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With the rise of social media in the workplace, your human resource personnel should take a closer look at their company policies.
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have become socially acceptable marketing and networking tools for the business world today. These pieces of technology aid in building one’s brand in very unique ways. But this is not new news to anyone, especially those of us who have been on these sites for years now.
Facebook has 90 million users, and is the #1 social networking site in the world and the fourth most-trafficked website in the world. There is an incorrect impression that Facebook is only for the young and used primarily for social purposes. Not so. More than 50% of Facebook’s active users are 25 years or older. LinkedIn now has 23 million users, with an average age of 41. LinkedIn is now growing faster than Facebook. This means your employees are using these sites on a daily basis!
What business owners really need to know is how to handle the use of these in a professional setting. We can talk about the obvious “HR policies” that should be in place such as Facebook and Twitter should not be used for personal use on company time, but this is up to the personal discretion of the owner. You might consider adding a “social networking” policy to your company handbook. What about more pressing issues such as privacy, leaking valuable and confidential company information online, and online co worker battles?
We have seen countless examples of social media “gone bad”, and situations one would have never thought possible. First, employees need to be aware of their privacy when it comes to their accounts. Be aware that your co workers and possible supervisors may be able to see your personal life even if you are not directly friends with them. When you put something on the internet it is out there forever and can’t be taken back! Your status should probably not say “I hate my job” when you are Facebook friends with your HR manager. In addition, managers should make sure that their employees know a company’s confidential information that should never be leaked into cyber-space. Even if your employees are using these sites for marketing and branding purposes there are still things that shouldn’t be said. Lastly, when a dispute is going on with co workers a social networking platform is probably not the best place to “talk” about it. They should be handled by Human Resources in a professional manner.
Take on the challenge to address these issues in your business as soon as possible. Do not ignore this trend because it is here to stay and will probably affect you and your company at some point.
Posted October 28th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources, Other | |
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The subject of healthcare reform is not only timely but the eventual outcome will affect every citizen personally and professionally. With an increase in information it is becoming tougher to know where to get accurate information. Knowing how it will affect your business and your personal health care needs makes this a topic for all to be interested in, no matter what side of the political fence you sit on. It is important to stay educated and informed. To summarize a little bit of recent news in regards to businesses and recent bills proposed, according to Benefits by Design’s recent newsletter, under currently proposed bills “employers will be mandated to provide health benefits to all of their employees, even if they already provide comprehensive coverage and employers will have to contribute specific amounts towards their employee premiums. Employers that don’t do this will face harsh penalties. The Senate bill does exempt employers with less than 25 employees, but the House bill applies to all employers with payrolls of $500,000 or more, which could cause wage stagnation and the loss of millions of jobs.” Some helpful resources include this website where you can see some proposals that have been submitted to Congress. (http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm) It shows how each reform option compares to the next. In addition this article sent out by NAPEO speaks to the impact on small businesses. (http://www.njbiz.com/weekly_article.asp?aID=79260) What can you do? Feel free to contact your local officials to get your opinions across.
Posted October 1st, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Health, Human Resources | |
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