In an ever increasing online and mobile world, social media is an important tool for business. With the many opportunities that come with it, there are, however, also risks that need to be managed.
A key social media issue is the one involving employees and their personal usage of social media platforms. Some may argue that what an employee posts on their personal platforms is irrelevant to business. However, I disagree with this because if an individual posts comments about their employer then this can impact the business so it is relevant. Negative behaviour in particular can be damaging to a brand and reputation of a business.
Take a look at the Fair Work Commission website and you can see how social media is impacting the workplace. Employers can’t control employees using social media platforms outside work hours. This is fine if nothing is written about the employer; however, guidelines are needed in respect to what employees can post when making reference to their employer on social media.
Any employee who publishes content about their employer on their personal social media platforms needs to remember that this information is public information. Once something is posted online it is there for all to see and if it goes ‘viral’ damage can be substantial.
A strong social media policy can be extremely valuable in managing these risks and providing parameters to employees. A policy needs to be tailored to the culture of the workplace, it needs to be flexible and it needs to have the employees on board.
As the prevalence of social media usage continues employers need to communicate to their employees what their expectations are in respect to social media. Without a social media policy businesses are leaving their reputation in the hands of others. As an employer what are you doing to implement a social media policy?
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