Response to article: Helping Workers understand and follow social media policies

Social Media policies are used by a number of companies as a remedy to manage and deal with all social media issues and challenges. However, many companies employ social media policies as a check box rather than it being a strategic document to guide both the employer and employees on the expectations and conduct required when interacting on these platforms.

The article written by Kimberly, Gordon and Michelle in 2016 addresses two fundamental issues that companies should take into account in order to effectively deploy a social media policy in their organisation. The first point being that companies should ensure that their social media policy is correctly drafted to protect them in all aspects of management and risk exposures relating to social media i.e. the policy should not be written in a way that seeks to infringe legally protected rights of their employees such as freedom of expression. However it must deal firmly with any act or negative content that may compromise the organisation in the public and its potential customers.

Secondly, companies should ensure that proper training and awareness is rolled out to educate employees on all expectations and consequences thereof. The study by Schmidt and O’Connor in 2015 indicates that many workers who gets terminated as a result of their social media post, were unaware of the consequences of their act. Therefore, companies have a responsibility to roll out programs and trainings (i.e. face to face training, Video learning and online questionnaires) to ensure that employees are fully aware of their actions and expected conduct when interacting on social media platforms.

The writers of the article pointed out very clearly the role employer should play, to effectively enforce a social media policy. However, the writers only talk about posts that are deemed inappropriate about company. Which is an incomplete approach because at times employees make posts that are not about the company but contrary to social norms or offensive to the human rights of other people. In such cases the company still has to act against the employees, especially if their posts have a potential to compromise the company reputationally or financially. For example, the case of Penney Sparrow, where she posted racist comments on Facebook. Those comments had nothing to do with the company she worked for, however she was release from her duties in order to protect the reputation of Jawitz properties.

It is in light of the above background, that companies should take a proactive stance by consulting attorneys to ensure that the company’s social media policy is consistent with state laws and regulations. Additionally, the company should also ensure that they can hold their employees accountable on the bases of the social media training and awareness programs they deploy.

For reference on the article, refer to: http://0-ac.els-cdn.com.innopac.wits.ac.za/S0007681315001470/1-s2.0-S0007681315001470-main.pdf?_tid=812a8bda-1a2d-11e6-9300-00000aacb360&acdnat=1463269522_a0c42b4d0e38e53f2b8159351e45ac6e

Pwc - Social media success through governance and risk management

Many companies and individual find it difficult to roll out a social media governance program because they think by having a social media policy then they have enforced Social Media Governance. The below video by Pwc gives a very nice synopsis of what Social Media is and how it relates to governance  particularly from a risk management perspective.

Social Media Impact over the years

Social Media has changed many lives over the years. Organisations have seen reductions in communications expenses, marketing resources and many other operational efficiencies that resulted in them focusing on servicing customers better. Moreover social media has enables business to reach customers and interact with them in order to address their respective needs and concerns. The below video gives staggering statistics of how social media has change the lives of people, business and the society at large.  

Response on the EWN Report -Judge Jansen’s rape comments

        

For reference on the EWN press report, refer to: http://ewn.co.za/2016/05/10/ANC-More-needs-to-be-done-to-transform-judiciary

According to the article by Kaplan published in 2010 Social media is based on the ideology that users should not only be consumers of information but rather they should also be participants on the internet. It is with the above understanding that Social Media application are designed to enable users to create, interact, collaborate and share content as oppose to just consuming it.

This ability or functionality of social media to allow user to be active participants online enables many users to openly express themselves and share information without any social barriers, protocol and supervision, mainly because they interact in the comfort of their own space. Many social media users feel that these platforms allow them freedom of expression in its true sense because they can share whatever they like, whenever they like. 

Over the years, we have seen social media platforms being the centre of many disputes between organizations and their members or employees. In most instances, if there is a social media offence, it is normally committed by the offender in their own personal social media profile. However, not many companies are friendly to this excuse as the offence implicates them both financially and reputationally.

Looking at the very recent rape comments by Judge Mabel Jansen where she claimed that rape was part of black culture and that black men believe it’s their right to sexually assault women and children. These comments were not received well by the public, as such; many retaliated on social media with comments and at times insults which seemed to condemn the racial remarks. The Black Lawyers Association (BLA) is amongst the many organisations advocating for the resignations of Judge Mabel Jansen. Furthermore, political parties and other civil right organisations support the call for Judge Mabel Jansen to step down as the incident can potential perpetuate racism if it is not dealt with firmly. Furthermore, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has also confirmed that a formal complaint has been lodged against Judge Mabel Jansen.

Gillian Schutte who made Judge Mabel Jansen comments public, states that the comments were made last year in 2014 however never received attention of the judiciary. It is very unfortunate or rather strange that the comments are only going viral now however, it is such cases where one should be reminded of the power of social media. It is in this light that users should align themselves with the recommendations of Johnston’s article published in 2014, where he emphasized that users should be responsible and remember that anything posted on social media can go viral, no matter what your privacy settings may be.

The above advice is not only applicable to individuals but also organizations. It is also worth noting that the judiciary as an institution is unclear on how to deal with Judge Mabel Jansen social media predicament, particularly within the social space.  As such, many misconceptions regarding the case are being perpetuated, resulting in the integrity of the judiciary being compromised. This event alone reinforces the need for organizations and institutions to have a robust Social Media Governance in place to effectively deal with all social media risks and incidences whiles realizing the value and benefits of social media.

Auditing of Social Media Governance

               

Many companies have developed the interest to appeal to the markets or their constituency through social media. However, very few have an understanding or capacity of implementing Social Media Governance in order to effectively interact with their customers and to maintain such relationships.  For this reason, not many companies or institutions are proactive in ensuring that they are protected against social media vulnerabilities and also how they would deal with social media crises should they occur.

There are only a few organisations or associations that have taken it upon themselves to robustly drive social media governance with a view to protect and ready companies to deal with social media risks exposures. One of them is the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) which is body that predominantly deals with IT governance, information security, Risk and controls.
ISACA has defined the requirements necessary for organisations to adhere to, in order for them to substantially reduce social media risk. These requirements are defined in the document called Social Media Audit/Assurance Program which was published in 2011. This document gives practitioners a comprehensive guidance and view on what is expected for a well-managed Social Media 

Environment. For example, the document talks about how COBIT process can be used to manage some aspects of social media i.e. “DS7- Educate and train user” strengthens that users or employees should receive training on what is expected from them when interacting on social media. Additionally the document goes on to tabulate the key concerns and expected controls which can be tested or employed to mitigate the social media risks.

It is in this light that IT auditors who are part of ISACA have taken it upon themselves to enforce or drive Social Media Governance to assist their clients or organisations to reduce their social media risk exposure. Though the audits they conduct they provide assurance on the adequacy and effectiveness of existing social media controls. In a case where there are any audit findings, management is then charged with the responsibility to action and address the issues. This approach has positively changed many organisations particularly those that get audited, to change their mind-set on how they deal with social media risks.

The necessity for employing governance on Social media

Social Media Governance is a relatively new phenomenon within the Information Technology (IT) space. In the organisational governance hierarchy, Social Media Governance falls under IT Governance with the likes of Information Security governance,   System development governance etc. Social Media Governance comes as a result that many companies are being victimised and misrepresented on social media. As such the purpose of social media governance is to provide a comprehensive guidance on how companies can harness the power of social media while reducing their vulnerability and risk exposures.

According to Fink and Zerfass (2010) Social Media Governance involves strategies, guidelines for staff, monitoring tools, and a range of support mechanisms to inform and guide social media use including training. However, many people and organisations mistaken a social media policy to be representing Social Media Governance.  As much as a social media policy is an integral part of Social Media Governance, it should be understood that there are a number of components and aspects that constitutes Social Media Governance.  Below is a synopsis of some of the fundamental aspects to be considered when planning or implementing as Social Media Governance program  

• Social Media Strategy:  the social media strategy gives a view on what the company intends to achieve by participating on social media and how they intent to realise their social media   objectives. All social media activities and programs should align the social media strategy.

• Data privacy and control:  This aspect deals with the rules that users or employees should follow when they are participating on social media and to ensure that the data being disseminated is not confidential. Additionally, this aspect covers the issues around access management to these social platforms.

• Social Media Policy: this documents details all expectations in terms of employee conducts, consequences, roles and responsibilities etc.  This policy serves as a guiding document for both the employer and employee when dealing with social media issues.  

• Training and awareness: It is very important that all stakeholders implicated by the policy receives training to ensure  that there is an understanding of what is expected from them and also that they acknowledge the policy to confirm their understanding of the policy

• Monitoring and correction: This aspect of Social media governance ensures that there is continuous monitoring of all social media activities to proactively detect any concerns from customers and to ensure that all issues gets address. Failure to do so will result in an irreversible reputational damage to the business.

• Crisis Management: should there be any social media controversy in the company, it should always be clear who does what to avoid contradictions amongst organisational members. For example, should an employee post an inappropriate statement that goes viral on social media, the company should be in a good position to know who will respond, who approves the contents and processes of disciplinary

According to the FERF study, 55 per cent of their respondents say social media will be an important component of their corporate marketing efforts going forward and 66 per cent further indicated that they foresee their company use of social media increasing over the next 12 months. These statistics reinforces the point that social media services enable new forms of socialisation for which, when managed successfully, companies will effectively communicate and conduct their businesses. Therefore, companies that employ Social Media Governance do not only inspire confidence to their customers but also reduce their vulnerability and risk exposures on these social platforms.   

Social Media Risks and Impact

In my previous blog titled “Social Media value for businesses” I spoke about the opportunities that are presented my social media and the need for businesses to rethink their strategy on how they engage and connect with their customers. The inspiration for companies to use social media for corporate communications is reinforced by the study conducted by Postman in 2009 which indicates that social media enhances brand awareness and perception, promotes better engagement with stakeholders and presents a richer experience and interaction with users.

These benefits noted above have resulted in a substantial number of companies participating in social media platforms to exploit the existing communication opportunity. However, other companies choose to remain conservative in how they engage and communicate with their customers, which usually depend on the nature of their business. For instance, companies in construction and mining generally do not participate in social media platforms, mainly because their customers are companies and organisations as opposed to ordinary individuals.

What many companies and individuals are unaware of is that social media is dynamic because it comes with inherent risks which do not only impact companies that subscribe to social media but also those who do not subscribe. For example, the bridge that collapsed in Grayston drive Sandton killing three people resulted in a social media outcry which costed Murray and Roberts dearly. This was mainly because Murray and Robert had no social media presence and the misconceptions around what transpired in the collapse were never address on social media, therefore leaving an irreversible reputational damage on the company.     

Below is a brief discussion on some of the risks companies are subjected to, irrespective of whether they actively participate on social media or not.

• Fraudulent or hijacked corporate presence – individuals and competitors open bogus social media sites to dent the reputation of companies that do not have official social media platforms i.e. Twitter, Facebook etc. which  costs many companies both reputationally and financially.
• Misrepresentation of company values and policies - employees at times make reckless or inappropriate statements in their personal social media platforms which may contradict the values of the company they work for. These employees are perceived by the out side world as the ambassadors of their companies, therefore their actions should be monitored not to compromise the image of the company. Companies that fail to reprimand such employees are usually lambasted by media, civil society, political parties and other civil rights organisations which may cost them financially and sometimes result in them being insolvent.
  

• Inappropriate or unapproved use of company intellectual property (IP) - Some people or sometimes employees use company IP such as logos or trademarked material inappropriately. Failure to detect such may result in a misrepresentation of the company which affects their branding and how they are received by their customers.
  

• Introduction of viruses and malware – social media platforms presents new ways in which internal IT systems are exploited or compromised. This is because malware gets introduced through these social platforms. At times employees are victims of phishing as they are not trained on how they should identify or deal with such attempts by cyber criminals.
  

In context of these risks noted above, it is therefore imperative for companies to take a proactive stance on managing social media risks in order to realise the full value of social media. However in order to manage social media risks successfully, one needs to follow best practices to ensure a systematic approach when addressing all aspects or challenges of social media. Hence the birth of Social Media Governance which provides a comprehensive guidance on how companies can harness the power of social media. In my next blog, I am going to discuss in depth the need and expectations to implement a robust Social Media Governance program.