I’ve written many times before that it is essential for all workplaces to have a social media policy. Recent Fair Work Australia decisions reinforce this point and emphasise the importance of a good strong social media policy in the workplace. In this electronic age where lines between public and private information are blurred, it is unsatisfactory not to have a policy.
Statistics on whether Australian businesses have a social media policy are not readily available.
However, considering Australian companies overall are not capitalising on social media generally, it may be safe to say that only a small percentage of businesses will have a social media policy in their workplace. This suggests that Australian businesses may be lagging behind, as their employees are engaging with the platforms, Australia being one of the highest users of social media worldwide. Employers really need to embrace social media. They don’t need to like it, they just need to deal with it and to a degree, they seem unsure how to handle the situation. There are numerous examples of employees behaving badly online while talking about their employer. This type of unconstructive behaviour can be harmful to a brand and damaging to a business reputation. A reputation built over many years can be damaged within minutes once something goes viral. And once information is online, it stays there permanently, even if it is removed (due to sharing in other people’s networks). For any business, this is unnecessary and can be harmful. In one sense, social media has always existed; it is just that the vehicle of dissemination has now changed. Whereas once pamphlets were nailed to a building or church door and were distributed extensively through people, information is now distributed through technology. So bearing this in mind, employers should be aware that the same issues of risk apply. Confidentiality, misrepresentation and privacy are still concerns that employers have to manage and are really nothing new. The main difference is that the technology can be so damaging because of the speed that information is spread. Consequently, having guidelines for employees is important.
A robust social media policy tailored to the culture of the workplace can provide boundaries for employees about acceptable/not acceptable behaviour in respect to their employer’s social media expectations.
This makes the employee aware of what activities are appropriate when they are engaging in their personal social media platforms. Negative comments and opinions or disclosure of confidential information about their employer is not acceptable. Even though this information is posted on personal sites, it still has consequences for the employer. A solid policy can manage risks, although the risks are always there due to the fact that employers can’t control employee’s use of social media platforms and there will always be someone who doesn’t abide by the rules. The employer/employee relationship has always been a challenging one with a lack of trust from both sides. Employers have to accept that they can’t control social media and that it is now part of communications. Employees need to understand that what they post on their personal social media platforms is public information (even if privacy settings are set to private), so mentioning their employer in a negative light is not acceptable. To a certain extent, there is a shift occurring in the workplace that encourages a collaborative approach between employer and employee. Social media presents an opportunity for both employer and employee to engage collectively, as only mutual commitment from both sides can provide a satisfactory result. This type of engagement places the workplace into the 21st century. For the employer, a flexible and united workforce will provide a better outcome than a workforce that is disengaged and not trusted.
