While not every company can allow on-the-job posts, those with flexibility might want to dedicate resources to creating a mutually beneficial, collaborative policy around social media use in the workplace. For example, allowing employees to share their experiences with your company through social media may promote transparency and provide job seekers with credible information on what it’s really like to work for your business. 3. Address the Potential Pitfalls While employers may benefit from employees’ on-the-job social media posts, you should address potential dangers, including legal and business concerns. Of the many legal concerns, the most glaring are privacy protections and confidentiality. As employees capture authentic moments during the workday for BeReal or post TikTok “day in the life” videos, they frequently walk around the workplace, recording offices, conference rooms, common spaces, the cafeteria, and more. The videos may inadvertently capture confidential information, such as audio of an internal meeting, the image of a client’s name, or a trade secret. Confidentiality issues also arise with employees who work remotely. For example, employees may take a video of their innovative at-home workspace while a Zoom meeting is in progress or while their computer screen displays proprietary information. You should also be cognizant of how allowing employees to post on the job can potentially harm your organization’s reputation. TikTok and BeReal attract users who want to be authentic rather than staged, heavily filtered, or otherwise unauthentic. Thus, employees who choose to post on these platforms do not shy away from capturing the “realness” of their job. This, in turn, can lead to your employees sharing information that negatively affects the company, such as human resources concerns (including allegations of unprofessional comments made by colleagues), complaints about working conditions, and products liability issues. All of these discussions raise reputational and legal concerns that you should consider. 4. Set Realistic Parameters With these benefits, risks, and (pop) cultural considerations in mind, what should your modern social media policy include? If you already have a solid employee handbook, a good place to start is by reminding employees that your existing policies still apply when using social media platforms. For example, an equal employment and harassmentprevention policy would cover discriminatory or bullying behavior towards colleagues whether online or in person. You should remind employees whom they should contact when they have a workplace concern. Additionally, let employees know that confidentiality policies apply when sharing content, so their computer screens and documents should not be visible in the background. However, depending on the nature of your business and your employees’ roles, you may want to create a more targeted policy on social media use. For instance, you may have different risks to manage if you encourage employees to engage with your brand, employ a younger workforce, or otherwise have a strong social media presence. As you likely know, your policy should be in writing and followed consistently. Where to go from there is more complicated. The explosion in social media use has only highlighted how regulating employee speech is difficult, nuanced, and occasionally backfires. But, of course, there are still some best practices: • Develop policies in collaboration with legal counsel, HR, technology, communications, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) teams. Be sure the policy matches the company’s voice and recognize that this is not a one-template-fits-all exercise. • Use plain language and examples. “Do not share client information, even if their name is covered” 20 Illinois Automobile Dealer News
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