This document provides an overview of how organizations can get the best value from social media while mitigating risks. It discusses employer concerns around social media use, the need for clear policies, and legal issues around obtaining passwords. Guidelines are presented for creating and implementing an effective social media strategy, as well as initiatives human resources departments can take. Questions human resources professionals may face regarding social media are explored, along with best practices for recruitment and next steps human resources should take.

1. Getting the best from social media
by Toronto Training and HR
March 2013

2. 3-4 Introduction to Toronto Training and HR
5-6 What is social media?
Contents 7-9 Employer concerns
10-11 Inappropriate private behaviour
12-14 Policy considerations
15-17 Obtaining passwords
18-19 Jones v Tsige
20-22 Employment law risk areas
23-24 Sexual harassment
25-29 Creating and implementing a strategy
30-34 Questions for HR
35-37 Benefits for HR
38-40 Initiatives for HR
41-42 HR or PR?
43-45 Recruitment matters
46-48 Steps for HR to take
49-50 Conclusion and questions
Page 2

3. Introduction
Page 3

4. Introduction to Toronto Training
and HR
Toronto Training and HR is a specialist training and
human resources consultancy headed by Timothy Holden
10 years in banking
10 years in training and human resources
Freelance practitioner since 2006
The core services provided by Toronto Training and HR
are:
Training event design
Training event delivery
Reducing costs, saving time plus improving
employee engagement and morale
Services for job seekers
Page 4

5. What is social media?
Page 5

6. What is social media?
• Definition
• Statistics
• Characteristics
• Key collaboration tools
• Social media pioneers
• Lesser known sites
Page 6

7. Employer concerns
Page 7

8. Employer concerns 1 of 2
• Using information from social
media in hiring employees
• Preventing harassing activities
by employees through
electronic means
• Disciplining employees who
use social media to discuss the
terms and conditions of
employment or who post
derogatory information about
the business, its owners or
managers
Page 8

9. Employer concerns 2 of 2
• Protecting the company’s
trade secrets and confidential
information both during and
after the employment
relationship
Page 9

10. Inappropriate private
behaviour
Page 10

11. Inappropriate private behaviour
• Potential readership ?
• Was the communication
private ?
• Compatibility - with
employer’s purpose /
reputation or employee’s
role
• Criticisms of the
employer, their
employees, suppliers or
customers
• Recent cases
Page 11

12. Policy considerations
Page 12

13. Policy considerations 1 of 2
• What kind of usage is
allowed for work?
• What kind of private use is
not permissible?
• Use of the business
name/association?
• How will/may the employer
monitor use of social media
platforms?
• Clearly communicate
consequences of breaches
• What should it contain?
Page 13

14. Policy considerations 2 of 2
• Developing a policy
• Implementing a policy
• Monitoring provisions
Page 14

15. Obtaining passwords
Page 15

16. Obtaining passwords 1 of 2
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
• Accessing a candidate's personal
social media profile may lead to
uncontrolled secondary use
of personal data, such as data
regarding a candidate's friends and
family
• Once the employer is in the
possession of the data, the
employer becomes responsible for
that data and assumes liability for
the privacy issues regarding
the data
Page 16

17. Obtaining passwords 2 of 2
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
(CONT.)
• An employer may lose out on
qualified candidates who are
deterred from applying for a
position because of the employer's
practice
• Possible loss of reputation of the
employer
• Costs of legal liability should a
claim arise regarding the use of
the information gathered during
the social media background check
Page 17

18. Jones v Tsige
Page 18

19. Jones v Tsige
INTRUSION UPON SECLUSION
• One who intentionally
intrudes, physically or
otherwise, upon the seclusion of
another or his or her private
affairs or concerns, is subject to
liability to the other for invasion
of his or her privacy, if the
invasion would be highly
offensive to a reasonable person
Page 19

20. Employment law risk areas
Page 20

21. Employment law risk areas 1 of 2
• Misconduct
• Defamation
• Brand or reputational
damage
• Breach of confidentiality
• Public controversy
• Human rights
• Bullying
• Harassment
• Discrimination
Page 21

22. Employment law risk areas 2 of 2
• Productivity
• Performance
• Health & safety
Page 22

23. Sexual harassment
Page 23

24. Sexual harassment
• Always ask for evidence
• Talk to both parties
• Look for patterns in the
alleged harasser
• Make sure your sexual
harassment policy includes
information regarding personal
emails and social media
accounts
Page 24

25. Creating and
implementing a strategy
Page 25

26. Creating and implementing a
strategy 1 of 4
• What are our goals for social
media?
• What audiences are we
attempting to reach via social
media?
• What resources can we
commit to the implementation of
a social media strategy?
• Who can take the lead on
implementation of social media
strategy?
Page 26

27. Creating and implementing a
strategy 2 of 4
• Who is engaging in social
media?
• What are they saying?
• Where are the conversations
taking place?
• When are the conversations
taking place?
• Why are the conversations
taking place?
Page 27

28. Creating and implementing a
strategy 3 of 4
POINTS TO REMEMBER
• Diversify
• Stay up-to-date with
current technology
• Regularly monitor progress
• Measurable ROIs
Page 28

29. Creating and implementing a
strategy 4 of 4
IMPLEMENTATION
• Watching and learning
• Develop a clear strategy
• Get executive buy-in
• Set the necessary policies and
procedures
• Monitoring the conversation
• Evaluating the impact of your
social media plan
• Regularly review tools and
have an evolving plan
Page 29

30. Questions for HR
Page 30

31. Questions for HR 1 of 4
• What happens when your boss
sends you a friend request on
Facebook? Are you mandated
to accept it?
• What if you choose to ignore
your boss’ invite? How do you
deal with any repercussions
you sense?
• What do you do when you
notice that your peers or
subordinates are bad-
mouthing you in Facebook?
Page 31

32. Questions for HR 2 of 4
• What happens if your boss
friends your colleague but
does not accept your invite?
• What do you do when you find
a colleague at work and friend
on Facebook posts something
against your co-worker or
organization or boss?
• How should you react /
respond to tweet about your
organization, if at all?
Page 32

33. Questions for HR 3 of 4
• How should you react to
discovering that a colleague at
workplace and a friend is also
part of a group that is
detrimental to the company?
• How do you react to a
colleague (linked to you) on
LinkedIn uses the Answers
function to help "strangers"
professionally with expert
advice?
Page 33

34. Questions for HR 4 of 4
• Is it OK for you to "friend"
employees of competing
companies, in a public forum?
Do I need to declare this to
HR?
• Is it ethical for HR to Google
you before hiring you and
then making decisions based
on your affiliations (or the lack
of it) to hire (or not to hire)?
Page 34

35. Benefits for HR
Page 35

36. Benefits for HR 1 of 2
• A recruiting tool
• A communication strategy tool
• A corporate
communications/employee
engagement tool
• A performance management
tool
• A rewards and recognition tool
• A learning & development tool
• A promotion and/or internal
mobility tool
Page 36

37. Benefits for HR 2 of 2
• Improve the organization’s
reputation or employer brand
• Play a key role in the
reputation or brand
• Resources for the HR
professional
• Listen, learn and modify
• Gain more fans
• Investigate prospective
candidates and business
partners
Page 37

38. Initiatives for HR
Page 38

39. Initiatives for HR 1 of 2
• Tweet your jobs
• Engage with candidates on
LinkedIn and Twitter
• Find then connect with HR
resources on Twitter
• Use a blog
• Create podcasts for employees
• Post a YouTube video on what
it is like working at your
organization
Page 39

40. Initiatives for HR 2 of 2
• Reward employees who share
positive messages using social
platforms
• Create a LinkedIn Alumni
group
• Focus on causes or issues you
feel are important
Page 40

41. HR or PR?
Page 41

42. HR or PR?
• Don’t fire employees via e-mail
• Don’t use a social network to
talk negatively about a
previous employer
• Hire professionals where
professional expertise is
needed
• Focus on brand reputation and
customer loyalty
• Never use social media to deal
with sensitive matters or
customer complaints
Page 42

43. Recruitment matters
Page 43

44. Recruitment matters 1 of 2
• Be careful with Facebook
screening
• Don’t ask for passwords
• Change your medium based
on the candidate
• Know before you tell
• Use online tools to gauge
marketing and social media
job seekers
• Have a “Recently filled
positions” area of your website
Page 44

45. Recruitment matters 2 of 2
• Be careful with
recommendations
• Don’t forget about the smaller
sites
• Keep an eye on the
organization’s reputation
• Don’t believe everything you
see
• Act fast to preserve evidence
• Keep thorough records
Page 45

46. Steps for HR to take
Page 46

47. Steps for HR to take 1 of 2
• Review each process in the HR
domain in your organization to
assess the current state
• Understand your
organization’s HR strategy, as
well as challenges to define
the opportunity
• Complete a holistic review of
your organization’s social
media presence, governance
and policies
Page 47

48. Steps for HR to take 2 of 2
• Understand best and emerging
practices
• Develop a strategy and
implementation roadmap to
incorporate what has been
learnt
• Create process to monitor and
evolve the strategy
Page 48

49. Conclusion and questions
Page 49

50. Conclusion and questions
Summary
Videos
Questions
Page 50