Part 1

The risks of Employees:

Last week Facebook hit half a billion active users. Many in the insurance and reinsurance world would say “so what”, but in the most basic business, let alone complex risk management, Facebook’s risks and rewards have to be understood.

If you don’t know the risks with employees – here they are: basically your staff can go on and do oodles of reputational damage if you: a) hire substandard people who don’t know the boundaries; and b) don’t tell them they can’t. From criticising competitors to revealing trade secrets, Facebook is number 1 when it comes to giving managers the jitters.

In truth these risks have always existed- brokers mouthing off in the pub/bar, gossip on accounts by the watercooler, rivals asking employees for confidential information – but now, with social media, indiscrete (or plain stupid) comments can flash around the world in seconds. This is why this needs to be understood and managed.

Every business should have a code of conduct, which should cover pretty much everything already – but a bit of a reminder about what staff can and can’t do can really help. A social media code of conduct is essential.

Here is a quick cut-and-past guide in case you have not got one and is based on the social media guidelines we use at rein4ce.

1. Know and follow our corporate guidlines. The same rules apply online.
2. Users are personally responsible for the content they publish on blogs, Facebook LinkedIn, Twitter or any other form of user-generated media.
3. Identify yourself—name and, when relevant, role within the organisation—when you discuss the company or company-related matters. Make it clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of the company.
4. Respect copyright, fair use, and financial disclosure laws.
5. Don’t provide confidential or other proprietary information. Ask permission to publish or report on conversations that may be deemed to be private or internal to the company.
6. Don’t cite or reference clients, partners or suppliers without their approval. If you do have approval, when you do make a reference, where possible link back to the source.
7. Don’t use ethnic slurs, personal insults, obscenity, or engage in any conduct that would not be acceptable in the business.

We then have “good practice” guidelines:

• If in doubt, don’t post. If there is even a question in your head about putting something up, don’t. Stop and ask your manager for advice.
• Protect your privacy.
• Show proper consideration for others’ privacy.
• Keep away from topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory—such as politics and religion.
• Be aware of your association with he business in online social networks. I
• f you identify yourself as an employee, ensure your profile and related content is consistent with how you wish to present yourself with colleagues and clients.
• Don’t pick fights.
• Be the first to correct your own mistakes.
• Don’t alter previous posts without indicating that you have done so.
• Provide worthwhile information and perspective.
• Our business is best represented by its people and what you publish may reflect on the company.
• Be mindful that what you publish will be public for a long time, whether on pictures, video or written word. Be mindful of your image and the image you project usings social media.

Next week: Part II will be on to how to use facebook effectively as a business tool in insurance and reinsurance

Tags: facebook, insurance, reinsurance, risk, Risk Management, social media guidelines

This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 2:06 pm and is filed under facebook, insurance, reinsurance, risk, risk managment, social media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.