Social Networking is one hot topic these days. Globally, interest and participation in social media is growing at phenomenal rates. While people increasingly understand how to use Social Networking tools in their personal lives, businesses are experiencing uncertainty regarding the implications of using these tools in the workplace. One thing is for certain: the impact of online Social Networking is far-reaching and presents a range of challenges and opportunities for most organizations. Given the explosive growth of Social Networking sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and others, now is the time for companies to establish policies regarding their use in the workplace.
Social Networking holds great promise for improving corporate communications and addressing business opportunities. Businesses can benefit in a myriapd of ways from the use of Social Networking websites. For example, companies can build awareness of their organizations, become more visible to prospective clients, maintain contacts with business associates, increase employee collaboration and improve innovation through idea sharing, and even use them as a vehicle for recognizing the accomplishments of star performers.
Notwithstanding the benefits associated with Social Networking sites, there exist inherent risks arising from the unsupervised use of such sites in tphe workplace as employees’ postings can create legal headaches for their employer. At first blush, the employer may simply focus on the lost productivity experienced when an employee twitters the day away. While a legitimate worry, the potential impact goes well beyond simply wasting time. Postings on Social Networking sites can compromise company trade secrets and other confidential information, potentially at a much greater cost to the employer than a wasted hour or two spent by an employee chatting with friends.
Against this general backdrop, the relevant inquiries are:
- What are the implications to the employer of the use of Social Networking tools at the workplace?
- How is the employer affected by the use of these sites by its workers?
- How does the employer implement rules and policies to govern these issues?
Although legal precedent regarding the use of these tools remains in its infant stages, now is the time for employers to consider and address the use, and potential misuse, of social media sources. The task at hand is how best to balance the benefits for your company while minimizing your risks.
What’s Your Company To Do? Develop a Policy!
As legal precedent on these Social Networking in the workplace issues remains sparse and continues to develop, we are seeing businesses implement policies that run the gamut from doing nothing at all to implementing strict rules. Clearly, your company’s decision regarding whether, or to what extent, to allow Social Networking is not a simple one.
Ban? Monitor? Or Reinvent?
Companies are entitled to regulate what employees do on work time and on company computers. After all, those are the company’s systems, and within bounds of reason, courts are clear that employers can regulate the use of their own systems. The conduct of employees while “on-duty” may certainly be regulated by the employer. Things get a bit murkier once employees are off premises and “off-duty,” even if they have been issued company laptop computers and have remote access to the company’s network from their homes.
Indications are that even an employee working from home, if using the company’s equipment and system, must do so responsibly and in compliance with rules and standards.
Social Networking goes a step further with regard to privacy expectations. With Social Networking investigations becoming more prevalent in all types of settings, users of these sites often believe they have some degree of anonymity for their statements and actions. However, your business must be aware that in order to maintain the confidentiality of its trade secrets, it must take appropriate precautions to protect its expectation of privacy, and that means not posting protected information on a public website. Moreover, we are starting to see websites such as Facebook and others, unilaterally taking private information and creating publicly accessible community pages which may contain the unauthorized use of a company’s information.
Not surprisingly, many companies have buried their heads in the sand and their policies have yet to specifically address the use of Social Networking sites. Unfortunately, any organization without an official, well-documented Social Networking Policy is at risk of the above mentioned drawbacks.
Steps to Take
So, what’s an employer to do? There are several options, each with its own implications. An employer can outright ban the use of Social Networking websites in the workplace. Another option is to update existing policies to incorporate parameters for the use of Social Networking sites. Alternatively, an employer can take a more innovative approach that thoughtfully balances the risk/ rewards of using social media tools in the workplace—essentially jumping on the bandwagon of understanding that these powerful and influential new Social Networking sites can positively impact its business. Clearly, one size does not fit all; the use of social media policy might be appropriate for one type of business but not another.
Under any circumstance, the first thing to do is to update company policy manuals and guidelines. All companies should begin by reviewing their policies covering communications, privacy, confidentiality, e-mail use and topics such as employee ethics. Such company policies should–and can–be easily updated to keep up with the times. At a minimum, employers must insert broad language encompassing the use of social media into their code of conduct, or other policy guidelines. So even if your firm has not yet defined the specific extent to which the use of Social Networking sites is allowed at work, it should nonetheless at least modify its employee manual to ensure some general protections against misuse by employees.
Simply banning the use of Social Networking sites in the workplace may appear an uncomplicated solution. However, banning Social Networking use at work could possibly drive use of those sites underground. The reality is that people use such sites to communicate with their families and loved ones. Moreover, this all-ornothing approach would appear to be a concession to forego the potential benefits Social Networking has to offer.1 Employers considering monitoring employees’ use of Social Networking sites will also have to balance employee privacy. And not to be overlooked when implementing such an all-or-nothing policy are intangibles such as employee morale, the potential “Big Brother” factor and the impact on firm culture.
Conclusion
As Social Networking is here to stay, more and more companies will not just be placing band-aids on their existing policies but will create and implement procedures specifically directed toward the use of Social Networking sources in the workplace. The takeaway message regarding these issues is that employers can no longer ignore either the potential benefits or the risks of this phenomenon. Even though litigation over social media issues remains in its infancy, it is not too early for employers to understand and address Social Networking implications and to take preemptive action with regard to their internal policies governing these issues. Employers are well advised to craft appropriate policies and procedures that are consistent with their industry and firm culture and apply them in a consistent, evenhanded and nondiscriminatory fashion. And remember, because this technology is evolving so rapidly, employers should remain diligent by staying current with new developments and revisit their Social Networking Policy regularly. Finally, whatever angle an organization decides to undertake on these issues, their Social Networking policy should be documented and fully communicated to employees and managers alike.
Steven P. Pherson is an Attorney with Schuyler, Roche and Crisham L.L.P. with extensive experience in commercial & employment litigation and securities & commodities litigation. Steve can be contacted at: 312.565.8373 or spherson@SRCattorneys.com.