Workplace social-media rules of thumb

Whether it’s through an employee’s personal social-media channel or a company’s social-media channel, exercising caution and staying mindful can protect employees and organizations’ professional reputations.

Consider these best practices:

Implement policy. Employers should write clear rules about social-media use in their personnel policies. For example, you may want only certain employees to engage with customers/followers online and a policy can list them clearly.

Limit public information. Do not reveal confidential information on social media, including operational details and private customer information. Some companies may use social media for customer support, but employees responsible for this must be careful. Social-media policies can outline exactly what should and shouldn’t be discussed online.

Exercise respect. Employees should be respectful when posting content on their personal channels and the company’s, including engagement with competitors. Employees should not engage aggressively against competitors or the employees who work for competitors. Doing this can tarnish a company’s reputation quickly—and it could be costly.

Remember the consequences. Employees must realize that content they post online—even on their personal channels—can affect the reputation of their company. Positive content can enhance the company’s reputation, but negative content that contradicts its values and policies can cause serious damage. To mitigate this, employees can refrain from associating themselves with their company on social media, but this isn’t a fail-safe.

These are just some practices businesses can use to protect themselves, their customers and their employees. But, mistakes happen—and if your business finds itself or an employee liable for something online, your commercial general liability policy may cover you, or an umbrella policy could add extra protection.

Give our office a call today so we can review your CGL policy together.