Should HR keep an eye on employees' social media?

Every organization has a culture, a system of values and principles. No organizations on earth are neutral in politics, social and economic values, principles, and objectives. Organizations are shaped by the forces of their communities, owners, boards of directors, executive management, and line managers.

Every employee has three options: a) embody the system, b) not believe in the system but always show respect and adherence to it regardless of whether people are watching, and c) do not respect the system and show that in public. Employees who choose the first two routes are not going to make trouble. The latter are the bad ones, the employees who show no respect for the organization, its value, and management in a public setting and on social media.

The bad employees are those who make a foul claim in public about the organization and on social media make statements that negate the direction of the organization, its owners & board, and executive management, and are even involved in misconduct that is not aligned with the professional code of conduct.

Employees' social media, including LinkedIn, should be monitored to detect these conducts.

Do you wish to restrict people's rights to privacy and freedom to express their thoughts?

No, but…

An employee who:

·      Gloats on the organization's shortcomings or failures in subtle or not-so-subtle ways on social media or public settings or  

·      endorses, retweets, or reposts on Facebook, posts pictures on Instagram that endorse or support discrimination and human abuse or support political directions against that of the country or the owners of the organization, or

·      discloses private information about the organization,

·      Bad-mouth on social media, directly or subtly, or insinuate statements that negatively affect the management, the board, the shareholders of the organization, or

·      publicly advertises conduct on social media that is construed as unfavorable in the eyes of the organization's customers, vendors, shareholders, or management,

should be left unchecked, unmonitored, and not accountable? No, as far as my point of view is concerned.

Should an employee who lies on LinkedIn, mischaracterizing his/ her titles, responsibilities, or qualifications, causing embarrassment to the organization and its management, be left unchecked to protect his/her rights and privacy? Again, no.

So, should an HR monitor its employees' social media and LinkedIn?

Employees should be informed at the onset that they will be monitored. I do not mean monitoring, applying Shoulder Surfing, spying, or asking for login details of the personal profiles. But they should be made aware that they are going to be monitored, and they should also be kept informed that if there are any deviations from the set of values of the system, disciplinary action will be applied.

In some developed countries, such as the UK, inflating claims or mischaracterizing titles and job responsibilities is considered a crime, called Resume Fraud Crime. So, I believe an organization has the full right to monitor its employees' ethics in their disclosure and conduct on social media.

However, monitoring employees' social media is not only about misconduct, disclosure of private information, or negatively commenting on the organization or its management & shareholders. It is about monitoring what kind of people are onboarded, especially senior or executive management.

For instance, a member of executive management who is a laughing stock by posting on social media pictures or videos or commenting on platforms that do not sync well with that member's professional or social stature gives an indication to the higher management about the intrinsic character.  

But is it legal?

No law prohibits HR staff from reading posts or viewing pics or videos employees post on social media. Posts on social media could be used as evidence in a court of law in litigations against employees in favor of employers. For instance, a malingerer in the UK lied about sick leave. She reported being sick for a week. Meanwhile, she posted pictures of her picnic on her Facebook. She was dismissed for lying and sued.

Furthermore, Social media give away signs of personality profiles for recruitment. A CareerBuilder survey found that 57% of the surveyed organizations refused to interview candidates who do not have social media profiles because posts reveal the person's character far more than what the references or resumes indicate. Another survey showed that 90% of the surveyed organizations use social media for hiring filtering, and 70% of that 90% admitted that they refused candidates based on what they viewed on these profiles.

In sum, I believe an organization has the ethical, legal, and professional grounds to monitor its employees' LinkedIn profiles and social media platforms.