Fiji Sun

Batiweti Calls for Social Media Policy in Our Workplaces

Without clear guidelines comapanies could face legal challenges, he warns

- CHARLES CHAMBERS NADI

While there is potential for leaking of confidenti­al company informatio­n or trade secrets, stopping social media in the workplace does more harm than good.

Speaking during the Fiji Human Resources Institute Forum at the Radisson Blu Resort on Denarau on Friday, the president of FHRI Kameli Batiweti said clear guidelines would need to be set on the usage of social media.

He said these include:

Personal Usage

Things to share and not share about the company Ways to Drive leads and revenue through social media

Other guidelines

Things to look out for online that could damage the company (hacks) and its reputation (trade secrets or confidenti­al info leaks

“On the one hand, it allows employees the freedom to interact electronic­ally.

On the other hand he said there was a need to regulate without interferin­g.

“With great freedom comes greater responsibi­lity and the the lines between “Personal” and “Profession­al” sometimes are blurred.

“Without a policy, your company is at risk of either facing a legal challenge, or staring at a hack in your system.

Mr Batiweti said some companies were using this policy as part of their orientatio­n as this will provide employees clarity on what they were allowed to post and what they were not allowed to post.

“It is impossible to deny that social media platforms like Facebook and

Instagram have not penetrated the workplace.”

He said using similar 37 percentage of usage in workplaces from around the world, it could be assumed that with a population in Fiji of over

900,000, there were at least 337,000 people who used it in Fiji.

Mr Batiweti said not all of social media was bad as it could be used to drive leads, increase revenue, increase brand awareness and recruit best candidates.

Meanwhile, Mr Batiweti said technology would not take over human resources now or in the future. He said the human part of this would not be there. “Technology makes HR work efficient and has a footprint you can always go back and check on whether the process was followed correctly or not. “The disadvanta­ge of technology is that in long run, it will replace some of the human functions. “However, technology cannot replace leadership, innovation and everything the human being is expected to do.”

Using similar 37 percentage of usage in workplaces from around the world, it could be assumed that with a population in Fiji of over 900,000, there were at least 337,000 people who used it in Fiji

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 ?? Photo: Charles Chambers ?? Participan­ts during the Fiji Human Resources Institute Forum at the Radisson Blu Resort on Denarau on March 15, 2019.
Photo: Charles Chambers Participan­ts during the Fiji Human Resources Institute Forum at the Radisson Blu Resort on Denarau on March 15, 2019.

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