Digital Badge 5 on Social Media

This blog is written for the SSSC digital thing 5 badge on social media. The blog intends to reflect how I manage the challenges posed by use of social media and to offer a critical reflection of my own organisation's social media policies and guidance.

I have recorded my activities in a journal entry and I will be using parts of the journal to create this blog post. The task included reviewing the policy and guidance of my council and reading the 2 specific articles on social media.

I do subscribe to several social media platforms but I am very cautious about what I post and who I interact with. I would not post anything that could compromise my professional standing or that would reflect badly on my employer. I tend to use WhatsApp to communicate with family and friends. I have a twitter account but it has privacy settings. I tend not to use Facebook very often and I do find that this is my least favourite app because it is so public. I do appreciate the ability to interact with people via social media and I am excited about what it can offer and  I welcome the guidance and cautionary advice contained in my organisation's policy and guidance and the two articles referenced in this digital task.

I read our policy on the use of the internet, social media and email. The policy reminded me that as a council employee I am expected to use Internet, Social Media and E-mail systems effectively and responsibly and in accordance with approved operational and security  standards while in the course of my work. I also have a responsibility  to ensure that my private use of internet, social Media and e-mail out with the workplace does not impact adversely on the council and its business, compromise their contractual relationship with the council or breach council policy. The inclusion of balancing personal and professional does run through the policy and is wecome as advice and guidance. This policy sets out the expected standards of internet, social media and email use and provides for those standards to be monitored and enforced. It is important to be read in conjunction with the relevant employment policies, in particular the Data Protection and Information Security Policies. More recent changes to data protection (GDPR) have highlighted the importance of safeguarding information and ensuring all service user data is correctly stored and is accessible subject to access request. Fines have also been increased for councils/organisations where guidance has not been followed.

I welcome that the policy does allow for reasonable personal use of internet, social media and email, and sets standards in terms of security and legality and lists a number of legislative policies that need to be considered including data protection, freedom of information, intellectual property/copyright Infringement, obscenity and pornography, defamation and harassment and discrimination. It is vital that all employees are reminded regularly of the extent to which a variety of legislation and policy impacts on day to day activities. For example, where a letter is sent to the wrong address it is essential that this is reported as a data breach and efforts to recover the information and inform any impacted party are made.

I am aware of the extent to which email and internet access are central components to my and my colleagues work. We access all our work via computer and internet and intranet connections. The pandemic has meant that many face to face activities have been replaced by online meetings. These developments have been welcome but the framework and governance surrounding them are ever more important. 

I am of the opinion that my organisation takes these natters extremely seriously and the policies and guidance are effective, well disseminated and easily understood. As an employee I have to complete in-house mandatory training on internet security, records management and GDPR to be able to continue to access my accounts. These are completed via online trai.ning and monitored across the council, with individual accounts being locked where employees have not b-een compliant.

Ultimately all these measures are in place to ensure the people we serve can have trust in us and can be assured that their data is available to them, is proportionate and safely stored.

I am aware of the importance of enabling myself and my staff in adhering to the policies governing the internet and use of email and social media.  Being aware will reduce the risk of staff breaching policies, condidentiality and incurring disciplinary procedures. 

There are enormous benefits of social media to promote services, the profession and to engage with customers. I read the two articles: How to Separate the Personal and Professional on Social Media and Social workers cannot ignore the role of social media in the profession.

The first highlights that a number of employees are likely to be connected on social media and a digital footprint can be accessed by colleagues as well as current and future employers very easily. For example, the 40%-60% of hiring managers that would check the social media of prospective employees.

The article stresses the importance of employees developing a personal strategy to balance professional and private management of social media based on a clear understanding of the risks to themselves.

The second article, from the Guardian, explores these risks. Organisations are increasingly utilising social media and there is a need to ensure staff are aware and trained in understanding safe engagement. The article explores the inherent tensions of needing to understand social media,  whilst ensuring that any engagement is safe and not compromising professional integrity. The article highlights the phenomenal growth in social networking which "has given social workers a multitude of opportunities for promoting the profession and collaborating with service users". The article discusses that "with the potential benefits come some significant challenges, including notorious cases of social workers being sanctioned for inappropriate online behaviour."

The article recommends training and education for social workers in understanding the benefits of being able to promote social media and developing a personal approach to social media, advising "Social media should be an essential part of new social workers’ toolkits."

In summary, there are enormous benefits of utilising social media and there has been a rapid expansion. Ensuring that organisations have policies and procedures in place to safeguard their customers is essential. As well as adhering to an organisations policies and procedures, there is a personal responsibility on all employees to ensure we develop effective strategies for managing social media, keeping ourselves, our customers and our employers safe.