What Do Your Employees’ Digital Footprints Say About Your Practice?
Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived by the public. It can establish your personal brand in either a positive, or negative, light. When you have employees working for you, their personal brands also become a part of your clinic’s reputation within your community. What does their social media presence say about you and your business?
When it comes to hiring someone to work in the clinic, it is not uncommon to review their resume, check their references, and for some, do a personality profile to make sure they are the right fit for the practice. As a business with face-to-face interactions, it has never been more important to review a candidate’s social media presence with the same scrutiny. In fact, according to a recent survey (CareerBuilder, 2018), 70% of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process. Is this legal? According to Equal Opportunity Employment laws, as long as the candidate is not being discriminated against due to race, religion, gender, or sexual preference, it’s completely legal to pass over a job candidate based on their presence on social media.
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Additionally, you should include a social media clause in your employee handbook. It should state that employees must uphold the values of the clinic and not tarnish its reputation. The most common online indiscretions include:
- Scandalous photos or videos.
- Making discriminatory comments.
- Complaining about current co-workers, patients, managers, or the company.
- Bullying/Trolling.
Keep in mind that all of us have things in our past that we would love to forget, and that youthful indiscretions are part of becoming an adult. You and your team can ensure that those incidents don’t reflect negatively on you or your clinic by setting your personal social media accounts to “private” and/or not friending your patients or their families on your personal pages. Set the right tone by reminding everyone to think before they post, because someone is always watching. Limit connections of patients to your clinic’s professional social media pages and focus on connecting with them personally in your office.
To learn more about practice success, register for our free weekly webinars at chirohealthusa.com/webinars.
Dr. Ray Foxworth is a certified Medical Compliance Specialist and President of ChiroHealthUSA. A practicing Chiropractor, he remains “in the trenches” facing challenges with billing, coding, documentation and compliance. He has served as president of the Mississippi Chiropractic Association, former Staff Chiropractor at the G.V. Sonny Montgomery VA Medical Center and is a Fellow of the International College of Chiropractic. You can contact Dr. Foxworth at 1-888-719-9990, info@chirohealthusa.com or visit the ChiroHealthUSA website at www.chirohealthusa.com. Join us for a free webinar that will give you all the details about how a DMPO can help you practice with more peace of mind. Go to www.chirohealthusa.com to register today.
