At ViewHR we thought we’d follow the growing trend of WhatApp use in businesses.
Increasingly, Sarah and I are leisurely told by businesses about their team ‘WhatsApp groups’ and all the funny stories on there. If I’m honest, my first reaction is to gasp at the potential risks of such WhatsApp groups and the HR webs we can end up unravelling, whilst at the same time, trying to balance in my mind the potential team benefits of such groups.
WhatsApp can be a great benefit to employees, as long as it is used correctly. Due to the informality of WhatsApp, it can, however, be too easy for people to act inappropriately or find themselves in breach of company policies, without realising the impact of their behaviour.
So, what are some of the reasons ‘WhatsApp’ groups cause us concern?
- The possibility of crossing personal boundaries and/or breaching company guidelines/policies.
- The risk of bullying and harassment – it can be used as a tool for bullying by employees.
- The risk of inappropriate comments – it’s easy to make ‘off the cuff’ remarks and the written word can so often be misconstrued and misinterpreted as something entirely different to that which the sender originally meant.
- Pressure on employees outside working hours – there is an increasing issue of ‘leaveism’ sweeping the country leading to stress and mental health issues (‘leaveism’ describes employees ‘working’ during their home time and annual leave by checking work emails/messages/taking calls)
- The failure to talk within businesses – WhatsApp communication can often be used as a replacement for the good old-fashioned face to face conversation.
- The risk of breaches of confidentiality – even inadvertently, something confidential could be released in a WhatsApp group.
- The risk of reputational damage to the business – when inappropriate (often unknown) WhatsApp messages are disclosed to a wider audience.
Before you encourage WhatsApp groups in your business, please consider the following:
- Why do you need a WhatsApp group if you are communicating well within your business?
- What is the purpose of the WhatsApp group and who is involved?
- Are employees getting a chance to switch off from work outside of working hours?
- Who is actually benefitting from this group?
- What are you doing to ensure inappropriate material or comments aren’t made on the WhatsApp group?
- If you decide it is appropriate to have a WhatsApp group, when will you, as a manager, send messages? Sending messages at a weekend may encourage or even put pressure on employees to respond.
It’s important to think about protecting your business from matters relating to WhatsApp use going wrong and about the communication culture within your business and the impact on your people, feel free to visit our website at www.viewhr.co.uk or contact vanessa@viewhr.co.uk