This segment allows managers to ask questions that will be answered directly by our CEO, Darcy Swift. This month’s question is: Are Corrective Actions for Social Media Posts Allowed?
QUESTION: Is it okay to write a corrective action over inappropriate social media posts? I have an employee that tends to be very outspoken and wild in her personal life. At work, she is very professional and has never caused any kinds of issues. But lately, my other employees are coming in complaining about things she is saying online. She makes very bold political statements, posts graphic images and uses very foul language. My other employees are constantly talking about it and have started to request not to work with her on special projects. I spoke to her about it and she said she doesn’t understand why it matters what she does in her personal time especially since she is nothing but professional to customers and co-workers during work hours. Even so, it is obviously affecting our work atmosphere. I’m not sure what to do here; can I address issues I have with her if they don’t happen at work?
ANSWER: There has to be 2 things that happen here in order to be on the right side of things as a manager. First, if she has listed her place of employment on her social pages then she is representing the company and what she says reflects on per place of work. This allows you to address what she is posting and how it affects her professional life.
Second, in order to do a corrective action, you must have a social media policy in your handbook. Being that most everyone has social pages, it is wise to have a social media policy in your handbook adding immediate termination as an option depending on the severity. If you do not have one, I suggest you add it immediately. If you have both of these in place (place of business listed on personal pages and social media policy in handbook) then a corrective action would be appropriate.
Keep in mind, most employees do not understand how their personal activities affect their professional life so you will likely need to start with that conversation if it was not already explained during onboarding. If you add a social media policy to your handbook, you need to inform each of your employees of the additions being made to the handbook before enforcing any corrective actions.
If you have a question you want answered, please contact us HERE. We will feature one frequently asked question a month.
This segment allows managers to ask questions that will be answered directly by our CEO, Darcy Swift. This month’s question is: Are Corrective Actions for Social Media Posts Allowed?
QUESTION: Is it okay to write a corrective action over inappropriate social media posts? I have an employee that tends to be very outspoken and wild in her personal life. At work, she is very professional and has never caused any kinds of issues. But lately, my other employees are coming in complaining about things she is saying online. She makes very bold political statements, posts graphic images and uses very foul language. My other employees are constantly talking about it and have started to request not to work with her on special projects. I spoke to her about it and she said she doesn’t understand why it matters what she does in her personal time especially since she is nothing but professional to customers and co-workers during work hours. Even so, it is obviously affecting our work atmosphere. I’m not sure what to do here; can I address issues I have with her if they don’t happen at work?
ANSWER: There has to be 2 things that happen here in order to be on the right side of things as a manager. First, if she has listed her place of employment on her social pages then she is representing the company and what she says reflects on per place of work. This allows you to address what she is posting and how it affects her professional life.
Second, in order to do a corrective action, you must have a social media policy in your handbook. Being that most everyone has social pages, it is wise to have a social media policy in your handbook adding immediate termination as an option depending on the severity. If you do not have one, I suggest you add it immediately. If you have both of these in place (place of business listed on personal pages and social media policy in handbook) then a corrective action would be appropriate.
Keep in mind, most employees do not understand how their personal activities affect their professional life so you will likely need to start with that conversation if it was not already explained during onboarding. If you add a social media policy to your handbook, you need to inform each of your employees of the additions being made to the handbook before enforcing any corrective actions.
If you have a question you want answered, please contact us HERE. We will feature one frequently asked question a month.