IT’S time to Spring clean your company social media policy – and make sure that everyone knows the rules, says a leading business in the wake of the Gary Lineker/BBC debacle.
The BBC has launched an independent review of its social media guidelines following the boycott by sports presenters which led to Match of the Day looking very different when it aired a few weeks’ ago.
Lineker, whose message on social media platform Twitter compared the language used by the government on asylum seekers to 1930s Germany, led to him being asked to step back from hosting Match of the Day, was supported by his fellow football presenters and commentators who defended the former England striker’s right to freedom of speech.
He has since returned to the MOTD hot-seat but, says Emma Tice – head of Employment Law & HR at Derby firm Precept – there are lessons for us all to take from the very public sage.
“Football may be the national game and Gary Lineker may be considered a national treasure, but you don’t want to play the lottery with your social media policy at work,” said Emma, who has recently led a rebrand for the Mansfield Road-based company who regularly review and update company social media policies.
“I’m not a huge fan of football at the best of times, but what this whole issue has done is placed the spotlight on the impact that social media can have on your business – the good, the bad and the ugly.
“Used well, social media is a great tool to promote the business. You can even test the boundaries and have a bit of fun and, at Precept, we’re not averse to this!
“In fact, our recent rebrand antics on our own social media channels are testament to this and the crucial and important role that social media can play to get across your brand message – even if that means dressing up as a superhero, like we did recently on our own social media channels, to launch our company rebrand!”
But how can you protect your business and its reputation, should something go wrong?
“Having a robust and up to date social media policy is key,” said Emma, “and now is the perfect time to give yours a make-over.
“Social media has been around for years now but, unfortunately so have many company social media policies, and whilst the policy has stood still, unchanged, social media has changed beyond all recognition and is now as much a part of everyday life as brushing your teeth.
“Ensure that you are raising awareness in the workplace about what is and what is not acceptable use of social media. Commonly employees behave on business-related social media, such as LinkedIn.
“However, they can forget any associations with the business on their personal accounts, such as Facebook and Instagram. Your policy needs to cover both.
“Things like defamatory comments about the business, bullying of staff and other comments and remarks that may damage the reputation of the company all need to be carefully set out to employees – both in writing and in a refresh sessions, as well as the consequences for them if they do break the rules.”
Precept – formerly BMcPrecept – rebranded earlier this month to reflect their personable approach and celebrate expansion.
Managing director Rob Tice has spent 20 years as an employment law and HR specialist solicitor. In May 2019, he teamed up with Alan Watson – head of the Barron McCann group of companies – to launch BMc Precept, offering outsourced HR, training, online HR resources and HR & Employment Law and employment tribunal defence.
But after a period of growth in which the Derby-based business increased its number of staff from one to five, the decision was made to go rebrand to more fully portray the business they are, and the personality that they have.
Rob said: “The journey started with Barron McCann and we don’t want to lose that association but we felt that now was the right time to shape it more to fit us, what we do and what we are.
“What we offer at Precept is quite unique; we’re trying to get the business to be a 50/50 split between HR and employment law, and offer qualified lawyers at Precept who are also capable of taking on HR issues, too, like reviews of social media policies.
“We’re very hands-on and we want to continue to stick to our core principles and continue to build relationships with our clients.”
Rob has a wealth of experience – he joined Flint Bishop after training as a solicitor in the City of London, and became a partner in the firm in 2004. His wife Emma now heads up the employment law and HR team at Precept that includes Associates Philip Pearson-Batt and Robyn Smith, and executive PA Catherine Harrison.
Rob takes great pride in Precept’s ‘fresh and accessible’ approach, and no-nonsense attitude.
“We want our clients to feel comfortable in asking what they perceive as ‘simple’ questions; we want to drop the jargon,” said Rob.
“And although we’re growing as a business – we have clients all over the UK; being able to hold meetings virtually has helped massively with the growth of our business – we want to continue to have that personable approach.”
