Social media has become the hub for employers to get to know their new hires and current employees. As an employer you worry about what your staff is doing outside of the office, the simple fact being that they are representing your company. Of course this doesn’t mean to pry and spy, but there is nothing wrong with having a general consensus of what goes on after five o’clock. In order to keep the controversy at a minimum, create an office wide social media policy for employees.

sm-policiesAlso keep in mind your company social media policy when hiring a new candidate. Your first instinct is to search your potential candidate’s social media pages, but try to refrain yourself. Now, I’m not saying to be totally oblivious, but remember you are trying to find the best talent for your company not their Facebook flaws. The social media policies should not be put into play until after the candidate is hired and aware of the policy. When you find the right person for the job, explain the company’s guidelines regarding social media use. This way everyone is getting a fair chance and you can get to know the hire outside of social media. We were all young and made bad decisions at one point, give them a chance to remove unnecessary content as stated in your social media policy template. Here are a few basic social media etiquette points when lookingfor social media policy examples.

• Be sure that your posts are written in a polite and professional manner.

• Stay away from spreading any rumors or gossip.

• Never share personal or confidential information about the organization.

• Immediately report to management and your IT department any information or content that is harmful, suspicious in nature or could be considered inappropriate to the organization or individual.

• Always be professional.

By putting a policy in order you can now be relieved that you are giving every employee a fair shot. Chances are you won’t feel as guilty when you decide to be a little curious of what goes on outside of the office.

To help you get started, we have provided you with a sample social media policy.

 

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Interested in more social media etiquette? Check out our previous blog post - Brand Like A Pro