BC Business
Creating a usage policyDrawing the line between business and personal use on office technology is more complicated than a blanket policy for all employees.
Managing internal communications in the world of Twitter, Facebook and mobile phones is a complicated matter. Where do you draw the line between business and personal for office technology use?
With many of us managing our entire lives on mobile devices, it’s harder than ever to draw the boundary between personal time and work time. Is updating your Facebook status an important marketing tool or a waste of company time? When does an innocent email check at the office turn into grounds for dismissal? How can employers make these distinctions clear to employees? For answers, we spoke with three experts: Michelle Ward, director of National PR; David Litherland, managing partner at Summit Search Group; and Scott Michaels, vice-president of Atimi Software Inc.
The most important tool you can employ around workplace technology is common sense, says Michaels. Sometimes personal use of office technology is unavoidable, but Litherland insists that employees “keep realistic” about what’s acceptable. A good rule of thumb is that anything you would not want to share with your employer (be it a job application, or photos from your weekend in Las Vegas) should never be found on your company computer or smart phone.
Think you can skip setting an IT usage policy? Think again. When handing out smart phones and laptops, “you’re giving somebody a loaded gun and just expecting that they won’t do anything wrong with it,” says Litherland. Ward agrees, adding that establishing formal IT policies is absolutely necessary because they ensure that “everyone knows what the expectations are.” If your company has a zero tolerance policy on Facebook use, everyone must be made aware of that.
Employers can bet that as technology continues to change, the next new thing will require them to, once again, update their IT policy. “It’s a constant evolution,” says Ward, and to stay ahead of the curve employers have to be willing to make changes. Michaels notes that technology has caused “a lot more blending of the personal and private,” and refusing to adapt will only cause increasing challenges for HR and IT departments.
Some companies not only allow employees to browse sites such as YouTube and Craigslist, but require it as part of their job, while others have no need to include Internet use in their employees’ daily schedules. According to Michaels, it’s all about what makes sense for your company. Ward adds that her employees use smart phones for both professional and personal purposes, but they must remember that all technology provided by their employer is “subject to the same rules that apply to office computers.”
For most employers, productivity is the name of the game, and an employee’s number one responsibility during business hours “is to be getting work done,” says Ward. Litherland agrees, noting that even in the most liberal office, as soon as personal activities interfere with job performance, “there’s obviously an issue there.” Conducting any personal business at work is a bonus, not a right, and while your boss may be OK with you sending a quick tweet, spending an hour perusing Twitter is clearly an abuse of this privilege.