There are over 400 million people on Facebook, spending over 500 billion hours per month on the social media site alone. Add in those on Twitter,and LinkedIn, blogs, and other sites, the number of people connected to social media sites are in the billions. Employers are beginning to become concerned.
More and more employees are being fired as a result of their use of social media sites. Companies have to deal with employees spending their work time Facebooking and Tweeting, instead of doing work. Social media sites dramatically decrease productivity. As a result, companies are putting blocks on such sites, as well as, other messaging sites to ensure employees stay on task.
However, another concern is content that is being posted by employees. The separation between personal and work has become even more blurred. Ever think your Facebook status or Twitter posts could cost you your job?
Posting what you're doing, feeling, and/or thinking is a main reason, other than connecting with friends, people take to their social media page(s). No matter who you are, everyone has a bad day because of a boss, co-worker, or customer, but writing about it is problematic. That is when an employee runs the risk of ruining a company's reputation and their own job. As a result, companies are starting to create "social media policy" documents to be signed by new and current employees.
Some general policy types include:
• Employee Code of Conduct for Online Communications
• Employee Code of Conduct for Company Representation in Online Communications
• Employee Personal Social Network Policy
Companies may also create policies regarding specific usage of blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. All depends on which networks the company is most prevalent on.
These policies might outline the proper use and company expectations of employees' social media in the workplace and at home. It must make clear that employees need to strictly comply with company policies, along with, the ramifications. By doing so, employers can ensure the good reputation of their company and their employees.
More and more employees are being fired as a result of their use of social media sites. Companies have to deal with employees spending their work time Facebooking and Tweeting, instead of doing work. Social media sites dramatically decrease productivity. As a result, companies are putting blocks on such sites, as well as, other messaging sites to ensure employees stay on task.
However, another concern is content that is being posted by employees. The separation between personal and work has become even more blurred. Ever think your Facebook status or Twitter posts could cost you your job?
Posting what you're doing, feeling, and/or thinking is a main reason, other than connecting with friends, people take to their social media page(s). No matter who you are, everyone has a bad day because of a boss, co-worker, or customer, but writing about it is problematic. That is when an employee runs the risk of ruining a company's reputation and their own job. As a result, companies are starting to create "social media policy" documents to be signed by new and current employees.
Some general policy types include:
• Employee Code of Conduct for Online Communications
• Employee Code of Conduct for Company Representation in Online Communications
• Employee Personal Social Network Policy
Companies may also create policies regarding specific usage of blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. All depends on which networks the company is most prevalent on.
These policies might outline the proper use and company expectations of employees' social media in the workplace and at home. It must make clear that employees need to strictly comply with company policies, along with, the ramifications. By doing so, employers can ensure the good reputation of their company and their employees.
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