subject: Social Media in the Workplace: 3 Tips to Help You Out [print this page] Social Media in the Workplace: 3 Tips to Help You Out
A lot of peoplequestionthe use of social media in the workplace. With a large number of baby boomers retiring in the next few years, the "millennials" will enter theworkforce. The "millennials" grew up surrounded by the internet, mobile devices and social media. Social media raises security and privacy concerns, as some individuals can tend to share too much information. Since social media has become a way of life for the new generation, it'll be difficult to remove social media from the workplace.Here are some tips for developing a social media policy and making sure private company information stays private:
MakeYour Expectations Clear
I fall into the "Millennial" category, but I understand why social media can seem scary to some managers and business leaders. Millennials grew up with the Internet, social media and e-mail- it's second nature to them. When developing a social media policy for your workplace, refer back to the original agreements each employee signed when they started working for you. On Mitch Joel's Six Pixels of Separation Blog he writes:
"Prior to beginning your work with this organization, you signed an employee agreement that has detailed non-disclosure, privacy and intellectual property clauses. Above all else, those contractual agreements stand."
Let employees know that you expect them to respect client, company and other private information. When engaging in conversations on blogs, forums and other social sites, make sure employees know thatthey are expectedto be transparent and communicate to the audience who they are, where they work and that their opinions are their own- not necessarily representative of the company. IBM has done a great job at defining employee expectations in their company social media policy which you can access by clicking on the link.
Identify and Explain the Risks of Social Media
Make employees think twice before posting their frustrations for the world to see. The level of risk your company faces will influence the usage of social media in the workplace- and rightfully so. Here are some of the issues you'll want to address:
Discussing client information- The words you publish on Twitter, Facebook and personal blogs spread- and stick around for a long time. Posting defamatory or private client information looks bad on the person who wrote it, the company and the client.
Discussing corporate information- Employees should refrain from talking about proprietary information, performance or internal issues on social media sites. These aren't public issues for a reason.
Online reputation- If you are going to engage in social media, think about your online persona. Are you representing yourself the way you want to be seen?
Venting frustrations- Social media isn't the place to go and vent about workplace issues. You might discuss those matters with a group of friends, but remember, like I said above, the words you write on the web last a long time.
Monitor
The only way to get your message across is to actively monitor social media usage and hold employees accountable for their actions should they fail to abide by the company's policy. If an employee is spending too much time on Facebook, address the issue. If you find defamatory or client information on forums thatwas written by one of your employees, make them face the consequences. Having a social media policy allows you to cover ground on this topic and inform employees of the consequences of their actions, however, if you don't monitor the program, then what's the point of even developing a policy?
