Batiweti Calls for Social Media Policy in Our Workplaces
Mr Batiweti said some companies were using this policy as part of their orientation as this will provide employees clarity on what they were allowed to post and what they were not allowed to post.
Monday 18 March 2019 | 01:09
Participants during the Fiji Human Resources Institute Forum at the Radisson Blu Resort on Denarau on March 15, 2019. Photo: Charles Chambers
While there is potential for leaking of confidential company information or trade secrets, stopping social media in the workplace does more harm than good.
Speaking during the Fiji Human Resources Institute Forum at the Radisson Blu Resort on Denarau on Friday, the president of FHRI Kameli Batiweti said clear guidelines would need to be set on the usage of social media.
He said these include:
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- Personal Usage
- Things to share and not share about the company
- Ways to Drive leads and revenue through social media
- Other guidelines
- Things to look out for online that could damage the company (hacks) and its reputation (trade secrets or confidential info leaks)
“On the one hand, it allows employees the freedom to interact electronically.
On the other hand he said there was a need to regulate without interfering.
“With great freedom comes greater responsibility and the the lines between “Personal” and “Professional” sometimes are blurred.
“Without a policy, your company is at risk of either facing a legal challenge, or staring at a hack in your system.
Mr Batiweti said some companies were using this policy as part of their orientation as this will provide employees clarity on what they were allowed to post and what they were not allowed to post.
“It is impossible to deny that social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have not penetrated the workplace.”
He said using similar 37 percentage of usage in workplaces from around the world, it could be assumed that with a population in Fiji of over 900,000, there were at least 337,000 people who used it in Fiji.
Mr Batiweti said not all of social media was bad as it could be used to drive leads, increase revenue, increase brand awareness and recruit best candidates.
Meanwhile, Mr Batiweti said technology would not take over human resources now or in the future.
He said the human part of this would not be there.
“Technology makes HR work efficient and has a footprint you can always go back and check on whether the process was followed correctly or not.
“The disadvantage of technology is that in long run, it will replace some of the human functions.
“However, technology cannot replace leadership, innovation and everything the human being is expected to do.”
Feedback: charles.chambers@fijisun.com.fj
