Social media and your employees get protected!
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See the advantages and disadvantages of letting your employees have their say on social media about your company and get advice on pulling together an action plan for how you can get your employees to become your company advocates on social media, whilst protecting your brand and reputation and ensuring you retain some control over what they say and do.
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Social media and your employees get protected!
- 1. Social media and your employees Presented by Becca Roberts HRizon Ltd Providing HR solutions to small businesses
- 2. What do HRizon do? Help small business owners with no in-house HR support to: Resolve people issues Create a legally compliant HR framework Straight-forward HR processes and handbook Recruit the right people for your business success “Dedicated HR support without the in-house cost”
- 3. We’ve seen it all… seriously!
- 4. Why work with us? We’re on a mission to help you, the small employers get the best out of one of your biggest investments… your people. HR services without paying in-house prices use us only when you need us We ‘hand-craft’ our HR solutions so they fit seamlessly into the culture of the businesses we’re working with – we’ll even come onto your site and work as if we were your employee Reassurance and peace of mind… we’re on your side – we’re someone you can trust and confide in – for small business owners it can be a lonely trip
- 5. The stuff of nightmares…?
- 6. Using it to your advantage… Your employees are on it – recognise this and use them as your PR tool! Social medial allows people to experience the human element of a business – customers don't buy from companies — they buy from people! Encourage employees to blog about positive work stories. It's a recruiter's dream. Use it to score customer-service points — especially when clients can reach your subject matter experts directly. Drive sales - encourage employees to share exciting new content and to participate in conversations during live events. Instead of 1 person tweeting, you could have 20 tweeting, all with access to their own contacts.
- 7. Outright ban or full access…? Different ends of the spectrum ASDA From ‘chicken licker’ to ‘Don’t blog your way into trouble’ People Power: “we pride ourselves on having staff who are natural communicators and it would make no sense to silence what in many cases are our best brand ambassadors” Morgan Stanley Avoids ‘leakage’ by not providing any work access for many staff Pre-vets staff networking where it is allowed and monitor employee activity Protecting commercial confidentiality – totally within the law Enterprise Rent-a-Car
- 8. Outright ban or full access Is there a happy medium? Use web filter to ‘log’ but not ‘block’… Time wasted on non-work related social networking improves as does the type of content posted Supports access to full range of social media for those that need it Combine this with social media policy
- 9. The stuff of nightmares…?
- 10. The hidden cost of tribunals The good news: Potential claimants required to ‘put their money where their mouth is’ Stats from 18 months ago showed that only 1 in 10 cases ended with a judge ruling in favour of the worker – this has increased now because… The bad news: ….what’s left over: the genuine claims, that have more chance of success Despite tribunal fees, the number of tribunals has rocketed over the last decade Whether you win or not, you’ll have a hefty legal bill plus reputational risk, loss of huge amounts of time, loss of morale, stress… If they win… you’ll probably pay their costs, if they lose, they won’t have to pay yours! A lengthy dispute could cripple a small business
- 11. Key facts An increasing number of tribunal cases involve employees making work-related comments on Facebook. Employers can use entries on websites such as Facebook and YouTube as evidence in disciplinary proceedings Derogatory comments by employees on social media will not always justify dismissal It is possible to fairly dismiss an employee who has made social media posts that you consider could damage your reputation. Don’t forget ex-employees Here’s how to protect yourself…
- 12. Protecting yourself Have a clear policy – covering inside and outside of working hours Point out important parts and get them to confirm they’ve read it Make clear what action you’ll take if they breach the policy If you have to take action, act reasonably Consider banning use of the company name on personal pages Put approval systems in place for company updates and professional networking As a last (and extreme resort) consider an outright ban at work
Editor's Notes
- Although HRizon hasn’t been around that long, we have 25 years’ HR experience, so there isn’t much we haven’t seen. We’ve worked across many sectors, such as: engineering to leisure operators, estate agents, sign-writers, cafés and bars, skincare companies… and in many different sized companies in the private and public sector
- What’s our USP We’re the missing piece of the jigsaw we can be your in-house HR support just when you need it - without having to go to the expense of employing an HR professional or a lawyer We hand-craft our HR solutions so it ‘feels’ like we’re part of your company We really get to know the employers we work with – we want to make sure that what we give to you fits with your culture, your ethics, your values, uses your day to day business language and fits seamlessly with you We support YOU So often company owners have no-one to share their worries with – we can fill that gap
- So… onto the topic of what you employees are blogging, tweeting and posting about you – in work or outside on their personal accounts… Do any of the above recent headlines give you sleepless nights? Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. Some of the recent high profile cases have highlighted the damage social media can do to your reputation. What’s not so well publicised is how some enlightened companies are using their employees to promote their brand and actively encourage them to become online advocates. We’ll explore some of these headlines in a bit more detail later… …but first – lets look at how some companies are using the combination of social media and their employee’s enthusiasm for it to good effect…
- 1. Ignoring the fact that your employees are on social media does not make it less true – instead, harness it for your gain. 2. No matter your industry, reaching out to consumers and prospective employees via social media is one of the best ways to boost your brand image. 3. When you’re recruiting candidates, a strong social media presence can help you attract good people. What do you think they do when they look at your advert – google you of course! Everyone wants to work for the company with a great culture where people enjoy each other's company, feel accepted and love the work they do. Ask employees to share their stories as part of your recruiting campaign. Don’t rely on dry, text-based job ads alone. Instead, involve current employees on social media. Ask if they’re willing to do short, on-camera interviews about their experiences with your company, get them to write a blog about the job you’re advertising. 4. Traditionally, these experts in your organization can be hard to find. But not anymore with the likes of Twitter, for instance. Get your experts out there.al media is the organic channel through which to spread your company's awesomeness 5. When you’re conducting advertising campaigns, your social media presence can go a long way toward increased exposure for new products. There’s no doubt that social media is one of the strongest tools in your corporate arsenal. But you have a valuable tool that can help make your social media presence even stronger – your current employees. Imagine using 1 person’s f/b/twitter/linked in contacts, now use 2, now use 10 people’s contacts – how much wider have you just spread your news?!
- Companies like Shell, ASDA, Virgin, Apple, Amazon, Ebay, Dell, Google, Microsoft, the BBC… all do it well – using employees as their brand ambassadors. Other companies go for the opposite end of the spectrum and think an outright ban is in order. Here’s a contrasting couple of case studies: ASDA – The well-publicised Asda “chicken licker”, who was given a two-month jail term after footage of him licking a raw chicken and trashing staff areas while on night shift attracted 10,000 hits on YouTube. The company now monitors the internet for mentions, but remains quite laissez faire in its attitude to the web. Its “Don’t blog your way into trouble” policy provides both “a safety net and a duty of care framework for staff,”. They warn staff of the potential problems caused by thoughtless blogging and to offer them practical advice on setting up and maintaining privacy settings. BUT… they encourage employees to blog positive stories and news about their work – offers, charity work, local news about that store, etc… Morgan Stanley – financial services firm – issue of confidentiality and commercial awareness Outright ban in the UK, abroad they limit to a few key people and pre-vet every single communication before it’s released. They also monitor employee activity for internet mentions. Both these approaches are legal Enterprise-Rent-A-Car – basic advice to employees is not to post anything that may be seen as defamatory to their colleagues, managers or customers, AND not to link the name of the company to anything that may be viewed as excessive, and that includes extreme political beliefs as well as anything that could be deemed to be discriminatory or otherwise unlawful. They accept people refer to work outside of the office, but in order to prevent damage to Enterprise, they ask that extreme views never make reference to the firm; either inadvertently or deliberately.
- So… now you’ve seen both sides of the spectrum, what do you do…? An outright ban or full access? It doesn't have to be a choice between the two. Use web filter to log and vet, but not block. Monitor activity – but let employees know you’re doing this When employees know this logging is in place behaviour, time wasted on non-work related social networking improves. As does the type of content posted. Using this approach the full range of social media sites and websites are available for employees to use - for work purposes. If you see that an employee is spending 3 hours per day on Facebook, you can have provision in your employee social media policy where access can be blocked or alternatively allowed but only for a certain period during the working day
- The use of social media, or comments made on social media sites, being the basis for disciplinary procedures or the dismissal of an employee is becoming more commonplace. However dismissing an employee who reports dissatisfaction with work via Facebook or other social media will not always be a fair and reasonable action. Have a guess how much each of the lost tribunals cost these employers just in costs… VW case - £14540 FSA - £30,000 B&Q! – a whopping £68,000 The key difference between fair and unfair always came down to… the company’s policies and procedures and whether their decision to sack (rather than a lesser sanction) was reasonable.
- Recent introduction of tribunal fees (approx. £1200 fee to bring an unfair dismissal claim) has put many ‘speculative’ claimants off Tribunal claims have reduced by just over a half overall (according to the CIPD) but of those that are still lodged - more succeed If you’re unfortunate enough to end up in a tribunal, whether you win or lose, there are many additional hidden costs behind all of the above your time in preparing for the tribunal (gathering evidence, writing statements and preparing witnesses), the cost of professional HR and legal help to prepare for the tribunal and support you on the day, the loss of key members of staff who act as witnesses at the hearing, the reputational damage you could suffer… not to mention loss of productivity, staff turnover, the list goes on. Even if you successfully defend a claim, it is not normally possible to obtain an order for the employee to contribute to your costs, whereas if they win, you’re likely to face an application for legal costs from the claimant which is very likely to succeed. The average Tribunal claim can cost anywhere between £10,000 to £15,000 in solicitors’ fees. If you would also like a barrister to represent you at the hearing then you will need to budget for, on average, between £2,000 to £5,000 on top of that. You might win but actually find yourself with less money than when you started! Beware the disgruntled ex-employee Take the recent example of a UK logistics firm that employs 50 members of staff. One employee was found to be committing expenses fraud, stealing company property, downloading pornography and even going into business with a competitor, luring away one of the firm’s major customers. The individual in question was subsequently dismissed on the grounds of gross misconduct, but took his ex-employer to a tribunal alleging discrimination due to his sexuality and disability. The judge rejected the individual’s claim and sided with the logistics firm, but the company was still left with a £30,000 legal bill.
- According to a 2013/14 survey by Proskauer Rose LLP, leading global law firm, 90% of companies use social networking for business purposes but only 41% of companies monitor the use of social media at work. In 2011 nearly half of all businesses did not have social media and networking policies in place, now (2014) only 20% of those surveyed had no policy in place and of those that do, over 50% have reviewed them recently and over 50% cover use at home and at work. Of those surveyed: 70% reported disciplinary action against social media misuse in the office 36% of employers actively block access to social media sites – up against 29% in 2013 43% of businesses permit employee access to social media sites – a fall of 10% since the last survey Only 17% of those surveyed had termination provisions containing express provisions protecting against misuse of social media by former employees despite the problems that departing employees can create – especially those with an axe to grind. Of those that reported social media misuse, 16% of that came about through former employees (interesting how close those two figures were…!) In order to harness the benefits and minimize the risks of social networks, you need to set distinct and specific policies and practices for their use. Relying on employees to exercise good judgment is simply not enough.
- Protecting yourself Issue a clear policy on the use of social media. Differentiate between conduct during working hours and outside of work. Set out what standards of conduct are expected, so while work-related online activity may be OK, anything that results in damage to colleagues, customers or the standing of the company as a whole isn’t. Consider a pop-up that automatically flashes up when staff go online; requesting them to read the company’s policy on social media usage. Ask employees to confirm that they have read the policy on social media usage and specifically highlight any points that are of importance to you, for example not attaching the name of their employer to tweets or blogs and not participating in any online conversations about the company. Make clear the possible consequences of a breach of the policy and make sure these are reasonable. If it comes to taking action, make sure you have asked the employee to stop making comments first and, above all, act reasonably in the circumstances. Consider banning the use of the company name on personal social media pages. Put approval systems in place for updates to professional networking information. As a last (and extreme) resort, and if you’re in a highly commercially sensitive business area, consider an outright ban on all unauthorised use of the web, personal smartphones, digital recording equipment or cameras while at work or on company business.