Social Media – The Wild West for Employers and Employees

Similar to the Gold Rush, employers and employees are rushing for gold, but this time the gold is to establish a positive social media presence.  With this flood of companies and individuals participating in social media, now employers are trying to establish law and order with policies, but they do not want to interfere with National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and an employee’s right to “water-cooler” talk.  The National Labor Relations Board has taken a hard look at this area and attempted to regulate.  See the Acting General Counsel Report.  Realizing the benefits, employers do not want to outlaw their employees from using social media, so instead they are now putting policies and training in place for employees. 

Why should a company have social media policies and training?  The policies and training will -

• help emphasize the importance of using company resources and time wisely,
• help protect employer and employee reputations; and,
• help protect confidential information and the company’s trade secrets. 

In the Human Resources Guide to Social Media Risks, Jesse Torres mentions 4 out of 5 companies with 100+ employees put social media in their 2011 budgets, but neglected to put a policy in place.  The exposure and risks are staggering since 91% of employees have smart phones.  Employees spend time on social media at work.  Some of this time is work-related while other is for personal reasons.  Social “Not”working is the phrase coined to describe the time lost by employees checking the various social networking sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and LinkedIn.  In addition, employees are very casual and impulsive about what they post online.  Bottom line, there is a need for social media policies and training to help mitigate the risks for both the employer and the employees.

Social media policies and training must not ban employees from using social media, but instead teach employees how to use in the best interest of both the employee and employer.  We see example after example of employees fired over what they post –

• a Starbuck’s barista for her rant on MySpace,
• a teacher for her Facebook post calling her students germ bags; and,
• two Domino’s employees for a YouTube video that showed them contaminating the pizza ingredients.

Individuals are extremely spontaneous about what they post, so now is the time to educate employees on how to play it safe in this new frontier.  Employers should add a social media policy to their employee handbook.  Given the risk for exposure, communicate the social media policy via a training session for employees, and then review at least once a year due to the quickly changing nature.  Add social media training to the new-hire orientation and to the yearly mandatory training, just like diversity and anti-harassment training.  In conclusion, do rush for the gold, a positive social media presence, but in addition, mitigate the risks and implement proper social media policies and training.

For a Free HR Assessment contact:

Monica Z. Austin, MBA, SPHR
The Hopkins Group, LLC
Human Resources Business Solutions
214-537-7524
http://www.linkedin.com/in/monicazaustin
http://twitter.com/monicazaustin
maustin@hopkinshr.com

What is the State of Your HR?

Every “no” answer puts you at risk.

Human Resources Self Audit 

1.       Are your I-9s in order?  Do you have a completed I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) form for each employee per the Immigration Reform and Control Act? (IRCA)  Given the current climate in the U.S. it is important to have your I-9s in compliance.

2.      Do you have your exempt and non-exempt employees classified correctly?  The Department of Labor is currently focusing on this portion of The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  Many organizations have employees coded exempt that are actually NOT exempt from overtime.    

3.      Do you have a social media policy?  Employees are spending an enormous amount of time checking Facebook, Linkedin, Myspace and Twitter during work hours.  Social “Not”working is the phrase that has been coined regarding this growing concern.   

4.      Is your employee handbook ”handy”?  Employee handbooks should be easy to read.  Do you have an updated employee handbook that has been communicated to all employees and documentation to prove it? 

5.      Do you know the most common EEOC discrimination charge, and who is the new kid on the block?  In 2010, retaliation discrimination charges surpassed race discrimination for the first time.  The new kid is GINA, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.  This recent act makes it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information.

6.      Do you have a good recruiting plan, and are you checking references on all new hires with their signed authorization?  A poor hire can cost your organization $35,000-$50,000. 

7.      Do you have your contract workers and employees classified correctly?  Many contract individuals are actually employees as determined by the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act.

8.      Do you have a specific policy and provide training against workplace harassment and diversity?  Documentation proving you have provided this training as an organization can help protect you. 

9.      Do you have accurate, complete job descriptions?  Job descriptions assist with FLSA and ADAAA compliance, as well as provide a basis for recruiting, performance management, and succession planning.

10.  Do you have the latest employment postings in your workplace?  From February 1 through April 30, OSHA 300A should be posted for some employers.  Are you in compliance with this and other employment posting requirements?

11.  Do you know which Federal Employment Laws are applicable to your organization?  Different laws become applicable at 1, 15, 20, 50 and 100 employees.



For a Free HR Assessment contact:

Monica Z. Austin, MBA, SPHR
The Hopkins Group, LLC
Human Resources Business Solutions
214-537-7524
http://www.linkedin.com/in/monicazaustin
http://twitter.com/monicazaustin
maustin@hopkinshr.com

Social "Not"working - Are Your Employees Taking an Extra Lunch Break?

Are your employees taking an extra lunch break?  Social "Not"working is the phrase coined to describe the time lost by employees checking social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIn.  It is estimated that 50% of employees spend at least one hour per day on these sites AT WORK - which is the equivalent to an extra lunch break.

Here are some interesting tidbits from Nucleus Research regarding just Facebook:

• Those who access Facebook at work do so for an average of 15 minutes daily, with the range as low as one minute and as high as 120 minutes.

• 13 percent claimed to have a business reason for accessing Facebook; 87 percent couldn’t define a clear business reason for doing so.

Do you have a policy regarding social networking?  A thorough social media policy is needed to emphasize the importance of using time and resources wisely as well as protecting an employer's reputation and confidential information.  With the infatuation of social media on the rise, the time is now to have a proper policy in place.

Does your company have a social media policy in place?  Has it been communicated to your employees and are they following it?  How much time do you think your employees spend on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Linkedin?  Love to hear your thoughts!

Monica Z. Austin, MBA, SPHR
The Hopkins Group, LLC
Human Resources Business Solutions
214-537-7524
http://www.linkedin.com/in/monicazaustin
http://twitter.com/monicazaustin
maustin@hopkinshr.com