30Nov/09
One of the most basic ideas in keeping your workplace social network compliant is often overlooked. Without written documentation and guidelines on when, how and if employees can visit their favorite social network the usage and frequency of visits to social networks can vary from one cube to the next.
Having one written, clear social network compliant policy, whether it’s allowing usage on breaks or disallowing them altogether, is the first step to having a compliant workplace.
Should I allow employees to visit social networking websites?
There isn’t a clear answer to this question, which is very much on the minds of CEOs, CIOs and IT personnel. It really comes down to situational decisions, as well as ideology.
Is your company culture the type that uses its employees as organic ways of advertising your brand? Is your company subject to FINRA audits which may view postings on social network sites as advertising? These are factors that should be weighed when making the decision on employee use of social networks while at the workplace.
In addition, as the laws and regulations evolve that require the capture and ability to produce electronically stored information (ESI), social network postings including tweets on Twitter and status updates on LinkedIn and Facebook may very well be required.
