What's So New About Social Media?
Rather than a specific social media policy, an interpretation of how a company's existing code of conduct, performance measures, etc, apply in the social media space is more scalable.
For example: spending 15 minutes on the phone making a doctor's appointment is generally considered okay. Spending all day making social calls is not. The corollary with social media is that if it takes an inordinate amount of time away from work, or otherwise impacts performance, that's not acceptable. That's not an explicit social media policy, but an application of existing rules to the social media space.
Similarly, rules about insider information put constraints on what employees can post, even without explicitly calling out rules about posting on social media sites/services.
A final example: one is unlikely to reprimand an employee for making the occasional personal photocopy on a company copy machine. But if one is self publishing a book, and using significant company resources to do so, that's an issue. Similarly, if one makes extensive use of company resources for personal social media activity, that's likely covered by existing rules about misuse of company resources.
I do like the first recommendation in the linked article the most: If there are positive uses of social media that contribute to an employee's ability to complete job responsibilities, it is worthwhile encouraging employees to make use of this new tool. But that's not a policy, per se, any more than encouraging employees to make use of a video conference room to conduct meetings with remote colleagues is a "policy."
http://socialmediatoday.com/ballywho/289271/three-must-haves-social-media-policy
For example: spending 15 minutes on the phone making a doctor's appointment is generally considered okay. Spending all day making social calls is not. The corollary with social media is that if it takes an inordinate amount of time away from work, or otherwise impacts performance, that's not acceptable. That's not an explicit social media policy, but an application of existing rules to the social media space.
Similarly, rules about insider information put constraints on what employees can post, even without explicitly calling out rules about posting on social media sites/services.
A final example: one is unlikely to reprimand an employee for making the occasional personal photocopy on a company copy machine. But if one is self publishing a book, and using significant company resources to do so, that's an issue. Similarly, if one makes extensive use of company resources for personal social media activity, that's likely covered by existing rules about misuse of company resources.
I do like the first recommendation in the linked article the most: If there are positive uses of social media that contribute to an employee's ability to complete job responsibilities, it is worthwhile encouraging employees to make use of this new tool. But that's not a policy, per se, any more than encouraging employees to make use of a video conference room to conduct meetings with remote colleagues is a "policy."
http://socialmediatoday.com/ballywho/289271/three-must-haves-social-media-policy