HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT WisingUP TOTHE
Many Irish companies have actively embraced state-of-the- art computer telecommunications technologies and put email, internet and intranet connections on every desktop.Employees can now communicate more efficiently with virtually anyone else connected to the system; they can also access an endless and incredibly diverse library of information about customers, competitors and markets. With this technological empowerment,organisations expect
to see improvements in overall performance and that of indi- viduals. However, this empowerment brings with it a risk that many companies do not anticipate.They may be held legally liable if employees misuse the systems. If employees with accessmisuse email or the internet the cost
impact for Irish businesses can be huge in pure productivity terms.Furthermore, email and internet abuse by employees can leave an employer open to much greater costs than lost pro- ductivity alone, including libel actions, inadvertent entry into binding contracts, breaches of copyright legislation and expo- sure to sexual harassment and bullying claims. To avoid such potential dangers it is imperative that the small
business owner has in place awell-considered policy for theman- agement of email and internet abuse.Analysis by the Small Firms Association shows that 57pc of small businesses have no such pol- icy in place, leaving the business exposed to a variety of threats. In the development of this policy, there are a number of
issues for the employer to consider: To what extent can an employer monitor employees’ elec- tronic communications?
Online harassment Improper use of company computing resources
36 OWNER MANAGER VOL 3 ISSUE 4 2010
Access to, downloading and redistribution of pornography throughout the corporate networks
INTERNET AND EMAILMISUSE BY EMPLOYEES CANCOST FIRMS IN TERMS OF PRODUCTIVITY, SO EMPLOYERS SHOULD HAVE CLEARLY DEFINED POLICIES INPLACE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES,
EXPLAINS ALANSHERLOCK, SMALL FIRMS ASSOCIATIONEXECUTIVE
web
Who owns work produced with company resources? What is the company exposure for copyright infringement? Is the company at any greater risk for data and system secu-
rity and disclosure of company trade secrets due to access to the internet and expanding worldwide communications capabilities?
In addressing these issues, the following are some good start-
ing points to help develop appropriate corporate policies: (a) Develop or extend policies to address employee privacy expectations. By informing employees that the company monitors email and internet usage, the company can rebut any assumption of privacy that an employee might have in using such facilities.
(b) Determine the extent of any current monitoring, and limit monitoring to ‘work-related’and supervisory activities.State the extent of monitoring in the policy.
(c) Educate and periodically remind employees and manage- ment of the policy.
(d) Post a notice when employees log on to the computer net- work and require an affirmative acknowledgement by hav- ing the employee indicate that he/she has read the screen before moving on. The notice should state clearly that the system and email are not private and will be audited, and the parameters of employee use. It could also state online etiquette for using the network and company resources.For example: ‘All systems and electronic communications are to be used for busi- ness purposes only and in accordance with company policies and procedures. All systems are subject to periodic company audit for business and security purposes. Please keep these guidelines in mind when using company networks and the internet.’
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