Recent studies show that 69% of Americans utilize social media. As social media usage increases, social media screening has become a common and effective way to protect businesses. As reported in a recent (2018) Career Builder survey, 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process, and about 43% use social media monitoring to check on current staff.
The reason: employee social media screening can protect your company’s reputation and help keep your business running smoothly.
Besides finding a high-quality social media screening company, what is your role in the social media screening process? How can you make social media screening useful for your business?
Here are five decisions you will need to make on your social media screening and monitoring journey.
Determine which roles should be screened and monitored
Certain organizations benefit when the entire staff is subject to consistent social media monitoring. For others, there are only specific groups that require monitoring.
Some schools monitor their leadership, educators, and public-facing staff, and others add their student-athletes’ social media accounts. Periodically monitoring those accounts helps protect the reputation of the school and the student-athlete.
Analyzing the structure of your organization and determining which groups require adherence to a code of conduct will help you decide which roles should be evaluated.
Determine the frequency of screening and monitoring
Another important decision is the frequency of screening and monitoring. Pre-employment screening helps Human Resources and the Hiring Agent determine if there are issue that could have a negative impact on the organization. In terms of monitoring employees, while most organizations choose monthly monitoring, it may appropriate for you to consider weekly or quarterly. The vital aspect of frequency is to remain consistent because inconsistency will hamper your ability to uphold a firm social media policy.
Using customizable software, like Social Media 23’s AI-oriented application and reporting, makes it easy to effectively screen candidates prior to employment and monitor employee’s social media accounts without interfering with employee privacy.
Determine criteria
One of the most critical jobs that you will have in the screening process is determining what types of social media activity and content will be monitored. Developing and implementing a social media Code of Conduct will help you establish social media guidelines for your staff. Those guidelines will determine which criteria need to be monitored regularly.
Clear definitions and rules will reinforce your expectations, creating an employee atmosphere conducive to protecting your company’s reputation.
Determine review, communication, and reporting
After your social media guidelines are established, it’s crucial to determine who is in charge of reinforcing and updating them. After social media monitoring reports have been generated, they will need to be reviewed, communicated with the staff, and reported.
Whether this role is given to a department like human resources or handled by upper management, it must be handled with consistency and without the appearance of bias. Finding the right people or departments to take on this important role will determine how successful social media monitoring is for your organization.
Determine actions if there are violations
Earlier, we talked about establishing guidelines in your social media code of conduct. Another critical decision to include in your policy: What will the consequences be when employees don’t adhere to those guidelines? It’s essential to determine what actions will be taken when a violation occurs, before you begin to screen and monitor.
Communicating these consequences with your employees is just as important as sharing your guidelines. When expectations and consequences are effectively communicated, employees are much more likely to see the advantages of social media monitoring.
Protecting your Organizations Reputation
Social media monitoring can be an excellent tool for any organization and has proven to save time, hassle, and damage to reputations. Social media monitoring works best when expectations are communicated, and screening is performed regularly without the appearance of bias. The decisions that accompany social media screening and monitoring can significantly contribute to the success of the process and your business’s overall success.