HOW TO MANAGE SOCIAL MEDIA USE IN THE WORKPLACE
HOW TO MANAGE SOCIAL MEDIA USE IN THE WORKPLACE
The Information Age is in full swing! In this Age, we have hundreds of social media outlets encouraging us to comment, share, like, and tweet every aspect of our lives. As we’ve witnessed, the general public does not disappoint. Candid and unfiltered messages flood the airways every minute of each day.
Employers BEWARE! Business entities are not exempt from explicit confessions and rants from employees and customers alike. While there is little you can do to control the comments of a customer, you have more latitude in controlling and monitoring your employees’ representation of your company online. Increasingly, large and small businesses are seeking guidance on how to manage social media usage on and off the clock.
A Social Media Policy is one of the primary tools any Human Resources department or mom-and-pop business needs to implement to protect the company from online abuses. Without solid policies, organizations risk negative consequences that damage brand-reputation, hinder growth, and stifle profit margins.
Let’s examine some real-life examples illustrating why social media policies are necessary. With each of these examples, the end result was, among other consequences, bad publicity for otherwise reputable businesses.
The Taco Shell Contamination
Can you imagine your first response to seeing a Facebook post of your restaurant employee licking a stack of taco shells? In 2013, a picture of a Taco Bell employee licking a stack of shells was posted on the company’s Facebook page.
Of course, the photo went viral and became a public relations nightmare for Taco Bell. The company issued statements defending its food handling policies and its plan to launch investigations. You have to ask yourself — how much damage was done and were these PR efforts enough to reestablish the trust of its customers?The Burger Bun Lounge
One of the world’s largest fast food chains – Burger King – suffered a blow to its reputation when a photo was tweeted of its employee lounging on a large stack of burger buns. In an effort to publicly regain the trust of its customers, a statement was issued suggesting that the buns were being discarded and the employee was being retrained on proper food handling procedures. Really?! Again, were the company’s PR efforts enough to reverse any damage that may have been caused from this tweet?
Dating Diary
It doesn’t stop with the food service industry. A small technology company in California was faced with sexual harassment claims when Facebook posts emerged by an employee chronicling his social escapades with his female coworkers. The subsequent updates to the posts spiraled into explicit comments which resulted in one of the coworkers filing a sexual harassment suit against her employer. To address the chaos caused by the Facebook post, the company hired an ethics and compliance company to come in and provide training to all employees.
Solution – Social Media Policy
These examples represent a very small sample of the many stories that support the argument favoring social media usage polices for the workplace. Social media posts are not always bad. However, “Viral Power” is real. It only takes one negative video or one heart-felt comment from an unsatisfied employee to reach the world in minutes!
Cautioning and guiding employee online behavior with a well-developed and legally enforceable Social Media Policy is your best start to protecting your brand’s reputation and avoiding lawsuits. While your policy won’t be able to address every online situation, it should be comprehensive and well-defined to establish guidelines for employees who post information on the internet as a part of their job duties and/or as a personal user.
Now, a word of caution — just like employers, employees are individuals with rights protected by a host of laws regarding their right to speak online. Therefore, developing a workable and enforceable Social Media Policy requires thoughtful consideration and legal research to balance expectations of privacy against business interests.
The National Labor Relations Board cautions that an employer’s Social Media Policy should be consistent with the provisions granted to employees through the National Labor Relations Act. These labor and employment laws provide protection for off-duty conduct, political views, concerted activity, and “whistle-blogging.” These laws also prohibit employers from retaliating against an employee for complaining about discriminatory behavior in the workplace. So, not only should the written guidelines of your Social Media Policy protect the business’ interests, it should also avoid interfering with employees’ legally protected activities.
Check back soon because in the next article we’re going to cover important provisions and definitions every Social Media Policy should include. For those of you still doubting that you need a Social Media Policy, we’re also going to cover key reasons business owners are increasingly implementing these and similarly-related technology policies. Stay tuned!
Your Thoughts: What trends and changes have you noticed in the online and social media landscape as it relates to the workplace? Any cautionary tales of tweets, videos or posts you’ve seen in the news that were bad (or good) for business? Add your feedback and thoughts in the comment section below.
This article is intended to provide you with general information; it does not constitute any type of legal advice. For recommendations related to your specific matter, we encourage you to review our Practice Areas page for additional information and then contact us to discuss your company’s legal needs.