News that school districts in the US are banning teachers from having contact with their pupils (and in some cases ex-pupils) on social media has caused a rumpus. Some say it is a restriction on free speech, whilst others point to the fact that 80 teachers in Missouri alone lost their licences in the last four years through sexual misconduct with pupils, some of which began on social media. One district in Cincinnati in making a policy tried to make themselves look as if they were ahead of the curve. They said social media was "growing" and they wanted to set a "forward thinking policy setting some parameters". The "parameters" turn out to be a total ban on teachers relating to students on social media or via instant messaging.
This may or may not be a necessary policy. I'm not qualified to judge. But social media isn't just "growing". It's here. It's ubiquitous. And students have been using it for several years. Who invented Facebook again? Oh yes, a college student. Several years ago.
The dear folks of Cincinnati may be trying to dress up their slowness in getting a social media policy as "forward thinking" but at least they've got one.
I'm amazed as I speak at events round the world and ask delegates how many people do not have a social media policy for employees, how many hands go up.
The incident in 2009 at Dominos Pizza in the US, where two low-rent employees made a disgusting video at work which was posted up on You Tube (and viewed a million times within days) was a wake-up call to organisations that they need to discuss with their staff the benefits and risks of social media. Dominos used the opportunity to re-engage with their staff worldwide on this topic. Employees need to understand why rules are needed. Few employees start work each day wanting to do a bad job, or wanting to badly damage the company.
When designing a social media policy for your organisation, talk to your employees first and listen to them. You don't have the monopoly on wisdom.
Your social media policy will vary depending on the kind of organisation you run.
If your company is concerned with the preparation or service of food, if you allow camera enabled cellphones in the workplace, you are risking your entire business. Employees should surrender their cellphones before starting, and reasonable use of the house phone for urgent family members is easy to allow.
Although less about social media, there are similar considerations if your employees use computer screens at work that show potentially sensitive information, such as financial information, which could be captured.
You should also think about whether you want to allow employees to say where they work on social media. If they do, their behaviour, much of which is their business, will become yours.
In some jobs, because the employee is prominent or front-of-house, it may be obvious the person is your employee and they need to take special care in what they write.
A number of years ago a broadcast journalist boasted on social media of the number of women he had slept with. It was such a huge number, you marvelled that there had been any time to appear on air. The broadcaster thought it brought discredit to them because everyone knew who this individual was.
It's not just the fact that your employee works for you that raises issues, it's whether they talk about their life at work. It might be fine, for example, if you run a cool coffee shop, to see one of the baristas enthusing about his work and his customers. But what if he talks disparagingly about an especially irritating customer? Or a co-worker that gets on his nerves? Not so good.
In some companies, by talking about their life at work, employees can inadvertently disclose security arrangements, or private company procedures, without realising what they are doing.
One dedicated but exhausted US teacher sounded off on Facebook about her pupils (she had had a very bad day) not realising the privacy settings had changed. What she thought were private remarks were seen by everyone, including her pupils. Despite a blameless long career, she was fired. Best not to talk about work online.
The important thing about having a social media policy for employees is not to restrict them, it is to make them think about what they are doing. Employees on the whole like knowing what's expected of them. They like being engaged on issues so they understand the risks and how to get it right.
One of the first organisations off the blocks in the UK was the BBC, who were concerned in the early days of social media that staff might express political views on social media and threaten their reputation as a strictly impartial broadcaster. Their social media policy is used by many companies as a template.
Develop your own policy, but do it now!
(Posted from Changi Airport, Singapore)
This may or may not be a necessary policy. I'm not qualified to judge. But social media isn't just "growing". It's here. It's ubiquitous. And students have been using it for several years. Who invented Facebook again? Oh yes, a college student. Several years ago.
The dear folks of Cincinnati may be trying to dress up their slowness in getting a social media policy as "forward thinking" but at least they've got one.
I'm amazed as I speak at events round the world and ask delegates how many people do not have a social media policy for employees, how many hands go up.
The incident in 2009 at Dominos Pizza in the US, where two low-rent employees made a disgusting video at work which was posted up on You Tube (and viewed a million times within days) was a wake-up call to organisations that they need to discuss with their staff the benefits and risks of social media. Dominos used the opportunity to re-engage with their staff worldwide on this topic. Employees need to understand why rules are needed. Few employees start work each day wanting to do a bad job, or wanting to badly damage the company.
When designing a social media policy for your organisation, talk to your employees first and listen to them. You don't have the monopoly on wisdom.
Your social media policy will vary depending on the kind of organisation you run.
If your company is concerned with the preparation or service of food, if you allow camera enabled cellphones in the workplace, you are risking your entire business. Employees should surrender their cellphones before starting, and reasonable use of the house phone for urgent family members is easy to allow.
Although less about social media, there are similar considerations if your employees use computer screens at work that show potentially sensitive information, such as financial information, which could be captured.
You should also think about whether you want to allow employees to say where they work on social media. If they do, their behaviour, much of which is their business, will become yours.
In some jobs, because the employee is prominent or front-of-house, it may be obvious the person is your employee and they need to take special care in what they write.
A number of years ago a broadcast journalist boasted on social media of the number of women he had slept with. It was such a huge number, you marvelled that there had been any time to appear on air. The broadcaster thought it brought discredit to them because everyone knew who this individual was.
It's not just the fact that your employee works for you that raises issues, it's whether they talk about their life at work. It might be fine, for example, if you run a cool coffee shop, to see one of the baristas enthusing about his work and his customers. But what if he talks disparagingly about an especially irritating customer? Or a co-worker that gets on his nerves? Not so good.
In some companies, by talking about their life at work, employees can inadvertently disclose security arrangements, or private company procedures, without realising what they are doing.
One dedicated but exhausted US teacher sounded off on Facebook about her pupils (she had had a very bad day) not realising the privacy settings had changed. What she thought were private remarks were seen by everyone, including her pupils. Despite a blameless long career, she was fired. Best not to talk about work online.
The important thing about having a social media policy for employees is not to restrict them, it is to make them think about what they are doing. Employees on the whole like knowing what's expected of them. They like being engaged on issues so they understand the risks and how to get it right.
One of the first organisations off the blocks in the UK was the BBC, who were concerned in the early days of social media that staff might express political views on social media and threaten their reputation as a strictly impartial broadcaster. Their social media policy is used by many companies as a template.
Develop your own policy, but do it now!
(Posted from Changi Airport, Singapore)
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