Just this morning I read an article outlining a webinar where Jeffrey Schultz and John Vering suggest 3 questions every HR manager should consider when crafting a social media policy. After looking over the list, and giving the topic some thought, I felt it appropriate to comment on the suggestions with my own recommendations. First, here’s what they had to say about the matter:
- What does the company want to accomplish through the use of social media? In other words— what are your business goals and marketing objectives you hope to achieve? You will need to keep these goals in mind when limiting social media use.
- What does the company hope to accomplish with your social media policy? Typically, companies hope to limit liability, control your message, and protect competitively sensitive or confidential information. What is your need?
- Will the social media policy be consistent with its other corporate policies, guidelines, and overall culture? Consider your other policies in your employee manuals or in your policy and procedure manuals. What about employment agreements? Are you in compliance with applicable government or industry regulations? Remember to keep your social media policy consistent with your corporate culture as well.
These elemental questions serve as starting point for brainstorming on the matter. Here’s what I would add to the above recommendations.
- How will your company train its employees on the proper use of Social Media? An effective policy is only as good as the compliance afforded by those the policy affects.
- How will your company monitor the internal and external social media interaction? Just as with any policy, procedure or program, to be truly effective, a company must monitor the programs effectiveness. When considering a social media policy, a company must also decide how to evaluate and control the implementation of the program.
While not an exhaustive list of the things that should be considered as part of a comprehensive social media policy and compliance program, the above list should serve as a good starting point to an effective program.
