Social Media Guidelines for your Employees

Should Employers Establish a Guideline for Off-Hour Social Media Use?

With the removal of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greens from government committees and the strength that social media carries in our society, now is the time to address, with your employees, your company's expectations and guidelines for social media.

The concerns and impact of social media are long standing when it comes to the impact on businesses. In previous times that concern was mostly related to the impact of consumer satisfaction or lack thereof. If the company makes a mistake in delivery of service or poor customer service, these experiences can "go viral" and the ripple effect can be damaging.

In recent times, the concern is shifting to the focus on free speech and political choice. Most employees proudly wear the banner of their company's names on social media platforms, so what happens when they post a personal opinion or position on controversial and sensitive political matters? With so many companies transacting more and more business virtually, reputation is becoming more important. So what options do companies have?

We have compiled some information below, dive in to better position your company.

• The Harvard Business Review released an article back in February of 2020, "How Do Consumers Feel When Companies Get Political?" It's an interesting dissection of survey results based on political beliefs, party affiliation and the participants' views from survey participant baseline opinion to a more in depth perception as information on political positions are released.
• Engage PEO has several tools on Social Media policy guidance. Check out their page here. Specifics on policy building, staying away from being too restrictive and how to handle offensive social media.
• The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) released this article in 2014 on the Top 10 Do's and Dont's for Managing Employee Social Media. It seems as though 2014 would be dated, but the advice given here covers all levels of the National Labor Relations Board and related guidance on the National Labor Relations Acts.

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