Web Use Policy

Every company should have a written web use policy in place and in writing, even small companies with only a few employees. Aside from encouraging employees to treat the internet at work as a work tool instead of a personal connection, a good web use policy helps protect the business from lawsuits.

If for some reason there was a dispute (say, an employee misused the business internet connection in a way that resulted in a lawsuit), not having a web use policy in writing could be seen as negligence. A web use policy may or may not stand up as a defense, but being able to prove that the company has a web use policy in place could go a long way to helping their case.

A good web use policy should explain the policy in a clear manner. The best polices use bullet points or some other easily digested format to make them easy to understand. Staying away from huge blocks of text will improve the chances of employees reading the policy. Every web policy varies depending on the business, but at the very least it should cover: downloading content, email attachments, social networking websites, adult content, copyright law, internet games, and program installation. The policy doesn’t have to be completely custom – many good examples of web use policies can be found online.

Once the policy is written and arranged in an easy to read format, consider holding a meeting to talk about it with your employees, instead of just handing it out. Not only does covering the points together show that you are serious about the policy, explaining it in a meeting guarantees your employees are aware of the policy.