Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/314415
18 FEDA News & Views 18 FEDA News & Views IDEAS TO GROW BY The best advice Ace Mart's Carl Gustafson can give to anyone considering draft- ing a social media policy is don't wait until you need one. That's where his com- pany found itself a little over a year ago when a sketchy post, involving someone in a leadership position, made its way through a network of friends. "We had nothing in writing and no guidelines concern- ing social media, so we were not in a good position to deal with it as a company," says Gustafson. Which is surpris- ing, since the San Antonio-based distributor has always prided itself on being forward-thinking in everything from its stance on how it goes to market to its decision to launch an online presence 10 years ago. Today, Acemart.com has matured into a full-fledged eco- nomic arm of the company and is run by the distributor's web development team. It's practically been around as long as the website itself. But the focus has become more inclusive, shift- ing from merely just growth to heightening the brand. Keeping pace on the HR side of things, Ace Mart's employ- ee handbook has included a longstanding electronic media policy for years and covers guidelines for the appropriate use of the Internet and Personal Communication Devices (PCD's), including personal laptop computers, smart phones, pads and pagers. "Numerous studies have documented the potential for abusing PCD's in the workplace—from loss of productivity to liability concerns over an associate texting while operating a company vehicle," says Gustafson. "As we developed this section of our handbook, we tried to walk the delicate line of supporting and embracing our associates' use of the latest in personal devices, while also establishing proper boundaries for their use in the workplace." Until recently, what had been missing from the company's handbook was a section addressing social media use. For many, establishing parameters has been tricky as employers and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continue to bump heads over an employee's freedom to post. To coun- ter the uncertainties that come along with a society hooked on social media, companies insist that they should have the right to protect themselves against anyone seeking to trample their brand. And since 2010, when it began receiving charg- es related to employers' social media policies, the NLRB's response has been a resounding--it depends. Longtime Human Resources vet Nancye Combs has helped dozens of companies rewrite their policies and advises employers to become acquainted with the National Labor Rights Act (NLRA) before attempting to implement change. "The leap your mind needs to take, as an employer, is to recognize that the NLRB has decided that an employee who posts complaints about an employer is exercising his/her rights under the NLRA (regardless of whether it's a union or non-union member)," she says. "Thus, that is protected activity. Anything the employer does that 'would reasonably tend to chill employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights under the NLRA to discuss wages, hours and working conditions,' would be targeted as an unlawful work rule by the NLRB (according to the opinion) and that includes policy statements." In response to employers' pleas for clarity, the NLRB issued three reports detailing the results of investigations in several social media cases (which in many instances only served to underscore the muddiness surrounding the issue). In the third report released in 2012, for example, only one case out of the seven examined was ruled completely lawful. In the others, some provisions were deemed to be lawful and some were deemed unlawful (as determined by their infringement of rights under the NLRA, such as the right to discuss wages and working conditions with co-workers). "There's a fine line between what you can say and what you can't in a social media policy, particularly involving what an employee does after hours," says Gustafson. "You can't stop a person from venting because that's freedom of speech, but what we attempt to do in our policy is encourage employees to use existing channels of communication within the com- pany…that if they have a concern or grievance, there are lots of ways to resolve it. And we went to great pains to let them know that every associate has a responsibility in terms of what's posted, how it represents Ace Mart and how it repre- sents the associate themselves." So if a friend of a friend posts a distasteful or compromising picture of an Ace Mart employee, they're responsible for the damage control. "That's where I think people get in trouble," says Gustafson. "Instead of blocking the post when they see it on their personal feed, they do nothing." Don't let the terminology intimidate you. Feeds and friends aside, when crafted properly, a company's social media poli- cy will jibe with traditional objectives, say experts. Meaning, they should complement existing policies as well as encour- age productivity and reinforce corporate values. Creating a Social Media Policy By Stacy Ward, Managing Editor fedastacy@verizon.net