A Social Web Policy for Your Independent Agency

The Social Web is invading your agency. Your staff is using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and who know how many other Web tools to connect with their friends.

Should you allow staff to access these websites while they are at work? My short answer is yes. And you should make sure you have an electronic communication policy for employees that spells out agency expectations for the use of these types of sites.

Fortunately, a sample policy has been created to help you get started.

ACT (Agent’s Council for Technology) and the Web 2.0 subcommittee have created a new resource called “A Social Web Policy for Your Independent Agency.” I am a member of this subcommittee and helped put this document together.

This new ACT resource will assist you in developing the Social Web Policy for your employees’ permissible use of social media for business purposes, so that you protect your agency and maintain the productivity of your employees.

The report contains a checklist of key steps to take in developing and implementing such a policy, samples of the policies being employed by some prominent companies, examples of possible provisions to include, and suggestions for a social web code of conduct for your employees.

The key to being able to leverage the potential of social web tools is to manage expectations and help your staff learn how these tools can be effectively used to connect with prospects and clients.

Get a copy of this sample policy at: www.independentagent.com/act