1. Webinar: HR and Social
Media Governance
April 11, 2012

2. Presenter
Mike Lesczinski
 Public Relations Manager,
Excelsior College
 Faculty Instructor, Excelsior’s
School of Business & Tech
 Vice President, PRSA Capital
Region
 Blogger, www.HigherEdPR.com
Past:
 PR & Social Media Manager,
Portfolio PR Group
 Communications & Media
Coordinator, NYS Assembly
 Political Campaign Management

3. Social Invasion

4. Taking the Social Plunge
“Hey! Look at how hip our company is, we’re on The Facebook!”

5. The Agenda
I. Accept the New Reality: Social Media is
Not a Fad
II. The Issues: Challenges to Social Media
Adoption
III. HR’s Role in Social Media Policy
Development
IV. Case Study: Cisco Systems

6. I. Accept the New Reality - Join the
Bandwagon
 Cultural shift pervaded personal and professional lives
 On Social, objective is to influence, not control

7. Social Media: The Big Picture
54% of jobseekers are
80% for more likely to apply
recruiting after following a
company
74% want more
opportunities
posted on social
 Source: Q3 Trends Update: Social Recruiting, Career Builder, October, 2011.

8. Organizational Adoption
 Social media adoption for 47% of
organizations has occurred within past two
years
 73% DO NOT provide training to
employees who engage in social media on
company’s behalf
 Window of opportunity for HR to shape
policy

9. II. Social Media Use
To Ban or To Embrace?
 44% of companies use social media for HR
 31% track social media use by employees at
work
 43% block employee access to platforms
 68% use their own employees to engage with
external audiences on the company’s behalf
Source: SHRM Survey Findings: Social Media in the
Workplace

10. II. Challenges to Adoption (and
solutions!)
 Corporate executives remain fearful of
gaffes, compliance issues
 The prescription is training, guidelines, and governance

11. Challenge: C-level Fear

12. Alleviating C-Level Fear

13. Overcoming Employee Concerns
Wait, what do you want me to do?

14. Challenge: The Law
 Legal concerns remain a major issue
 Read Federal Trade Commission Guidelines,
2009
 Advertising, endorsements
 Employer specific regulations
 Do you know what your employees are tweeting about
your products?
 Has your employee been truthful? Disclosed their
affiliation?
http://1.usa.gov/SocialRules

15. Protecting Your Company
Employer Protection Steps (Boudreaux, 2011)
 Update social media policies to reflect the FTC guide revisions in
order to proactively inform employees of their obligations
 Educate all your employees
 Monitor to ensure compliance and accuracy of information
 Correct inaccurate or misleading information
 Define and implement a process for handling employee statements
that create liability for the company
 Document the company’s policies and how the company is
communicating those policies
Source: “Staying Out of Trouble: Complying with FTC Disclosures,”
Chapter 11, The Social Media Management Handbook, 2011.

16. Overcoming Inter-Generational Challenges
 “Millennial” Generation
has familiarity advantage
 55% use instant messaging
 45% use social networking
sites
 31% use online
collaborative tools
Source: “Jumping the Boundaries of
Corporate IT: Accenture Global
Research on Millenials’ Use of
Technology,” Accenture, 2010.

17. III. Demand a Seat at the Table
 Implementing a social media policy
demands input, decision-making and
commitment from all levels of leadership
 HR must be there to ensure all voices are
heard, all considerations taken into
account
 Break down department “silos”

18. Policy Development
 Gather input, ideas, and ensure all
departments understand expectations
 Guidelines will include use of language,
copyright materials, privacy standards,
and the legal do’s and don’ts

19. Anatomy of Social Media Plan
 I. Purpose – Why are we here
 Tap into new markets?
 Reach younger customers?
 Provide better customer service?
 II. Anticipated Challenges
 Brand awareness
 Oversaturated market

20. Situational Analysis
 Set your goals
 Determine your company’s current digital
footprint
 Analyze the competition
 Establish your online persona
 Core values & attributes
 Market perception
 Last stages: Deciding on specific networks, strategies,
adapting to feedback, and training all employees

21. Five Types of Policies
 Decentralized (10.8%)
 Centralized (28.8%)
 Hub and Spoke (41%)
 Multiple Hub and Spoke (18%)
 Honeycomb (1.4%)
Source: Survey of 140 Corporate Social Strategists,
Altimeter Group, November 2010

22. The Breakdown
 Decentralized
 Defined by a lack of central coordination,
efforts “bubble up” from different points of the
company
 Often found in local governments
 Risk brand inconsistency

23. Centralized
 One department acts as a gatekeeper for
all social media activity
 Specific individuals act as voice,
responsible for all engagement, content
and strategy

24. Hub and Spoke
 Most common
 Central unit educates, Marketing
trains and empowers
all employees to act
as brand
ambassadors Central
Unit
 Monitor all activity,
provide feedback Fundraising
Customer
Service

25. Multiple Hub & Spoke
 Most often found in extremely large
companies
 Multiple central units charged with
education and empowerment who
coordinate activities with each other

26. Honeycomb
 Very rare
 Hallmark of the Silicon Valley companies
we would expect

27. Three Stages of Policy
 Stage One: Mitigation
 General guidelines
 Focus on protecting organization
 Stage Two: Information
 Guidelines adapted to institutional culture, values
 Focus on protecting individual as well as company
 Stage Three: Differentiation
 Empower employees to act as brand ambassadors
 Focus on differentiating company from competition

28. Redesigning Structure
 Social media plans often
coincides with a
restructuring of the
organization
 Roles and responsibilities
change, new workers
hired
 HR must provide support
to existing changes while
realigning processes to
recruit and manage new
positions

29. IV. Case Study: Cisco Systems

30. The Policy
 Offered training and required certification
of all employees intending to use social
media
 Code of Conduct a condition of
employment
 Policy sections: Rules, Guidelines, FAQ
and Best Practices

31. The Cisco Strategy

32. Guidelines
 Identify yourself as a Cisco employee
 Keep applicable policies in mind
 Do not commit Cisco to any action unless you have the authority to
do so
 Protect the reputation of the company
 Do not post confidential or copyrighted information
 Do not engage in any inflammatory or inappropriate discussions
about competitors
 Be authentic, factual and respectful
 Be honest
 Build relationships
 Add value

33. FAQ

34. Results
“What we learned from our initial foray into the social media
world is that these tools provide an opportunity for us to
listen online, gather feedback, and learn from customer
experiences. We quickly realized that social media had
more value than simply broadcasting brand messages or
providing thought leadership. Social media gave Cisco a
means to have open and honest conversations with a
broader, global base of customers, potential customers,
partners, and employees,”
–Cisco Spokesperson

35. Like More Info?
 View the entire Cisco Study at
SCR.bi/Ciscostudy
 Find actual social media policy examples
at bit.ly/SocialGov

36. Questions?
Contact Information: Social Connections:
 Michael.Lesczinski
(at) gmail.com Michaellesczinski
 MLesczinski (at)
excelsior.edu @MikeLesczinski
www.HigherEdPR.com
www.MikeLesczinski.com
Gplus.to/MikeLesczinski

37. References
 “Case Study: Cisco Systems, Inc. Open Social Media Policy,” Social
Media Today, March 2011.
http://socialmediatoday.com/lucasshaffer/280005/case-study-cisco-
systems-inc-open-social-media-policy
 “Cisco Social Media Playbook: Best Practice Sharing,” Cisco
Systems, June 2010. http://www.scribd.com/doc/33518678/Cisco-
Social-Media-Playbook-Best-Practice-Sharing
 “Jumping the Boundaries of Corporate IT: Accenture Global
Research on Millenials’ Use of Technology,” Accenture, 2010.
 “SHRM Survey Findings: An Examination of How Social Media is
Embedded in Business Strategy & Operations,” Society for Human
Resource Management, January 2012.
 “SHRM Survey in the Workplace,” Society for Human Resource
Management, November, 2011.

38. References
“Social Media Policies,“ Chapters 17, The Social Media Management
Handbook, 2011.
“Social Media Policy: Cisco,” Furlong PR, 2010.
http://www.furlongpr.com/social-media-policy-case-study-cisco/
“Staying Out of Trouble: Complying with FTC Disclosures,” Chapter 11,
The Social Media Management Handbook, 2011.
Survey of 140 Corporate Social Strategists, Altimeter Group, November
2010
“Q3 Trends Update: Social Recruiting,” Career Builder, October, 2011.