Note: There is no E-pinion today as we’ve reorganized the week a bit to deal with the holiday. Bob Brady will return next Friday with an E-pinion on how to handle pay increases for new employees who do outstanding jobs.
As we saw in yesterday’s Advisor, new technology has generated a string of issues in the workplace. And each new device seems to add additional challenges.
The cell phone, PDA, flash drive, iPod®, BlackBerry®—and there will probably a new star in the technology firmament tomorrow—each has a unique set of capabilities, and so generates a unique set of policy questions.
Let’s just take one of these devices as an example … the camera-equipped cell phone.
Picture of a Policy
In the past, carrying a camera around work was rare, and when photos were taken, it was usually with the subject’s permission. Now cameras are everywhere! There’s little control of who or what’s being shot. And frequently, the subjects don’t even know it’s happening.
What questions need to be answered in building a policy to protect the rights of both the company and its people? Here are a few from BLR’s prewritten policies program, SmartPolicies on CD:
- Application. Who will the policy apply to: Employees? Visitors?
- Areas. Where is photography forbidden: Research and development? Human resources? Medical records? Restroom facilities, for sure, but what about other personal areas, such as break rooms or locker areas?
- Equipment. What equipment is covered? Will the policy apply to camera phones only? To camera PDAs? To camcorders? To video equipment? To all cameras? To handheld scanners? To flash drives? To flash memory cards? To flash camera cards?
Why go to the trouble of writing HR policies when BLR’s SmartPolicies on CD has already written them for you! Try it at no cost and no risk. Click for info.
- Ownership. Who retains ownership of images taken with company equipment or on company premises?
- Related policies. Do policies such as confidentiality, investigations, security, privacy, and harassment need to be referred to in formulating a policy on picture taking?
- Enforcement. Who will enforce the policy: Human Resources? Security? Supervisors?
- Exceptions. Will you permit exceptions to a “no camera” policy? Can visitors bring cameras with permission? Can employees use cameras for celebrations?
- Discipline. Will you fire employees who violate this policy? Will you confiscate banned images? Will you confiscate banned equipment?
You’re invited to try BLR’s SmartPolicies on CD at no cost or risk. Click for more info or to start your complimentary trial of the program.
Those questions are just for your camera policy. You’ll also need policies on PDAs, blogging, cell phones, e-mail, instant messaging, Internet use, MP3 players, and other devices.
That’s no easy task, and that’s why our editors recommend a predeveloped, prewritten policy program such as BLR’s SmartPolicies on CD. Its authors have already worked through the issues to develop some 350 policies on 100 topics (including many listed above), and they have tested the resulting policies at thousands of companies over time.
Quarterly Updating Included
SmartPolicies on CD offers policies arranged alphabetically from Absenteeism and Blogging to Voicemail and Workers’ Compensation. (To see the complete Table of Contents, click the link below.)
What’s more, the CD format makes these policies easily customized. Just add your company specifics or use as is. (To be sure you cover all your particular issues, you get a discussion of “Points to Cover” and the “Issues to Consider” for each topic, ensuring that you won’t forget to address a key issue.)
More important, as regulations and court decisions clarify your responsibilities on workplace issues, the policies are updated, with new ones added as needed, every quarter, as long as you remain in the program.
SmartPolicies on CD is available to HR Daily Advisor subscribers on a 30-day evaluation basis at no cost or risk … even for return postage. If you’d like to have a look at it, click an appropriate link on this page and we’ll be happy to arrange it.