#pass muster

Read the complete and original post at www.openforum.com

As social media continues to evolve, it’s important for us to keep up with the changes. Back in 2009, Mashable published one of the first articles about what to include in a social media policy. It is still relevant today, but social media has changed.

This year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued three reports regarding social media in the workplace. The last one was specifically focused on employee use of social media.

What the Reports Say

Jon Hyman, a lawyer and author of the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog, provides a brief overview of these three NLRB reports. Hyman explains the big takeaway for employers in the employee usage report. “It is very difficult for a business to craft a social media policy with any substance behind it that will pass muster with the NLRB’s Office of General Counsel. The NLRB’s position on social media policies remains an absolute mess. Employers need to be able to adopt bright-line rules to guide their employees towards proper conduct. Yet, this report puts employers in the dangerous position of being fearful of drawing even the simplest of lines. The result is that businesses will be fearful of adopting any rules, creating online anarchy among their employees.”

Sample Social Media Policies

Organizations can’t let policy changes stop them from moving forward. Instead they need to remain compliant, educate employees and build the brand all at the same time. Eliot Johnson, senior manager of global social media at KPMG, a global network of independent firms providing advisory, audit and tax services, shared the company’s philosophy regarding employee use of social media. “At KPMG, social media is as much about the individual as it is about the brand. Empowering 145,000 partners and employees to use social media across our global network demonstrates our vision of enabling the business through our people. It is important that we recognize the business value of social media in order to connect with clients, employees, and the media. If we are successful, we expect to see a shift in the digital behavior of our people and more broadly a shift in our corporate culture.”