Studies have shown that more than 50 percent of teens and college students have a personal profile on social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or Twitter. Tapping into that goldmine of data for human resource and business development initiatives may be tempting but could land your company in legal trouble if you’re not careful.
Also, as technology has advanced to allow remote access from home and mobile devices, the line between personal and business use has become blurred.
“It’s an immense challenge to oversee that employees maintain their work standards without running afoul of any issues that come about from using social networking sites,” says Sheri L. Giger, Jackson Lewis LLP.
Smart Business spoke with Giger about how to avoid the potential dangers of social networking while still reaping the benefits.
How can employers craft an effective electronic communications policy?
It’s important to find ways to minimize employees’ expectations of privacy. There arguably is a reasonable expectation of privacy for some electronic communications of employees, such as their e-mail, but if an employer has a policy or practice in place that minimizes that expectation of privacy, it places that employer in a better defensive position. Courts are more inclined to rule in favor of an employer if the employer owns the computer and e-mail system, the employee voluntarily uses the employer’s network, and the employee consented to be monitored, as stated in a written company policy.
What should employers consider when crafting an electronic communications policy?
First, it should be clearly stated that all computer systems and electronic equipment are designed primarily for business use. Many employers are now using the term ‘primarily for business use’ because of how technology has flourished. Employees won’t only use a BlackBerry for business e-mail when they may need to send a message to a spouse about picking up a child from daycare. This type of use can be difficult or too time consuming for an employer to monitor. Any excessive personal use during work time can still result in disciplinary action, but ‘primarily for business use’ is simply more practical to administer in today’s business world.
Second, employees need to abide by any nondisclosure or confidentiality policies or agreements the employer has established. Third, employees expressing views about the company in a nonbusiness setting on blogs should make it clear that the blog does not represent the view of the company; it’s their own personal view. Also, regarding the company’s position on various issues, an employer should designate spokespeople who will speak on behalf of the company.
Of course, employees have to adhere to any company anti-harassment policy, as well, so they are prohibited from making offensive or inappropriate comments when discussing their employer, superiors, co-workers and/or competitors. The company should also reserve the right to monitor the activity on its electronic communications systems. Including language in a policy that the company provides the right to monitor goes a long way in decreasing expectations for privacy on anything created on the company’s system.