What To Include in a Company Social Media Policy

If you want to prevent social media abuse, says attorney Jody Katz Pritikin, you must develop a social media policy, and your policy must include several key elements.

Pritikin is an attorney/investigator/seminar leader for Katz Consulting & Associates in Santa Monica. Her suggestions came at the SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference, held recently in Washington, DC.

As for guidelines for developing your policy, here’s what Pritikin recommends:

• Start with a values statement and statement of employee ownership of social media responsibilities (The use of social media at work is a privilege that comes with responsibilities).
• Social media use must not interfere with the optimum performance of your job.
• Do not use SM to harass or discriminate.
• Do not share trade secrets and confidential information on social media sites.
• The company owns the systems and the hardware.
• The company will monitor use of the systems and the hardware. (say that and then do it, Pritikin says.)
• The company expects your loyalty. (Don’t disparage our people or our products – but this does not prevent you from talking about conditions of work.)
• The company expects high ethical standards and/or has a Code of Conduct.
• You may be subject to discipline or termination for violation of this policy.

Although some of these provisions may already exist elsewhere in your policies, they should be restated in your social media policy, Pritikin says.

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And then, of course, you have to enforce your policy. Selective enforcement dooms your social media planning, Pritikin warns. In particular, she says:

• Enforce social media policies consistently and fairly
• Document all disciplinary actions
• Justify exceptions to the rules
• Abide by company rules regarding post-employment references.

Finally, Pritikin says, be sure to train your people on the policy. As with most HR challenges, a key element of the solution is training – consistent, regular training.

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