Staff Social Media Behavior is a Risk for Christian Schools: Fact or Fiction?

In a standard job application, you would typically receive a one-page resume and a handful of information about the potential-hire. Still, wouldn’t you like to know more about that person’s character?

When it comes to educators (especially in a Christian school), we have the highest of expectations. This hire will be expected to educate and interact with children on a daily basis- arguably one of the most impactful jobs.

How can be you be sure that this person is a good role model for your students? How can social media monitoring help your school?

Fact: Social media monitoring helps in hiring decisions.

Have you ever heard the saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? When making hiring decisions, it’s vital that schools hire educators that adhere to their standards. In recent years, several teachers have been fired because of their behavior on social media. One teacher had even been using social media for messaging someone about obtaining drugs. Most schools have strict policies against intolerance, violence, and illegal behavior, but it is equally important that schools can enforce those policies. Whether your school is screening for new hires or monitoring existing personnel, social media screening locates red flags associated with these behaviors and helps prevent unwanted situations.

Fiction: Screening a potential hire’s social media account is easy.

Social media screening is a lot more involved than simply looking up a profile and scanning the last few posts. CareerBuilder has reported that 57% of survey participants have found social media behavior that caused them not to hire a candidate. A company that uses a software-based solution to screen social media can quickly review a candidate’s history on a variety of platforms and pinpoint any red flag behaviors. Depending on what state you live in, it can be illegal to view a candidate’s age, race, gender, and other information. A social media screening company will reduce the risk of bias and provide you with consistency and a thorough analysis of the screening.

Fact: Social media screening and monitoring reduces risk.

Social media screening is a safeguard for your school. While it is a great way to investigate potential hires, ongoing social media monitoring also helps maintain standards with existing employees. A thorough social media policy is a great way to prevent future turmoil within your school. Enforcing the policy through screening and monitoring will protect the reputation of your school, and, more importantly, ensure the safety of your students.

Overall, social media behavior can tell you a lot about potential or current employees. Monitoring for these behaviors through a social media screening company protects your students, staff, and school’s reputation.