SUCCESSFULLY ACCOMMODATING SOCIAL MEDIA

The growth of social media – blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn and more – has been fast and impressive. But every success story has its downside, and for businesses this is manifested in a number of issues relating to the risk and possible damage of using social media – both within the workplace and outside. 

The main challenges fall into three distinct areas:

1. Employees “wasting” their time on social networking sites when they should be working leading to reduced productivity. *
2. The risk of employees posting comments on social networking sites which may be defamatory to individuals or damaging to the employer’s business or reputation.
3. The possibility of employers using information gathered from social networking sites to inform decisions made about potential or current employees.

The issues involved in each of these points are complex, but not insurmountable. Basically employers should protect themselves by:

Devising a policy on social networking sites and appropriate behaviour in relation to their use. This should be made clear to all and enforced rigorously and fairly.

Deciding, as an organisation, how and under what circumstances staff are permitted to use information gleaned from social networking sites to affect recruitment decisions, bearing in mind that the use of details relating to, for example, sexuality or religious beliefs which have come  from these sites, could create liability for claims for discrimination.

Producing clear guidelines relating to the use and publication of an employee’s business contacts on sites such as LinkedIn.  

Remember, under the Human Rights Act 1998, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000,  you must notify employees if you are monitoring their use of the internet and social networking sites. You should also take into account that individuals may be using their own smartphones to access sites while at work and devise and communicate a policy to address this.

Sound knowledge of the legal implications, commonsense, and clearly communicated preventative measures are the key to success in this increasingly complex arena. Please contact us for more information about effective policies and practice.

* In 2010 UK and US research revealed that 26% of people admitted that they were spending more than an hour a day at work on social networking sites on matters that had no relation to their job (Source www.marketwire.com)