Your New Year’s Resolution: Draft a Social Media Policy

Recently, Proskauer Rose published the results of its second survey covering social media in the workplace. Social Media in the Workplace Around the World 2.0 [pdf] questioned 250 multinational businesses on their social media policies and practices.

The results?

• 75 percent of businesses reported using social media for business purposes
• 77 percent permit at least some employees to access social media sites at work for non-business purposes
• 69 percent have a social media policy
• 46 percent have a social media policy that covers on-duty and off-duty activities
• 33 percent inform their employees on the appropriate use of social media.

Employers, here is your New Year’s Resolution for 2013: draft a social media policy and train your employees on what it means.

Social media is still novel. Most of your employees do not understand how their off-duty online activities can impact their jobs. If you want to hold your employees accountable for what they say and do online, both at work and outside of work, establish expectations. Put it in writing and explain to your employees what the policy means. That way, if you have to take action against an employee for something he or she says online, no one has any excuses.

According to a recent study, 88 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail. Strive to be among the minority that succeed in keeping their resolutions. Your employees will thank you.

Happy New Year!

Written by Jon Hyman, a partner in the Labor & Employment group of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz. For more information, contact Jon at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.