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Social Media in the Workplace
Michael ScuttDale Langley & Co60 Lombard StreetLondon EC3V 9EA
Social Media in the Workplace
• What is social media?• What are the issues?• How do employers respond?• Social Media Policies
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What is social media?
• Not email or internet surfing• Facebook• Twitter• Blogs – Inspector Gadget, La Petite Anglaise• Morse survey 2009 – around 50% of office
workers use Facebook, Twitter etc for personal use wasting an average of 40 mins p.w per employee
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Potential Problems ... Blogs
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Some problems ...
• Feb 2010 – Vodafone employee tweeted“VodafoneUK fed up of dirty homo’s and is
going after beaver”• Nov 2008 - Virgin Atlantic sacked 13 staff for
calling passengers “chavs” & saying the planes were full of cockroaches on Facebook
• Aug 2007 “I work at Argos and can’t wait to leave because it’s shit” – posted on Facebook
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Some problems ...
• Inappropriate usage- Reputational Issues- Third Party Liability- Breach of confidentiality/trade secrets
• Loss of productivity• Drain on bandwidth
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Some Problems ...
• Personal use vs Work Use - can the two be split?
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How do Employers Respond?
• Disciplinary Action? Risk of inconsistent treatment/range of reasonable responses/litigation
• Do staff know what is expected of them? • Answer: Have a policy that sets out what is
acceptable and what isn’t
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Social Media Policies
• ABC Guidelines = - Do not mix the professional and the personal in ways likely to bring ABC into disrepute- Do not undermine your effectiveness at work- Do not disclose confidential information obtained at work- Do not imply ABC endorsement of your personal views
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Social Media Policies
• Microsoft = “Blog Smart” Are principles better than strict guidelines?Can you regulate what your employees say
about you outside work?
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Solutions?
Restrict access to websites Blanket ban on personal use – but work use?Nominated staff only? Foolproof?
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Solutions
• Employers: Have a social media strategy which includes a policy for employee usage
• Employees: Don’t get dooced!
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Contact Details
• Michael Scutt• Dale Langley & Co• 60 Lombard Street, London EC3V 9EA• [email protected]• Blog = Jobsworth – www.michaelscutt.co.uk• Linked In/Facebook• @michaelscutt
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