PURPOSE: / To communicate the guidelines in acceptable use of Social Media, the risks associated with unreasonable use of online social media and clarify the responsibilities of Metricon staff.
SCOPE: / This policy applies to all Metricon Employees, Work Experience Students, Temps and Contractors who are employed byMetricon directly or by a subsidiary of Metricon.
Date: / June 2016 / No of Pages: / 7

Metricon embraces social media and the opportunities it creates for staff to share the Metricon message, ‘live’ the brand and network with others.

Metricon recognises not only the opportunities associated with social media but also the risks.

This policy provides guidelines in relation to social media use by Metricon staffin their:

(a)work capacity – including but not limited to when speaking on behalf of Metricon (if authorised); or

(b)personal capacity – including but not limited to when commenting on Metricon, its activities, business, services or products, or the people or entities connected with Metricon (including potential current or past customers, Metricon staff, competitors, suppliers, business partners etc).

Metricon recommends that when using social media you keep your personal 'social media footprint' (i.e. online reputation, security and safety) in mind.

The term ‘Metricon’ is used in this policy to refer to Metricon Homes Pty Ltd and all its subsidiaries and related entities including Newland Developers Pty Ltd, Fastrack Conveyancing Pty Ltd, Building College Australia Pty Ltd, Beveridge Land Pty Ltd, Metricon Homes Queensland Pty Ltd and the Australian Building Company Pty Ltd.

The term ‘Metricon staff’ is used in this policy to refer to all employees, work experience students, temps and contractors of Metricon and also any others who are informed by Metricon that this policy applies to them.

What is meant by social media?

Social media refers to any online tool or function that allows people to communicate and/or share information via the internet.

Social media services include, but are not limited to:

  • social and professional networking sites (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Bebo, Yammer), including official and unofficial pages on social and professional networking sites that are set up by individuals, groups, clubs and societies
  • geo-spatial tagging sites (e.g. FourSquare)
  • blogs, including corporate blogs and personal blogs
  • micro-blogging sites (e.g. Twitter)
  • video and photo sharing sites (e.g. Flickr, YouTube)
  • blogs hosted by media outlets (e.g. ‘comments' or ‘your say' feature on theage.com.au)
  • wikis and online collaborations (e.g. Wikipedia)
  • forums, discussion boards and groups (e.g. Google groups, Whirlpool)
  • vodcasting and podcasting sites
  • online multiplayer gaming platforms (e.g. World of Warcraft, Second Life)
  • instant messaging (including SMS)

This policy applies to all forms of social media (current and any other platforms that come into existence after the date of this policy), and access to social media by any means, including but not limited to computer, tablet, mobile phone, handheld or wearable device.

References in this policy to ‘posting material’ or ‘posts’ includes comments, photos and other material posted by you, posts by others in respect of which you communicate support (eg ‘like’ or ‘retweet’) and all other interactions you have on social media.

Public nature of social media

Every time you speak or act, you affect how people perceive Metricon. You affect Metricon’s brand. This is particularly the case with social media. Inappropriate content, information or posts in the social media environment, whichare capable of being linked to Metricon, have the potential to damage Metricon's brand, reputation and commercial interests, as well as your own reputation. Further, any damage to Metricon’s brand via social media can happen very quickly in the digital environment.

When using social media for personal reasons it’s important to be aware that any comments, uploads, blogs, etc. made are in the public domain. Also, keep in mind that any post, image, comment, status update, or other use of social media by Metricon staff may not be, or may not remain, private once it is posted on a social media site, even where maximum security settings are enabled.Therefore you must not make any reference that is disparaging, discloses confidential information or is otherwise inappropriate or unprofessional.

If your social media profile can be linked to your employment at Metricon, you must always consider the appropriateness of any post as you will be representing Metricon each time you make a post. Please be aware that:

  • tagging “Metricon” or “Metricon Homes” in your social media posts can often make them accessible to the public by a simple search; and
  • if you use the “check-in” feature provided by Facebook users then your Facebook posts can be visible to anyone, not just your immediate network.

Given the very public nature of social media please always assume that any post you make will be 100% visible to the general public.

Guidelines

1 / Directions, guidelines and training / Comply with all directions and guidelines given by management concerning social media and all Metricon policies (including, but not limited to, the Workplace Harassment Policy, IT and Internet Usage Policy, Code of Conduct, Sexual Harassment Policy, Competition Compliance Policy, Email Policy and Media Liaison Policy).
Attend all training and information sessions provided concerning social media.
Adhere to the terms of use of social media platforms/websites.
2 / Reputation / Act in the best interests of Metricon and do not post material that could damage the brand, reputation or commercial interests of Metricon or those connected with Metricon.
Do not refer to any work-related subject matter, issues or concerns in a way that could damage the brand, reputation or commercial interests of Metricon or those connected with Metricon.
You must not put your personal agenda ahead of Metricon’s and/or our customers.
3 / Respect / Be respectful of others - including those who you are interacting with or about on social media.
Do not post material that is:
  • offensive, aggressive, defamatory, threatening, discriminatory, obscene, profane, harassing, embarrassing, intimidating, sexually explicit, bullying, hateful, racist, sexist or otherwise inappropriate;
  • to or about Metricon or those connected with Metricon (including potential current or past customers, Metricon staff, competitors, suppliers, business partners etc).
Respect that others may have different opinions and be polite when interacting. Consider comments before you post and how they may be viewed by others.
4 / Confidential information / Do not disclose or refer to any Confidential Information (see definition below).
Do not disclose or refer to any personal information concerning Metricon staff, contractors or suppliers.
5 / Customers / Do not identify or refer to any information concerning Metricon customers (potential, current or past) unless expressly authorised to do so by the National Digital Marketing Manager.
Do not comment or respond on customer blogs, unless expressly authorised to do so by the National Digital Marketing Manager.
6 / Representing Metricon / Ensure that all content posted by you is consistent with your work and Metricon values and professional standards. You as an employee are also a brand ambassador for Metricon, so be responsible with any content you publish and exercise good judgement.
Do not represent or imply that you are speaking on behalf of Metricon, unless you are specifically authorised to do so in writing by the National Digital Marketing Manager.
Do not use Metricon’s trademarks or logos.
If you are stating your opinion, make it clear that it is your opinion, it is not the opinion of Metricon and it is opinion not fact. It is important that in your personal use of social media readers of your posts do not misconstrue your comments as representing an official Metricon position.
Use and make clear the following disclaimer if you are identified on a social media site as a Metricon employee (unless you have been authorised to speak on behalf of Metricon and you are doing so):
All views and comments are my own and not those of Metricon.
7 / Laws / Do not post material that is:
  • inaccurate, misleading or fraudulent;
  • obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, discriminatory or hateful to any person or entity;
  • in breach of laws, court orders, undertakings or contracts (including those restricting disclosure); or
  • in breach of another’s intellectual property rights - be wary of reproducing material online and always determine if any material that is intended to be reproduced is subject to copyright.

8 / Action that should be taken by you / If you become aware of any of the following, please refer them to the National Digital Marketing Manager, General Counsel or Legal Counsel as quickly as possible:
  • online content that may harm the brand, reputation or commercial interests of Metricon or those connected with Metricon;
  • online content that otherwise breach this policy; or
  • online content that cause you concern.
Refer to the People Advisory team or the General Manager, People Business Improvement as quickly as possible any posts that you believe may involve legal risk, such as any posts that may be misleading, defamatory, in breach of disclosure obligations (such as suppression orders), in breach of employment laws (such as those relating to bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination, victimisation, breach of confidentiality, breach of restraintsetc.).

Confidential Informationincludes:

financial information, business plans, business performance, methods, systems, procedures, manuals, policies, guidelines and proposed movements of senior executives;

agreements with suppliers, contractors or others connected with Metricon (including terms and conditions, pricing information, related documents and the identity of the parties);

employment agreements (including terms and conditions and related documents);

proposed new house designs (including facades and floor plans), pricing information, marketing campaign plans, new product ranges, interior design plans, specifications, audio-visual recordings, software, trade secrets, designs, formulas – to the extent that they are not already in the public domain;

confidential or personal information of those connected with Metricon (including potential current or past customers, Metricon staff, suppliers, business partners etc);

information that you are notified is confidential or appears by its nature to be confidential.

If you are uncertain about whether information is confidential, please contact General Counsel.

Additional guidelines when speaking on behalf of Metricon

Although all Metricon staff are encouraged in their personal capacities to share the Metricon message and ‘live’ the brand, only specific employees will be authorised to speak on behalf of Metricon on social media. Metricon is actively engaged in a variety of social media platforms and this activity is centrally coordinated to deliver the best brand experience to Metricon’s customers and to promote the Metricon brand.

This authority will be given expressly and in writing by the National Digital Marketing Manager. Only those authorised in this way can speak on behalf of Metricon on social media and the following additional requirements apply.

1 / Customers / When interacting with customers (potential, current or past):
  • follow the other guidelines in this policy;
  • use template responses where applicable and in accordance with directions;
  • be polite, professional and respectful and do not engage in a heated manner;
  • seek to direct the person offline as quickly as possible in the event of customer complaints or negative feedback or comments; and
  • Avoid posting detailed information about the customer’s issues.

2 / Authority / Disclose that you are representing Metricon and in what capacity (eg Sophie, Metricon Customer Service Team).
Only make comments within your area of expertise and authority.
3 / Announcements / Only be the first to make an announcement on behalf of Metricon if you are expressly authorised to do so by the National Digital Marketing Manager.

Reasonable use of social media

Use of social media during work time when required should be carried out in a manner that does not detract employees from performance at work, productivity, ability to achieve key performance indicators or ability to meet other work commitments or responsibilities.

Employees are only permitted to use social media sites during work hours for work-related purposes.

Employees are permitted to use social media for personal use if it occurs in the employee’s own time (for example during meal breaks and before/after working hours).

Metricon may access social media platforms on which you make posts in order to determine compliance with this policy.

Employees are encouraged to share the Metricon message via social media but need to be mindful that sharing Metricon posted content is best done by using the inbuilt tools provided by each social media providers (such as retweet and Facebook “share” functions) to retain Metricon branding and links to Metricon channels.

Breach of policy

Use of social media by Metricon staff, both in and out of the workplace, must be consistent with the law, their employment/contractor obligations, this policy and other Metricon policies applying to Metricon staff.

Any breach of this policy may result in a range of sanctions – from restriction of access to electronic communication facilities, to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment and service contract with Metricon.

Further information

Any urgent or serious matters / National Digital Marketing Manager
General Counsel
Legal Counsel
General Manager, People and Business Improvement
Questions about what can be posted on social media / National Digital Marketing Manager
Questions about this social media policy and how it applies / People Advisory Team
National Digital Marketing Manager
Questions about whether information is confidential and what information is already in the public domain / General Counsel
Legal Counsel
Review Date / June 2016
Policy Owner / General Manager People and Business Improvement
Related Policies, Procedures, Guidelines, Forms or Templates / Harassment Policy, Code of Conduct, Disciplinary Policy, Sexual Harassment Policy, Anti Bullying Policy, EEO Policy, Email & Internet Usage Policy, Media Liaison Policy, Company Supplied Mobile Devices Policy,

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