Social Media and the Employment Relationship NEW

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How to manage the risks and opportunities social media presents
1-day interactive conference
7 Dec 2010
Central London £550 + VAT

In brief:

Did you know that the ‘Twitter’ community grew 1382% in the past 12 months?

Did you know there are more than 300 million ‘Facebook’ users and 54% are active on a daily basis?

Did you know that by next year 96% of ‘Generation Y’ will have joined a social network?

Being part of the social media revolution is exciting and the rapid introduction of new communications technology now pervades almost every aspect of our lives. Millions of people in the UK are registered with popular social networking sites and many employers realise that the use of social media is vital to today’s way of doing business. Social networking – an example of what is now termed ‘Web 2.0’ – is a communication medium businesses must learn to embrace and decide how best to engage with.

But the use of ‘Web 2.0’ has raised many questions for employers, and particularly HR departments:  Should we be using social media to develop business or to recruit new talent? Should we allow employees to use social media at work? What types of restrictions do we need? Can we monitor off-duty conduct? And what are the potential liabilities?

As well as embracing the many useful opportunities social media provides, organisations must also understand how to manage this communication lawfully in the workplace context.   Improper use of social media by employees or employers can damage morale, hurt productivity, expose your company to a tribunal/court action – and even put your business’s intellectual property at risk.  

JSB’s Social Media and the Employment Relationship conference will give you access to everything you need to know about the use of social media so you are fully equipped to manage both the risks, and the opportunities.

This event is CPD accredited.

Who should attend:

Personnel and HR professionals, directors and senior line managers, recruitment and resourcing professionals and In-house legal counsel

Conference highlights:

  • Avoid the legal pitfalls associated with the use of social media
  • Explore the risks and opportunities of social media in the workplace
  • Internal versus external social networking: what?s the difference?
  • Hear lessons from the US: what are the legal implications and what might the future look like for social media in the UK?
  • Find out what to include in your social media policy
  • Hear how social media can be used to support your recruitment strategy
  • Take part in interactive round-table discussions to enhance your understanding of the legal issues surrounding employee use of Web 2.0

The Programme

09:20
Chair's Welcome

Paul Secher, Managing Director, JSB Training and Development
09:30
Keynote Address: The rise of social media
Charlie Duff, Editor, HR Zone
  • The rise of social media and the issues faced by HR
  • Harnessing the power of social media to drive engagement and improve recruitment
  • Embracing social media
  • Forming HR policies on social media – where do you draw the line?
10:15
Employment law issues
Will Winch, Solicitor, Mishcon de Reya
  • Contracts of employment
  • Express terms and implied terms – e.g. implied term of trust and confidence, fidelity and good faith
  • Discrimination, harassment and bullying
  • Vicarious liability of employers in the social networking arena
11:00
Coffee
11:15
Employment law issues continued
Will Winch, Solicitor, Mishcon de Reya
  • Discipline and dismissal
  • IT and Internet policies
  • Data protection and information management
  • Recruitment and selection
12:00
Case study: Using Social Media for Personal Branding and Employee relations

Muhammad Karim, Senior Brand Manager - Lighter Bars, Mars Chocolate UK

  • Building employees personal brand and enhancing the corporate brand
  • What's driving the corporate brand?
  • Corporate social media strategy
  • Recruit. Retain. Brand.
  • Interactivity and building relationships
12:30
Lunch
13:30
Lessons from the US: Looking to the future of social networking in the UK

Adam Forman, Shareholder, Littler Mendelson

  • Lessons from US case law
  • What are the implications for business and HR?
  • A look to the future in the UK
14:30
Guiding your organisation through the social media landscape
Delphine Remy-Boutang, Worldwide Social Media Marketing Manager, IBM Software Group
  • IBM  Social engagement strategy
  • How we have addressed social media governance from both an internal and external perspective
  • The benefits of social media
  • Key learning: What has gone wrong? How the problems have been rectified
  • Monitoring employee use of social media
  • Insights  on IBM’s social computing guidelines
  • Education on how IBMers can successfully leverage social technologies for improved business results
  • Best practices examples
15:15
Coffee
15:30
Don’t blog your way into trouble
Benjamin Braun, Head of Online Services, British Gas
  • The policy – what does it look like?
  • How did you arrive at the final result and how does it reflect your overall stance on social media?
  • Link to business objectives
  • How do you enforce it?
  • How do you monitor employee use of social media?
16:15
Harnessing Web 2.0 technology for recruitment
Steven Foulston, HR Manager, Royal Opera House
  • How has the Royal Opera House used internet technology to provide a new dimension to their recruitment strategy?
  • The benefits and challenges of using Web 2.0  to recruit  
  • How has the Royal Opera House developed their campaigns, the delivery and how they met their objectives
  • How is social media viewed by ROH and its employees?
16:45
Close of conference

Client testimonials

Very informative and useful

—Sue Bailey, HR Manager, Kaspersky Lab

Good balance between discussion of the risks and highlighting benefits of social media, very interesting!

—Anna Edmondson, HR Officer, Trustmarque

Excellent return on investment

—Colin Minto, Head of Resourcing, G4S

Venue details

The Grange Holborn Hotel
50-60 Southampton Row
London
WC1B 4AR

Tel. +44 (0) 20 7242 1800
Fax. +44 (0) 20 7404 1641

Click here here to visit the website.

The Grange Holborn Hotel is perfectly located where London's renowned West End meets the City. The elegantly composed Grange Holborn Hotel is uniquely placed to satisfy the most discerning visitors to the capital; whether it be enjoying the local theatres, shops, museums, galleries and parks or maximizing time in the financial heart of the City, the Grange Holborn Hotel, provides the perfect location for any visit to the Capital. 

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Event review

The way in which we communicate with each other has changed almost beyond recognition.

The ever-growing popularity of the use of the internet as a way of keeping in touch with people has led to the rapid rise of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, MySpace and LinkedIn. Facebook currently has more than 350 million users. Despite their popularity, these social networking sites and the virtual channels of communication which they create pose challenges for employers.

Addressing the various challenges and opportunities social media poses, JSB’s Social Media and the Employment Relationship conference took place on 3 March 2010 at The Grange Holborn Hotel, London. The one day conference highlighted that although employees should embrace the many useful opportunities social media provides, organisations must also understand how to manage this communication lawfully in the workplace context. A mixture of best practice and legal presentations were heard from HRzone.co.uk, Mishcon de Reya, Mars Chocolate, Littler Mendelson, IBM, British Gas and The Royal Opera House.

The day focused on:

  • The legal pitfalls associated with social media
  • Personal and corporate branding
  • Lessons from the US
  • Formulating a social media policy
  • Using web 2.0 for recruitment

Throughout the day delegates were made fully aware of how improper use of social media by employees - or employers - can damage morale, hurt productivity, expose organisations to tribunal/court action. Not only can social networking sites adversely affect to workplace productivity, they also provide a platform for employees to share information about their employer with a worldwide audience – potentially bringing an organisation into disrepute.

But it’s not all doom and gloom! On the positive side, delegates learned how to make use of social media to:

  • Deepen relations with customers and key contacts
  • Provide a new platform for recruitment
  • Allow you to find and share information
  • Enhance communication among employees
  • Engage stakeholders

It was emphasised that before engaging in social media employers should understand how social media fits into and enhances the organisational strategy, learn what the tools are and how to use them and develop a specific social media strategy. Social media is not something an organisation can enter into it lightly. Baby steps must be taken and the organisation must be aware that committing to social media is like a marriage, not a one-night stand!

Overall the conference was thoroughly enjoyed by all and delegates walked away with a thorough understanding of the key risks and opportunities social media presents – and a toolkit of practical steps to implement upon returning to the workplace.

Some delegate comments:

Very informative and useful - Sue Bailey, HR Manager, Kaspersky Lab

Very good return on investment - Colin Minto, Head of Resourcing, G4S

Good balance between discussion of the risks and highlighting benefits of social media, very interesting! - Anna Edmondson, HR Officer, Trustmarque

To register your interest in future events like this, please call 020 8371 7010.

Siobhan Mullahy

Conference Producer

JSB Media Partner

The Speakers

Our People

Adam Forman

Adam Forman, Shareholder, Littler Mendelson Adam advises and represents employers in the USA in a broad range of employment law matters, including discrimination, harassment and wrongful discharge litigation; non-competition and trade secret litigation; the drafting of employment related documents such as employment agreements and personnel policies; and litigation avoidance training.

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Top Tips

Testimonials

“Excellent return on investment”

— Colin Minto, Head of Resourcing,
G4S

Run courses In-Company

If you have 4 or more people who would benefit from this training, why not consider running it in-house?

 

  • Tailored content
  • Significant cost savings
  • Choice of time and location
  • Flexible delivery options

 

Call us now on
+44 (0)20 8371 7011
or send us an outline of your requirements.

 

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