Social Media Policy
Introduction
Social media and networking sites have grown more and more popular, and now serve as a regular means of communication for a broad section of users online. Accordingly, Interlink Ireland Ltd (hereafter referred to as DPD Ireland) has developed guidelines for our employees and business units regarding the use of social media, in order to protect our employees, stakeholders and customers – as well as our reputation.
As new communication tools evolve and/or are introduced online, this document will, of necessity, evolve as well. The company will distribute revised versions of this policy as necessary; it is your responsibility to read and understand all policies related to your employment and/or business relationship with the company. Should there be any questions, please ask your manager and/or consult Customer Services/Marketing in Head Office.
This policy on social media must be read in conjunction with your other employee policies, including (but not limited to) the Employee Handbook, and Dignity at Work and Internet, E-mail and Intranet policies.
Purpose and Scope
This policy is not intended to stop DPD Ireland employees and affiliates from conducting legitimate activities on the Internet, but to outline their responsibilities and the principles to be followed when doing so.
For the purposes of this document:
DPD Ireland refers to DPD Ireland and all of its subsidiaries (business units). Guidelines and terms herein apply to employees, business unit operators and their employees, as well as contractors or any other third parties associated with the company.
The requirements of this policy apply to personal use of all social media and networking platforms. A separate policy exists for official use of corporately owned/hosted social networking accounts and applications.
Social media platforms/channels include, but are not limited to:
Social Networking websites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter
Blogs (weblog), for example Blogger, Wordpress
Audio and video podcasts
Wikis, such as Wikipedia
Online discussion forums, such as boards.ie,
Collaborative spaces
Media sharing services, for example YouTube and flickr
Message boards and social bookmarking websites such as reddit, del.icio.us, Pinterest
Micro-blogging applications for example Twitter, Tumblr and Jaiku Many of the principles of this policy also apply to other types of online presence.
Monitoring of Internet and Social Media
As mentioned in your Internet, Email and Intranet Policy, Internet communication via work systems and/or servers is not private and may be viewed by DPD Ireland.
In addition, DPD Ireland regularly monitors social media and the Internet at large for brand presence, industry/customer perceptions and general commentary. While the company does not specifically monitor social media sites for employee / affiliate content, you should not expect privacy in this regard.
DPD Ireland reserves the right to utilise for disciplinary purposes any information that could have a negative effect on DPD Ireland, its Business Units or its employees, which it discovers in the course of regular Internet monitoring, or which is brought to the organisation's attention by employees, customers, members of the public or other parties.
Personal Use of Social Media at Work
Please refer to your Internet, Email and Intranet Policy for complete information regarding use of the Internet at work.
Terms of Use
The following terms apply to personal use of social media only. For operational terms and guidelines for employees working in social media as part of their job, or those otherwise authorised to interact with DPD Ireland social media channels, please refer to the Social Media Official Use Policy.
DPD Ireland requires all its representatives, including employees, business unit operators and their employees, using social networking sites to ensure the following terms are adhered to*:
Any participation on DPD Ireland social media channels, including commenting via personal accounts, is considered official communication. You may not participate on official DPD Ireland social media pages unless you have undergone DPD Ireland social media training and have been approved by Customer Services/Marketing based in the Head Office in Athlone.
Special note to Business Units: Business Units may not create or operate their own social media accounts in relation to DPD; however, content may be submitted for posting to the official accounts via Head Office.
The primary purpose of a personal social media account is for people to connect with friends, family or others with similar interests, therefore a personal account should focus on your personal life. You should refrain from posting or displaying commentary about DPD Ireland products, services or initiatives on personal websites or social media accounts, anonymously or via a pseudonym. Even when using social media for personal purposes, always be aware of how your actions impact the DPD Ireland brand and credibility.
If your personal account contains material that could reflect badly on DPD Ireland, its business operations or your colleagues, or is contrary to DPD Ireland policies, you may be disciplined, up to and including dismissal.
Ensure that your personal social media accounts are not used to publish any content which may result in actions for defamation of company reputation, discrimination, breaches of copyright, data protection or other claims for damages. This includes but is not limited to material of an illegal, sexual or offensive nature that may bring the company into disrepute.
Use of DPD Ireland trademarks, such as logos, in personal content is not permitted.
Do not link personal web pages/blogs to any company website.
Do not misrepresent the company, by posting false or inaccurate statements.
Don't publish any material or comments that could undermine customer confidence in the company.
Ensure you do not use the sites in any way to attack or abuse colleagues, representatives or customers of DPD Ireland. This may result in disciplinary action in line with the Dignity at Work Policy.
Do not include contact details, photographs, videos or any form of recording of staff without their permission.
If you receive press or media contact regarding the content of your site which in any way relates to DPD Ireland, consult your manager and Customer Services / Marketing Department immediately.
These terms of use apply regardless of whether social media contributions/entries are made outside of your working hours.
The company reserves the right to ask an individual to remove all postings/material that it considers to be in breach of the terms of social media personal use policy.
Recommendations, references or comments relating to professional attributes, are not permitted to be made about employees, former employees, customers or suppliers on social media and networking sites. Such recommendations can give the impression that the recommendation is a reference on behalf of the organisation, even when a disclaimer is placed on such a comment. Any request for such a recommendation should be dealt with by stating that this is not permitted in line with organisation policy and that a formal reference can be sought through the hiring manager, in line with the normal reference policy.
Specific managerial responsibilities: By virtue of their position, managers have particular obligations with respect to general content posted on social media. Managers should consider whether or not personal thoughts they publish may be misunderstood as expressing the organisation’s opinions or positions even where disclaimers are used. Managers should err on the side of caution and should assume that their teams will read what is written. A public online forum is not the place to communicate organisation policies, strategies or opinions to employees. In addition to the above rules, there are a number of key guiding principles that employees should note when using social media tools:
Be aware that information you share via social media channels, even private ones, are still subject to Copyright, Data Protection and Freedom of Information legislation;
Always remember online content is never completely private;
Regularly review your privacy settings on social media platforms to ensure they provide you with sufficient personal protection and limit access by others. Guard against being tricked into disclosing confidential information, and be suspicious if asked to ignore identification procedures;
Consider all online information with caution as there is no quality control process on the Internet and a considerable amount of information may be inaccurate or misleading;
At all times respect copyright and intellectual property rights of information you encounter on the Internet. This may require obtaining appropriate permission to make use of information. You must always give proper credit to the source of the information used;
Be aware that content can remain online long after you share it. Whatever you post – whether a picture, image, tweet or status update – could stay online forever.
*This policy is not exhaustive, however. In situations that are not expressly governed by this policy, you must ensure that your use of social media and the Internet is at all times appropriate and consistent with your responsibilities towards DPD Ireland. In case of any doubt, you should consult with your manager and or the appropriate contact in the Head Office.
Breach of Policy / Enforcement
Employees: Non-compliance with the general principles and conditions of this social media policy and the related internet, e-mail and confidentiality policies may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
Business Unit Operators: Any breach of this policy by Business Unit operators and/or their employees will be deemed as a serious breach of contract and may result in all services being terminated.