New Acas research reveals that many employers are wary of using social media to communicate in the workplace because they are afraid it will be misused by their employees. The study, Going Digital? Harnessing Social Media for Employee Voice, shows that many employers are keen to exploit social media to promote their business but far fewer use it to engage with their staff. Employers’ fears include: online conversations getting out of hand, having to act on employee suggestions and employees not using social media for work purposes. Acas has some tips on using social media within the workplace. Employers should:

• develop a supportive culture of employee voice;
• trust staff and accept that they cannot control everything;
• ensure that senior leaders champion the positive use of social media; and,
• have a robust social media policy outlining acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

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