South Florida CEO Roundtable: CEOs explain their social media policies
This week’s question: Does your company have a social media policy? If so, how do you advise your employees to behave online? If you don't have one, please explain your reasoning.
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As a service-driven profession, our people are our brand. Thus, we just ask that they use good judgment and respect client privacy.
Ramon Abadin, president, The Florida Bar, and partner, Sedgwick Law Firm
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We don’t have an explicit one, nor would we. I’m a firm believer in personal responsibility and treating people like adults. Our employees will show us in the best light. If they don’t love us then we need to work harder to earn their love. Censorship is not the answer, openness is the only way we know how to function.
Brian Brackeen, CEO, Kairos
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We encourage our employees to share ideas, develop new business connections and engage in meaningful conversations online. Social media is a force that’s hard to ignore and one that can be beneficial when used wisely. I often get important community news and learn about national trends from Twitter and Facebook. We advise our team members to be respectful and professional when engaging on social platforms.
Carol Brooks, president and co-founder, CREC (Continental Real Estate Companies)
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The InterContinental Miami has stated guidelines and an expectation that our employees are using social media responsibly and professionally. Our team members are free to express themselves in their own time, but being in the hospitality business means making sure employees know they are a reflection of our hotel, regardless of whether they are on or off property.
Robert Hill, general manager, InterContinental Miami
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As a financial institution, Marquis Bank is held to a different standard when it comes to its online communications, so we felt that it was extremely important to establish a social media policy for our employees. While all employees are encouraged to “Like” or “Share” Marquis Bank posts, only authorized personnel may engage in social media on behalf of Marquis Bank. It’s safer that way. We also dissuade them from linking our company page to their personal Facebook page, because we do not want their personal behavior to reflect on the bank. It’s not our place to tell them what kind of pictures or links or opinions to share on their personal page, but we also need to make sure that their personal activity doesn’t suggest that it correlates to the bank.
Miriam Lopez, president/chief lending officer, Marquis Bank
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Our social media policy reminds staff that we are all brand ambassadors at all times. While we encourage participation in social media, we expect staff to use sound judgment and common sense, adhere to organizational values and numerous confidentiality agreements, follow our Code of Ethics and never speak on behalf of the organization.
Harve A. Mogul, president and CEO, United Way of Miami-Dade
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Every day, our company is the subject of considerable discussion on the Internet. If our employees choose to engage in that discussion, we feel it’s imperative that they follow some very important but simple guidelines that begin with respect, authenticity and tolerance. DHL understands the prevalence of social media in today’s world so rather than discouraging its use, we feel it’s better for our corporate culture to simply provide guidance for our employees.
Mike Parra, CEO for DHL Express Americas
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We don’t see a need for a social media policy at the Arsht Center; it’s impossible to enforce and we would be unjustly limiting the First Amendment rights of our staff. However, each new hire at the Arsht Center goes through a thorough onboarding process that includes norms of engagement points both in the workplace and beyond. Our employees know that we expect a common sense level of professionalism and work ethic; at the same time, we trust that they are respectful when engaging in social media.
M. John Richard, president, CEO, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
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We don't have one, but I think it's a good time to start creating one as it takes years to create a brand and it can take seconds to destroy one if the company is targeted with negative social media rage.
Ania Rodriguez, CEO of Key Lime Interactive
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My company does have a social media policy, but we are currently updating it to have a more comprehensive scope. My advice to all team members is that if they would be embarrassed to have their parents read it, then don’t post it. In addition and particularly for the millennials who change jobs every two to three years, it is important to understand that you may be working somewhere today, but somewhere else in the future, and anything you post on social media is being seen by everyone, including potential employers.
Rachel Sapoznik, CEO & president, Sapoznik Insurance
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ginnybakes doesn’t have an official social media policy. We have implicit trust in each of our employees, so while we understand why some companies may feed the need to regulate the crazy world of social media, we leave it to our staffers to use their best judgment. Each was chosen for our team because they share our values and mission, so we trust that they’ll use appropriate judgment when it comes to what they're sharing online.
Ginny Simon, founder, CEO, ginnybakes
This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "South Florida CEO Roundtable: CEOs explain their social media policies."