The social media challenges for HR

There is no denying social media's popularity and commercial advantages in the modern corporate environment, but employers face a difficulty in controlling its usage to minimize productivity loss, reduce the risk of discrimination, and guarantee the confidentiality of business information.

The hazy line between work life and personal interests presents a big difficulty for businesses in managing social media use. In the past, courts were hesitant to permit an employee's dismissal for after-hours activities, and employers typically had no jurisdiction to control activities unrelated to job. (AHRI, 2013).  

Figure 01: Social media challenges for HR

Social media can be a great tool for making connections with people and a powerful way to expand your network. It can, however, present HR with a variety of difficulties. As a result, every organization needs to have a social media policy and disciplinary process in place to address any potential issues.

According to My HR toolkit, (2021) following are some potential difficulties HR may have about social media:

Video (Social media pros & Cons)

Misuse of the sick leave policy

Employees uploading pictures of themselves socializing or having fun on vacation while they are on sick leave is one of the most frequent problems HR must deal with. For instance, sharing pictures of a recent jump while they are away with a back injury or blogging about being on vacation when they are away with poor mental health. Although it is a difficult scenario, HR should not act hastily in this case.

Instead, spend some time talking to the worker to understand the situation better. In fact, whatever pastimes a person with mental health concerns engages in could help them resolve their troubles in a constructive way. When HR encounters this, other workers typically have already sent in the supporting documentation. This can be more difficult if the company's personnel have private social media accounts since they may ask you how you found the post.

Reputational harm

Another frequent problem HR faces is employees criticizing their firm on social media. Although social media is personal, it is improper to criticize your employer on your platform. You must protect yourself in this regard because it will depend on the HR policy you have in place. As it may harm their reputation and employee brand, employees shouldn't disparage their workplace on social media.

Excessive use

Employees utilizing social media excessively at work is another issue that HR frequently faces. You might permit social media use during breaks, subject to your social media policy. Employees shouldn't use it excessively, though. Social media usage may be quite seductive, and it can be challenging to keep an eye on it without micromanaging your staff. Monitoring productivity is the most effective technique to comprehend how social media is used. It's possible that social media use is the cause of decreased productivity. In this situation, you can bring up social media usage with staff members and remind them of your guidelines.

The excessive use of social media by employees at work is another problem that HR routinely deals with. Depending on your social media policy, you might allow people to use social media during breaks. However, employees shouldn't abuse it. Utilizing social media can be highly alluring, and it can be difficult to monitor it without micromanaging your team. The best way to understand how social media is used is to monitor productivity. The use of social media may be the root of the decline in output. You can bring up social media usage with staff members in this situation and remind them of your rules.

Safety and security

When employees have access to the business' social network, there are additional worries about safety and security. This can frequently become a problem, particularly when employees leave and access is left unchanged. Because of this, businesses need to have strict policies to ensure that employees can no longer access social media after leaving their jobs.

Confidentiality lapses

When employees violate confidentiality, social media presents even another issue for businesses. Posts related to company's earnings, layoffs, client information, etc. may be included. In one instance, a theater company used its social media profile to announce that it would be going out of business. As a result of their failure to conduct a suitable redundancy consultation, the former employees received a payout. A move like this causes HR a lot of trouble. In addition to harming the company's and those connected to its reputation, it also makes matters financially worse.

 

Figure 02: Using social media effectively

Social media can be a powerful tool when used effectively. It can, however, be abused, which presents problems for HR. Therefore, every company should have a social media policy outlining what behavior is expected of employees when using the platform. (Kaplan Andreas M, Haenlein, 2010)

 

References

AHRI, (2013).  social-media-challenge for HR [Online] Available from  https://www.hrmonline.com.au/section/opinion/social-media-challenge/  [Accessed on 29th November 2022]

My HR toolkit, (2021).  The biggest social media challenges for HR? [Online] Available from https://www.myhrtoolkit.com/blog/hr-use-social media#:~:text=Employees%20talking%20badly%20about%20their,cover%20yourself%20in%20this%20area.  [Accessed on 29th November 2022]

Kaplan Andreas M, Haenlein, (2010) Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media, "Michael Business Horizons" Vol. 53, pp.59-68.

Okazaki S., Taylor Charles R. (2013): social media and international advertising: theoretical challenges and future directions, "International Marketing Review", Vol. 30 Iss 1 pp. 56 – 71.