Skip to main content

SSSC 23 Things Digital Thing 5 - Social Media #1

Social media is a huge part of every day life and I would say the majority of people I work with and our service users have access to some form of social media account. As a result, the local authority I work for has a social media policy which we must review annually and on induction of new staff. This is quite a clear and easy to follow policy however because our local authority doesn't just cover the work we do in our service, I also need to remind staff of their duty to uphold the SSSC Codes of Practice. To overcome this, I am working on a policy which incorporates our local authorities social media policy and the SSSC Codes of Practice which are relevant to social media into one document. 

In relation to the SSSC Codes of Practice, I feel Code 5.8 is very relevant to our organisation because it tells us that we must behave appropriately and not jeopardise the position of trust we have built with our service users. For some staff, they feel this means they can't use social media at all which is not what our policy states; it states we must ensure we do not post content which could impact the ability of our workers to provide care and support to our service users or impact the relationship of trust instilled in our employees from our service users. 

One of the biggest challenges I find is because our staff work in the town or county in which they live, they have personal relationships with some of our service users which could lead to confusion between professional and personal boundaries being crossed. To try and overcome this, I advise staff to be mindful of what they post on social media if they are friends with service users and to approach me if they have any queries or doubts. 

I feel social media is a really good way to keep in contact personally but can also be used positively in a professional manner, for example, by using Twitter or Facebook to communicate updates on the service to our service users. I feel as long as staff are aware of the policy and it is reviewed regularly then there shouldn't be any crossing of boundaries or mistrust in the service. 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SSSC 23 Things Digital Thing 4 - Digital Footprint

Firstly I watched the video Orange Digital Dirt and I found it very interesting and something I have a great deal of knowledge on due to working in a management position and being involved in recruitment and selection of new staff. I feel it's really important for employees to be aware of what they post online because if a service users were to access this, it could damage the reputation and trust they have built up when working with the service user.  I did a search for myself in my home town and through my work place and nothing out of the ordinary came up. Again, because I have a great understanding of what can be found online, I am very conscious about what I post and where I post. I make sure all my accounts are private and I don't accept friend requests from people I don't know or may know through association.  The 8 Tips to Effectively Manage Your Digital Footprint is a really useful tool to use to check up on social media and digital accounts such as email, online b...
Post a Comment
Read more

SSSC 23 Things Digital – Thing 15: Video chat and webinars

In practice, I hadn't used any form of video chat until the COVID-19 closure. We started using ZOOM to hold staff meetings however due to security concerns that anyone could access these meetings, our authority put a ban on ZOOM being used by staff. Instead I have been using the Microsoft Teams video chat available through my GLOW login. This is a much more secure platform as staff need to use their GLOW logins to access Microsoft Teams.  I have found using video chat very easy and very useful to get the same information across to staff at the same time without us being able to be together. I also found it useful that you can record the chat and then staff can look at it again if they feel they need to refresh themselves. As an authority, we were also using these to conduct team around the child meetings which were essential to continue to share information and provide support to children and families.  I have also used webinars to participate in my university lectures as I ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

SSSC 23 Things Digital - Open Badges

I was surprised to learn that Open Badges are recognised internationally and that over 3000 organisations across the world recognise them. I like that the badges are earned based on your understanding and knowledge you have gained and that people who view your badge can see the evidence you have provided to demonstrate your understanding; it#s not just a certificate to show you completed the badge. I was surprised to learn someone can endorse your badge and that it doesn't have to be your manager. I like that it can be someone who uses your service as you can then use this for self-evaluation purposes. I would tell my colleagues to complete the Open Badges because it's an excellent way to demonstrate your knowledge and an easy way to learn and go at your own pace.
Post a Comment
Read more