Code of Conduct for Social Media Use in the Office/ Workplace

It does not matter what industry you are in, it is important that every business has guidelines for the use of social media in the workplace. The social media use in the office code of conduct is very important as it lays out the points that define the best social media practices for the employees. Sometimes these social media policy for employees is required for legal reasons as well but whatever may be the case, the idea of social media use in the office code of conduct is quite important.

The rule of conduct for social media use in the office bring clarity to the employees so that they can make the right choice for themselves as well as for the company while posting anything or commenting or sharing anything. In this post, we have come up with the general but important points in relation with social media in workplace to help you with.

• Know the basic rules

Always keep in mind the basic rules when it comes to using social media in workplace to communicate or otherwise. You will always be responsible for what you have posted and therefore, you must be cautious about what you post. Make sure that you have gone through the code of business ethics of the company, the policy for data protection and other related policies of your company before posting anything so that you are aware of what you are doing and can save yourself from posting anything wrong.

• Never ever share the clients’ information

Always make sure that none of the information about the client is posted in the public domain. This can include the name of the client, the commercial information, or anything that could be used for identifying the client without having the permission of the client. You can only use information about the client that is already in the public domain. Always protect the confidential information about the client.

• Don’t share information about colleagues

You are required to protect your colleagues by not sharing any kind of detailed information about them, their roles, their contributions to the projects, their personal information, their pictures etc. If you are sharing any of their personal information then that should only be shared after seeking permission from them.

• Always stay secure

It is important to have secure passwords which you should update on regular basis. It is not recommended to use corporate email addresses for creating personal accounts on social media platforms. Never ever you should post any images of the security pass or any other identifiable security feature of your company on social media.

• Never share your login information

Your login details are very important and therefore, you must never make a mistake of sharing them with someone else. Giving away your login details is giving away the most critical information.

• Consider copyright laws

There are so many pictures, videos and other content that is available online but before posting any of it for commercial purpose, one must make sure that there are no copyright issues involved with it. Never post any links from other websites or pages without checking with them if they authorize sharing the content.

• Never make critical comments

It is not recommended to make any kind of discouraging remarks on your business partners, colleagues or any other professional associates over social media platforms.

• Always be respectful

Make sure that whatever material or content you are posting it is not sexist, racist or has any other discriminatory or harassing intent. It is always important to be respectful towards everyone or else you can end up yourself in a legal turmoil.

• Always be constructive

Make sure that you use social media as a platform to build healthy associations. Therefore, it is important tor respect different people and their different views in order to have healthy and constructive conversations with them.

• Be transparent

It is important for one to be always honest about his or her role or position while communicating with anyone. Only authorized persons should be representing the company and one must not represent one’s company if one is not responsible for doing so.

These are some of the guidelines that will ensure that you enjoy benefits of using social media in the workplace. The use of social media in the workplace policy is very important and the points mentioned above say it all.