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I think too many organizations are leaving this area very vague. Unfortunately, it is really difficult to enforce externally.
A point I think you neglected is that it may not be necessary for the employee to identify his/herself as working for the corporation if s/he uses the corporate email address.
Part of the policy should spell out when to use and when not to use the corporate email address.
And if the policy recommends / encourages / mandates the use of a non-corporate email address, then the ramifications of all but requiring an employee to set up a Hotmail or Google or whatever account ALSO need to be spelled out. Should the employee be monitoring that other email address with corporate resources? Should there be limits on usage, time spent, content?
Related, what about things like "offensive" content? If employees are allowed "free surfing time" may they view pornography during that time? Or what about quasi-pornography? Depriving an employee during "free surf time" from access to information about breast cancer might seem harsh (and might conflict with corporate efforts to encourage positive health practices,) but how do you deal with a very juvenile "adult" who uses such a loophole to "look for boobie pictures"? (Believe it or not, I know of such a case!)
Thank you for opening up the topic - there's LOTS more to consider.
Part of the policy should spell out when to use and when not to use the corporate email address.
And if the policy recommends / encourages / mandates the use of a non-corporate email address, then the ramifications of all but requiring an employee to set up a Hotmail or Google or whatever account ALSO need to be spelled out. Should the employee be monitoring that other email address with corporate resources? Should there be limits on usage, time spent, content?
Related, what about things like "offensive" content? If employees are allowed "free surfing time" may they view pornography during that time? Or what about quasi-pornography? Depriving an employee during "free surf time" from access to information about breast cancer might seem harsh (and might conflict with corporate efforts to encourage positive health practices,) but how do you deal with a very juvenile "adult" who uses such a loophole to "look for boobie pictures"? (Believe it or not, I know of such a case!)
Thank you for opening up the topic - there's LOTS more to consider.
Our policy I just tried to implement had added by our "HR" person "...may result in discipline."
....WTF?!
That doesn't mean anything if you don't tell them WHAT will happen. The above, in my opinion, though common, is an easy way of saying "we're probably not gonna do anything about it."
Now, if you say, "You will lose all browsing rights you continue after the first warning...that's ON the second warning (I'm tired of three strikes, this ain't baseball, folks)...and people LOVE being able to browse the internet at work.
If they continue after the removal or browser access, of find some way around it....bye-bye!
NO EXCEPTIONS!
This is, after all, work, not a playground. You have breaks, and lunch to do that, but not on our machines! People simply can't be trusted to keep away from bad sites, nor are they smart enough to tell the difference. Some still have problems understanding that the guy from Africa wanting your bank info is a scam.
I've always said: "The older people get, the more childish they become."
....WTF?!
That doesn't mean anything if you don't tell them WHAT will happen. The above, in my opinion, though common, is an easy way of saying "we're probably not gonna do anything about it."
Now, if you say, "You will lose all browsing rights you continue after the first warning...that's ON the second warning (I'm tired of three strikes, this ain't baseball, folks)...and people LOVE being able to browse the internet at work.
If they continue after the removal or browser access, of find some way around it....bye-bye!
NO EXCEPTIONS!
This is, after all, work, not a playground. You have breaks, and lunch to do that, but not on our machines! People simply can't be trusted to keep away from bad sites, nor are they smart enough to tell the difference. Some still have problems understanding that the guy from Africa wanting your bank info is a scam.
I've always said: "The older people get, the more childish they become."
That's an excellent example of the cold, inhuman, top-down controlling attitude that's wrong with corporate america. There's no humanity, no respect, no trust in this policy. Not even an attempt at any.
How sad.
How sad.
"That's an excellent example of the cold, inhuman, top-down controlling attitude that's wrong with corporate America. There's no humanity, no respect, no trust in this policy. Not even an attempt at any."
Where do get off making a statement like that??? Seriously.
Work is for work, not play; thats what you get paid for. That computer siting in your cubicle DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU. The internet connection DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU. Where do you get off thinking that you should be allowed to do what ever the heck you want with someone else's property. Talk about a serious lack of respect.
I guess thats wrong with Americas youth today. You seem to think the rules should not apply to you. And when your held to those rules you think your being treated cruelly and unfairly.
How sad.
Where do get off making a statement like that??? Seriously.
Work is for work, not play; thats what you get paid for. That computer siting in your cubicle DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU. The internet connection DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU. Where do you get off thinking that you should be allowed to do what ever the heck you want with someone else's property. Talk about a serious lack of respect.
I guess thats wrong with Americas youth today. You seem to think the rules should not apply to you. And when your held to those rules you think your being treated cruelly and unfairly.
How sad.
@Scotty
Absolutely agree with you. I could not have said it much better. I do not understand the mentality of such people that think it is an infringement of their "rights" when there is an attempt to protect the property of the company they WORK for.
Absolutely agree with you. I could not have said it much better. I do not understand the mentality of such people that think it is an infringement of their "rights" when there is an attempt to protect the property of the company they WORK for.
I'll second that.
"If you block me, then that's an infringement on my rights as a citizen to screw around while at wo- ...oh, wait...nevermind."
Get serious, people.
"If you block me, then that's an infringement on my rights as a citizen to screw around while at wo- ...oh, wait...nevermind."
Get serious, people.
People should have enough common sense not to mention client or company sensitive info on personal webpages. The fact is, many people don't have common sense. The company needs policies in place to prevent Joe User from posting sensitive inside info on his personal weblog.
Brilliant recommendations and solid advice... companies and individuals are on the web in a big way. It's time they look at joining the conversation in a responsible and professional way. You can't stop the talk - but you can influence it.
Hi,
Thank you - I find these 10 things quite useful and straightforward. I was wondering however, with regards to "Proprietary and Confidential information" would your social policy apply for Web 2.0 utilised within your company's intranet?
If you have a system setup within your own firewall (e.g. secure enterprise wiki) would you still discourage managing sensitive information amongst employees.
Thanks for your post.
Best Regards,
Donald Gee
(http://ent20dg.wordpress.com)
Thank you - I find these 10 things quite useful and straightforward. I was wondering however, with regards to "Proprietary and Confidential information" would your social policy apply for Web 2.0 utilised within your company's intranet?
If you have a system setup within your own firewall (e.g. secure enterprise wiki) would you still discourage managing sensitive information amongst employees.
Thanks for your post.
Best Regards,
Donald Gee
(http://ent20dg.wordpress.com)
These measures are likely to have a chilling effect on the conversations.
The value of social networking to a corporation is in enhancing its brand image, improving its customer relationships and increasing loyalty. If you institute a command & control structure over a FaceBook discussion, you can pretty much forget about deriving any value out of it for your company.
If each message has to go through strict corporate filters and approvals, then the spontaneity and quality of the conversation is lost. Official sounding, politically correct, press-release type statements will not work in a social networking scenario.
While I'm not a proponent of free-for-all, I'm also not a fan of the strict rules and procedures recommended in this article.
The value of social networking to a corporation is in enhancing its brand image, improving its customer relationships and increasing loyalty. If you institute a command & control structure over a FaceBook discussion, you can pretty much forget about deriving any value out of it for your company.
If each message has to go through strict corporate filters and approvals, then the spontaneity and quality of the conversation is lost. Official sounding, politically correct, press-release type statements will not work in a social networking scenario.
While I'm not a proponent of free-for-all, I'm also not a fan of the strict rules and procedures recommended in this article.
Your post is excellent. Regarding #8, legal issues, you should also be aware of what you post can result in potential litigation issues as well, see http://nylawblog.com/2009/06/legal-reasons-why-your-company-should-have-a-social-networking-policy/
As a professional HR consultant this topic is becoming hotter everyday. I am frequently updating Employee Handbooks, adding these guidelines to technology policies, and include them in all new handbooks I develop. Great tips for employers! D. Frain "Human Resource Design"
One company I worked for had us sign and date two copies with HR present. One for our file and the other for us. Stating the we have read and understand the policy and procedures.
The Company that I work for has blocked social networking to some degree. Between 12:00 - 14:00 we can go on fb. Where I work at one of the Depot's the Manager blocked all social networking. I do work from 8:00 to 17:00. Do not take lunch as I operate the switchboard as part of my job. Today I took a sneak peak at my private mail on Gmail and got the showing finger as to what will happen to me if I do that. Surely it can't be a violation of the rules if I go to my gmail. I do that about 4x per day. I feel like I am being treated unfair. Is this ligit to threathen an employee if you read your mail? My work was done.
I have to come up with a policy for our business. I want it to where we can get on facebook during our lunch hour. Do you have any suggestions on how I should start this and what exactly I need to put in it. We are a small business but our Board Members wants this policy made. Thanks Laura
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