Key Considerations to Include in a Social Media Policy
In 2021 it is predicted that almost 80% of Australians are active users of social media, and this is expected to grow continuously every year to come. This gives us employers a good indication that our employees are almost guaranteed to be active on at least one social media platform.
Due to social media blurring the lines between personal and professional, the best practice to help manage this is to implement a social media policy within your business. Below we outline the key considerations we recommend including in your social media policies.
Defining Social Media
The ever-changing online environment calls for your social media policy to be adaptable, and therefore, it is suggested a broad definition of social media that can transcend platforms, applications and time periods should be included. Specifying all relevant platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, as well as a reference to future platforms yet to be created.
Rules of Use
The policy should clearly identify both rules and requirements for employees' use of social media. Most notably, potential bans on inappropriate societal remarks, such as homophobic, racist, sexist or bullying commentary or posts to be prohibited. As employees are viewed as extensions of your company and brand, they should be mindful of cross-referencing information before posting a statement as fact and avoid sparking any negative posts about competitors, clients or internal company issues.
Confidentiality
Your policy should strictly prohibit any confidential information relating to the business, employees or trade secrets not already available to the public to be shared on personal social accounts. All account information related to any business social media accounts be protected and all policies are extended to these accounts also. It is also encouraged that the responsibility of public posts on behalf of the business be assumed by a senior member of staff for final approval to avoid potential issues.
Personal vs Professional Communication
Employees should be made aware of what constitutes professional and personal communication methods and abide by these practices. For example, if a professional client becomes connected to an employee on their personal social media, the employee must understand how any professional communication between the two of them should be performed (for instance, strictly written email chains) and avoid overlapping any business communication through the social channel.
Consequences
All employees must be made well aware of the consequences for breaching any of the policies and levels of severity for each breach. This can be done by clearly outlining the disciplinary procedure to be followed in each unique event, and the potential it holds for termination of employment for breaking policy. An annual training session for social media practices is recommended to help employees understand their obligation, rights and responsibilities surrounding their personal social media use and avoid potential issues arising in this area.
It’s important to note that whilst having a social media policy isn’t a mandatory requirement under Australian Law, dismissing an employee over inappropriate social media use without the presence of a policy or company-wide training isn’t looked up as a favourable action by the Fair Work Commission. If you do have any concerns in this area and wish to introduce a social media policy, enquire with Optimum Legal today.