Social media has become a major part of our personal lives and increasingly has found its way into the workplace.
The modern worker is highly prone to "Doomscrolling," the act of spending an excessive amount of screen time devoted to the absorption of negative news.
According to studies, 78% think social media networks have made them jealous of other people’s lives.
You might think that social media at work shouldn’t be a problem, but the truth is that social media usage at the workplace could risk your business.
You're jeopardizing productivity and company secrets with so much social media running at work.
Here’s how you protect yourself from the risks of social media through cyber insurance and the right practices to maximize business productivity...
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Social Media Is A Problem At The Workplace
It’s surprising, but many businesses don’t have a policy in place when it comes to social media and employees. While they might have a policy on internet usage, that doesn’t mean it covers everything.
While companies can control how they allow social media in the office, many would instead not enforce it on their employees’ devices. This can pose a problem for businesses that need to improve employee productivity and morale.
31% of Americans would command between $5,001 and $10,000+ to quit social media for just one year.
All this means is they want some compensation if they are asked to drop social media at work, which businesses can’t afford.
Another problem is productivity, with 37% of employees have been spending more time on social media since switching to work-from-home.
Social media encourages idle time, which means less time spent on workplace productivity.
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Getting The Most Out Of Your Social Media Policies
To get the most from your social media, it’s essential to have a clearly defined internal policy and procedures and employee training to ensure everyone is aware of their responsibilities.
When it comes to workplace behavior, your employees must know how to protect themselves. It is best to have a written policy that covers the dos and don’ts of your online activity.
This includes what is acceptable and what isn’t. Employees must be careful about using social media because it can negatively affect their employers and themselves.
Employers Must Protect The Business From Bad Online Exposure
For a business to be successful, it needs to take the necessary steps to protect itself. Unfortunately, many companies do not take steps to safeguard against potential cyberattacks.
As a result, small businesses are left vulnerable to hackers and cybercriminals, making them easy targets. Small companies are also more susceptible to cyber-attacks because they tend to be less protected.
One type of attack that companies should protect themselves from is phishing.
As email is the primary means of communication today, it is the primary way for criminals to infiltrate your company. They pose as trusted people or organizations to trick people into providing their company personal information or confidential data.
Phishing scams are one of the most common ways malware is inserted into a company's network, compromising systems and data. Criminals are becoming more and more sophisticated in their attacks.
Aside from protecting the company, employers also must protect their online reputation. They must also protect themselves and the brand that they’re loaning out. Many brands today are widely used by their owners, so if they ever slip up, it will reflect poorly on the brand.
Businesses don’t just need to protect their customers from a bad reputation. They need to protect their employees and partners as well. Certain aspects of social media marketing, such as influencer marketing, can open your doors to many problems.
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How Cyber Insurance Reduces Social Media Risk
The fact that some companies are unprotected against cyber threats is mind-boggling. It can cost millions to remedy a data breach. Many companies go bankrupt due to one simple cyberattack.
This is especially true for small businesses, which simply don’t have the funds to pay this hefty price. While insurance companies might be hesitant to offer coverage for cybersecurity, they have to protect your best interests.
Cyber liability insurance is a way to protect your business from the risks associated with social media use within the company. CLI is comprehensive insurance that covers a wide range of exposures from hacks, cyber-attacks, and other exploits that may come from risky social media behavior.
Cyber liability insurance covers additional areas that protect you against the costs of a cyber attack. The costs can include:
- Loss of revenue
- Data breach
- System downtime
- Legal liabilities
- Intellectual property theft
- Fraudulent claims
As social media can expose you to various unscrupulous entities online, this insurance can at least provide the protections you need.
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How Can You Protect Your Business From Social Media Risks?
Many ways to protect your business and intellectual property from dangerous behaviors that can put you at risk. You can promote safe behaviors while working at the office and implementing new forms of technology.
Instead of basing your decisions on fear and doubt, you can make decisions based on fact and reality. Educate yourself on the ins and outs of the new risks, and make sure your employees are educated too.
Implementing a new strategy for business operations and social media is an excellent start. By arming yourself with the proper knowledge, tools, and strategies, you can arm yourself against the dangers of social media.
Mobile device management can help control the way users access their social media accounts on their mobile devices. If you enforce the policy, you can prevent them from accessing their social media profiles during work hours when they are inside business premises.
While you might be worried that you can also limit their communication with family and loved ones, you can give them an alternative channel to use in emergencies.
Creating Social Media Guidelines At Work
A great way to encourage productive work and good behavior is to create standards for your business. By creating standards of practice, you can establish reasonable, measurable, and doable rules.
As a business owner, you must accept that some risks come with the territory. You can’t be too restrictive or draconian in your rules and regulations. You have to see how your policies and guidelines affect workers.
A few simple steps can significantly improve your security, reduce litigation, and improve your bottom line.
1) Set Specific Guidelines
First, set specific guidelines for work-related communication. Establish rules that dictate who can use what types of accounts and for what purposes.
This ensures accountability across your employees and the stakeholders for any potential incident.
2) Determine Rules for Sharing Information
Create clear rules for sharing information. Ensure the entire workforce is informed about the rules and consequences of violating them.
Sensitive data needs to be under wraps, and while you may get cyber liability insurance, the best scenario is never to find the need to use it.
3) Provide Social Media Training
Provide training on the tools, policies, and procedures. Your staff should understand how to protect sensitive information and keep sensitive data away from prying eyes.
Understand the role of third-party providers. You must understand whether and how your staff can interact with vendors, clients, and customers through social media.
While these are just a few things to consider, there are still various other factors. You have to think about your customer base, industry, and online presence to develop the best possible strategy.
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Protect Yourself With Cyber Insurance Now
While many risks are involved with using social media platforms, there are also many benefits.
Human resources have to use all the tools at their disposal to protect the business and its employees.
It can be overwhelming to tackle this problem, but you don’t have to do it alone.
With the right experts and cyber liability insurance coverage, you can protect yourself and reduce the impact of social media on your business.
At Rogue Risk, we believe a solid commercial insurance program provides the sustainability needed for businesses to take the necessary risks for profitable growth.
If this is the relationship you want with your insurance broker, we would love to talk to you.
- You can call or text us at 518.960.6600
- Click here to contact us via email.
I look forward to introducing you to a new way of viewing your insurance program.
Thank you,
Ryan Hanley
Credits:
- Article by Sophia Young
- Photo by dole777
