mind employers cannot ignore social media as it is here to stay and it has wide reaching implications for those employers who choose to bury their head in the sand.

Some of the risks that can occur include:

  • leaking of confidential information
  • employees airing their dirty linen in public
  • adverse impact on brand reputation
  • negative comments posted online which triggers bullying allegations

So the key question is “how do employers manage their social media risk?”

A Social Media Policy is a good start however this as a stand-alone is not sufficient.  It needs to be part of coordinated HR management strategy that includes the following:

  • A strong Employment Contract – which highlights the types of behaviours which may lead to dismissal
  • A Social Media Policy – which is linked to the Employment Contract and includes acceptable/not acceptable behaviour and inappropriate usage in and out of the workplace
  • Guidelines on Usage of Social Media during Work Hours – should there be a blanket ban on personal use in the workplace?
  • Employee Training – regular training can be an effective tool to make sure that employees understand what is expected from the policies.
  • Discipline & Termination Procedure – a policy without discipline consequences is unlikely to be effective.  It can be used as a deterrent to discourage employees from using social media negatively.

What do others believe is effective?

 

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to ‘tweet’ or ‘repost’ this article or leave your comments….

 Posted by on 10 September, 2012 at 11:37 am