Implementing Your Company Internet Usage Policy

Besides controlling your employees' internet usage, you may want to enforce a corporate email policy. Email policies are designed to dictate what is appropriate use of the company's email programs. You may, for example, want to eliminate any employees using the company's corporate email for personal communication.


Another company email usage policy involves forwards and spam emails. These are the types of emails that wish everyone luck or riches for passing on the email to ten friends. For whatever reason, they keep coming into your inbox and your employees may be spending valuable company time forwarding them on to their friends
 
You may want to put a ban on any of these types of email. Another aspect of a company email policy that is often overlooked is appropriate communication. You may want to tell your employees that they may not use the company email to carry on fights with each other, or to bad mouth someone behind his or her back. Remember, you never know who will see an email, and when two employees are having difficulties, they should talk to each other instead of sending an email back and forth that is full of bitter words.



Employees who refuse to adhere to email policy compliance standards should face strict consequences. You may choose to have a certain number of times they can be caught abusing the company email before you suspend or fire them. The internet and email are dangerous tools in the wrong hands, and you do not want your company's reputation to be marred by an unethical employee.


Internet And Email Security


The final thing you need to consider when establishing a company wide internet and email policy is the internet security policy for your company.


What will you do to an employee who is caught hacking into the company's system, or introducing a virus to the computer network? Is this cause for immediate dismissal?


What security measures are you going to put in place to prevent outsiders from damaging the computer network, and to keep secure files secure?


How will you keep the employees from within the company from leaking important security information?


These considerations need to be thought through as soon as possible to keep you from having serious security problems.






With these tools and tips, you can set up an internet usage policy. College settings should consider the same things as a business. The policies for employees would then apply to students. Remember, an employee internet policy keeps everyone more productive, happier, and safer at work!