Maria Elena Duron

top paid search results Pay Per Click     Business Financing     Business Plan     Internet Marketing     Resume Writing     Interview Tips    

My RSS Feed has a consistent personal brand on, well, personal brand and career topics. Maria Elena Duron has Just Posted the Following on her blog:

This was recently shared by the Texas Workforce Commission. They have some specific thoughts and samples on how companies should address social networking.

What do you think?

Employee social networking:
It's time to address the issue

Technological advances are rapidly changing the way individuals – including your employees – communicate with each other and the rest of the world. Instant messaging, texting, and sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Linkedln have been joined by Twitter – a relatively new conversational Web site. All provide the opportunity to rapidly interact with a huge universe of new people.

These changes are occurring quickly. Facebook, for example, grew 228 percent between February 2008 and February 2009, to 65.7 million users. Twitter, which is basically a giant chat room that allows users to post 140-character microblogs to however many users have signed up to "follow" them, saw a 1,374 percent increase during that same time frame, growing from 475,000 to seven million unique visitors.

On the one hand, most employees are not being paid to give in to these technological temptations during working hours. On the other, a number of major corporations such as Comcast, Bank of America, Issue UPS, Wachovia, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, and online retailer Zappos, for example, all have official corporate Twitter accounts to provide marketing, customer service, or both. IBM Corp. uses Twitter to encourage research scientists to communicate with each other, and Silicon Valley tech giant Yahoo even has 25 to 30 employees who are designated to act as the company's official Twitter representatives; they're paid to spread the word about new Yahoo products and services.

No matter where your company falls in this brave new world of technology, as in any other area where it's important to establish reasonable standards of workplace behavior, communicating your expectations to your employees is critical. Employers have had to cover similar ground before, first with personal phone use at work, then with e-mail, then with the Web, and now with social networks and blogs. In each case, as electronic communications have advanced, organizations have been forced to decide what employees may and may not do, and revise company policies accordingly.

Because these social network sites are available 24/7, another area of concern is what your employees may post or blog about the company, your trade secrets, their co-workers or your customers online after hours. As far as your employees' off duty activities are concerned, most such actions are strictly their own business so long as their actions do not interfere with the rights of others, including the company they work for. In an employment context, employees are free to do what they will with their own free time, as long as what they do does not adversely affect their employer, co-workers, or the employer's clients, customers, patients, vendors, or other partners with which the company does business. And, while your employees might believe that they're posting about mundane company events, keep in mind that competitors can be out there, monitoring their every word. In many ways, these social networks are competitive-intelligence dream tools.

No matter where your company falls in this brave new world of technology, as in any other area where it's important to establish reasonable standards of workplace behavior, communicating your expectations to your employees is critical.

Below is a sample policy regarding use of social media by employees. As with any policy that an employer may obtain from an employee of the Texas Workforce Commission, this is only a sample policy and does not constitute an official policy or recommendation of the TWC or the State of Texas. It is always best to have such a policy reviewed by an employment law attorney of your choice who can consider all of the factors and aspects of the situation, and determine whether the policy meets a particular company's needs.

Policy Regarding Use of Social Media by Employees of XYZ Company
While XYZ Company encourages its employees to enjoy and make good use of their off-duty time, certain activities on the part of employees may become a problem if they have the effect of impairing the work of any employee; harassing, demeaning, or creating a hostile working environment for any employee; disrupting the smooth and orderly flow of work within the company; or harming the goodwill and reputation

SPRING 2009 of XYZ Company among its customers or in the community at large. In the area of social media (print, broadcast, digital, and online), employees may use such media in any way they choose as long as such use does not produce the adverse consequences noted above. For this reason, XYZ Company reminds its employees that the following guidelines apply in their use of social media, both on and off duty:

1. If an employee publishes any personal information about themselves, another employee of XYZ Company, a client, or a customer in any public medium (print, broadcast, digital, or online) that:
a. has the potential or effect of involving the employee, their co-workers, or XYZ Company in any kind of dispute or conflict with other employees or third parties;
b. interferes with the work of any employee;
c. creates a harassing, demeaning, or hostile working environment for any employee;
d. disrupts the smooth and orderly flow of work within the office, or the delivery of services to the company's clients or customers;
e. harms the goodwill and reputation of XYZ Company among its customers or in the community at large;
f. tends to place in doubt the reliability, trustworthiness, or sound judgment of the person who is the subject of the information; or
g. reveals proprietary information or XYZ Company trade secrets;
the employee(s) responsible for such problems will be subject to counseling and/or disciplinary action, up to and potentially including termination of employment, depending upon the circumstances.
2. No employee of XYZ Corporation may use company equipment or facilities for furtherance of non-work-related activities
or relationships without the express advance permission of (designated member of management).
3. Employees who conduct themselves in such a way that their actions and relationships with each other could become the object of gossip among others in the office, or cause unfavorable publicity for XYZ Company in the community, should be concerned that their
While you're employees might believe that they're posting about mundane company events, keep in mind that competitors can be out there, monitoring their every word. In many ways, these social networks are competitive-intelligence dream tools. Photo illustration.
conduct may be inconsistent with one or more of the above guidelines. In such a situation, the employees involved should request guidance from (a designated member of management) to discuss the possibility of a resolution that would avoid such problems. Depending upon the circumstances, failure to seek such guidance may be considered evidence of intent to conceal a violation of the policy and to hinder an investigation into the matter.
4. Should you decide to create a personal bloc, be sure to provide a clear disclaimer that the views expressed in the blog are the author's alone, and do not represent the views of XYZ Company.
5. All information published on any
employee blog(s) should comply with XYZ's confidentiality and disclosure of proprietary data policies. This also applies to comments posted on other social networking sites, blogs and forums.
6. Be respectful to XYZ Company, co-workers, customers, clients, partners and competitors, and be mindful of your physical safety when posting information about yourself or others on any forum. Describing intimate details of your personal and social life, or providing information about your detailed comings and goings might be interpreted as an invitation for further communication - - - or even stalking and harassment that could prove dangerous to your physical safety.
7. Social media activities should never interfere with work commitments.
8. Your online presence can reflect on XYZ Company. Be aware that your comments, posts, or actions captured via digital or film images can affect the image of XYZ Company.
9. Do not discuss company clients, customers or partners without their express consent to do so.
10. Do not ignore copyright laws, and cite or reference sources accurately. Remember that the prohibition again plagiarism applies online.
11. Do not use any XYZ Company logos or trademarks without written consent. The absence of explicit reference to a particular site does not limit the extent of the application of this policy. If no policy or guideline exists, XYZ Company employees should use their professional judgment and follow the most prudent course of action. If you are uncertain, consult your supervisor or manager before proceeding.

As with every new technology, there are laws (i.e. privacy, defamation. copyright), social norms and business practices that warrant thoughtful consideration and communication with your employees. Photo illustration.
While millions of individuals are having fun and even making productive use of these new technologies, it is always wise to keep in mind that technology does not absolve the users from acting responsibly, and that it creates as many obligations as it does opportunities for expression.
Finally, should your company decide to adopt such a formal policy, all employees should sign for copies of the policy and be trained in its meaning. The best way to do that would be to:
• hold a mandatory staff meeting;
• distribute an agenda to all employees in which discussion of the policy appears as an action item;
• have all employees sign an attendance roster and hand out copies of the new policy;
• discuss it and hold a question-and-answer session with everyone present;
• pass out copies of acknowledgment of receipt of policy forms for everyone to sign specifying the policy received;
• collect the signed forms before adjourning the meeting.

Like much of the Internet, social networks are great innovations that give users the opportunity to create and communicate with whole new communities. Any policy an employer may choose to cover the use of such forums can easily be summed up in a new "Golden Rule": your employees should be encouraged not to say anything about the company or other individuals that they would not want said about themselves. While millions of individuals are having fun and even making productive use of these new technologies, it is always wise to keep in mind that technology does not absolve the users from acting responsibly, and that it creates as many obligations as it does opportunities for expression.
As with every new technology, there are laws (i.e. privacy, defamation, copyright), social norms and business practices that warrant thoughtful consideration and communication with your employees. A sensible policy will go a long way toward addressing those areas before the risks outweigh the benefits to you and your employees. APMaria Elena Duron, CEO, Buzz to Bucks, broadens the network of busy people through effective social marketing strategies. Buzz to Bucks provides online profile management services, social management and reputation management - helping key employees to establish higher visibility and provide consistency in branding as well as establishing the expertise in their industry for entrepreneurs.


click here to read more from and support Maria Elena Duron

__________________
Cheerfully,
Maria Elena Duron

chief buzz officer | identity coach

www.buzz2bucks.com
a word of mouth firm
“build, bolster or bailout your brand"

I would love to connect with you and see how we can help each other out, you can catch me here..
Twitter
FaceBook
LinkedIn
YouTube

To claim your FREE gift, Crafting Your On Brand Intro Toolkit, visit her site www.buzz2bucks.com and click on FREE Gift.
Interested in the Personal Board of Advisors?