Employees can reasonably expect privacy within the workplace, but with the advent of social networking sites, traceable emails and phonecalls, employers are increasingly running into the question, 'should I snoop and if so, how much?' There is a difference between Googling a candidate who's applied for a job and checking an existing employee's Facebook account to see if they've been up to anything immoral, but both can lead to problems. What if there's information about the candidate they didn't disclose to you, but which would stop you from hiring them if they had? What if your employee was photographed taking drugs - would this give you reason to fire them even though it was outside working hours?
On the other hand it's sometimes reasonable to monitor what your employees are up to. Phonecalls for example are monitored in call centres to ensure good customer service and to act as training aids. Some employers monitor website usage to ensure employees don't spend all day on social media sites. The trouble with any sort of monitoring is that it can act as a great demotivator. Employees need a certain amount of 'downtime' in between work but might feel they're not allowed it because every move is watched. This can lead to a lack of fun in the workplace and an atmosphere of stagnation.
If you do choose to monitor your employees it's important to have clear guidelines in place. What will be monitored, for example, and why. Allowing the employee to understand the reason behind the monitoring makes it seem less like an invasion of privacy and more like a training exercise, for their benefit as well as for yours. This lets them work to certain goals and expectations (knowing their work will be checked) and gives you as an employer recourse should any issues occur with that work.
If your monitoring includes the general public - for example if you record telephone conversations you should disclose this. Many call centres play messages before an operator comes on the line, alerting the caller to the fact that the call might be recorded. This reinforces the expectations of those associated with your company and keeps everyone aware of the processes you have in place.
Employee monitoring sometimes goes too far, and there have been several stories in the press recently about lawsuits brought against employers for breach of privacy. Employers are rarely justified in reading personal emails for example, unless they seriously suspect the employee of wrongdoing. If you find that your employee is setting up a rival company and trying to take clients with them, then you're somewhat justified. If you find nothing more than that all those secretive phonecalls were down to them arranging a surprise party for their spouse, you end up looking like the bad guy.
Whatever level of monitoring you choose to implement (if any) you need to ensure it doesn't become a slippery slope. Set your boundaries and stick to them - barring serious, justified suspicions, anything outside your guidelines is none of your business
0 comments:
Post a Comment