Social Media Policy
Employees should never post anything that is disparaging in any way to the company, its members or fellow employees. These same terms and restrictions remain in effect even after an employee’s employment with the company has ended. Failure to adhere to these terms could result in disciplinary action (including termination of employment) as well as legal action from the company and/or its clients.
The following recommendations for employees should be followed when posting in regards to your company on any social media platform:
• Grace — Gracious, it is not about us; while social media provides great opportunity to promote the company, the purpose is to promote the success of your customers and to strengthen relationships with customers, staff and community.
• Humility — A disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride.
• Loyalty — Be loyal to the brand, the company and your fellow teammates.
• Caring — Care about your customers’ experience and well-being and in everything you say and do, protect and fuel their enthusiasm for the club’s programs.
• Friendly — Social media is conversational and should be thought of in relational terms.
• Personable ,NOT personal — as the line between personal and professional gets fuzzy, this will be a continued challenge; we should always err on the side of caution.
Guidelines for Employee Personal Accounts
Because the personal and professional line is often blurred by the ubiquity of social networking, here are some basic guidelines and tools to keep employees work and social networks differentiated:
• Do not require that employees join social networks (i.e. – Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
• Do not require that employees accept friend requests or followers from staff or members.
• Any employee who does accept friend requests from staff or club members should be responsible for managing the content that is viewed by said group(s) and should not misrepresent the company’s culture, values or image.
• Be aware that even with the strongest privacy settings, what you write could potentially be viewed by anyone. Be smart before posting on your personal page! Also, keep an eye out for pictures that your friends tag you in.
• You may come across upset members, staff or bloggers. Do not engage with them! If you feel the issue requires a response, please forward the information to management.
• Employees should not comment on posts or questions until after management has had the opportunity to address the post or inquiry from the member.
Always protect your brand. Be excited about the opportunity to engage with your members and community.
Shawn Stewart is the Operations Manager at Gainesville Health and Fitness Center. Contact him at shawns@ghfc.com
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
