Keep your workplace safe -- create a sensible technology policy with this all-in-one-guide.

Sixty-eight percent of employees in the U.S. have sent emails that exposed their company to risk, and more than 229 million records have been taken from stolen business laptops or hacked business websites since 2005. It is no wonder, then, that technology dangers consistently rank number one on the list of employers' concerns.

Every new device that promises to make our lives easier brings with it the risk of misuse -- whether accidental or intentional. That's why it's so important that any business that employs both people and computers create a safe and sensible policy for technologies in the workplace.

Smart Policies for Workplace Technologies provides the tools employers need to assess your current policies' effectiveness, along with information on how to draft or revise, then distribute and enforce your new customized policies.

Learn how to protect your business with a policy that addresses:

• Trade secret protection
• Customer, employer and employee privacy
• Communicating with employees regarding privacy policy
• Managing electronic documents and tools
• Limiting liability for employee misconduct
• Conserving company resources

Co-published with the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM),  Smart Policies for Workplace Technologies keeps your business safe, online and off.

• Computer and Software Use Policy

• Email Policy

• Internet Policy

• Instant Messaging Policy

• Blogs and Personal Posting Policy

• Cell Phone Policy

• Portable Computing Device Policy

• Camera Phone Policy

• Electronic Communications and Equipment Policy Acknowledgment Form

1. Drafting Effective Technology Policies

• A. Why You Need Technology Policies
• B. Creating Your Policies

2. Computers and Software

• A. Computers
• B. Software
• C. Putting It All Together: Sample Computer and Software Use Policy

3. Email

• A. Personal Use of Email System
• B. Privacy
• C. Monitoring
• D. Content Rules
• E. Viruses and Other Security Threats
• F. Retention and Deletion
• G. Putting It All Together: Sample Email Policy

4. Internet Use

• A. Personal Use of the Internet
• B. Prohibited Uses of the Internet
• C. Privacy
• D. Personal Web-Based Email
• E. Putting It All Together: Sample Internet Policy

5. Instant Messaging

• A. To IM or Not to IM?
• B. Usernames
• C. Personal Use of IM
• D. Privacy and IM Monitoring
• E. Viruses and Security Threats
• F. Retention and Deletion
• G. Putting It All Together: A Sample Instant Messaging Policy

6. Blogs and Beyond: Personal Posting on the Internet

• A. Restrictions on Personal Posting
• B. Adopting a Commonsense Policy
• C. Putting It All Together: A Sample Blog and Personal Post Policy

7. Cell Phones

• A. Company-Owned Phones
• B. Personal Cell Phones at Work
• C. Safety
• D. Wage and Hour Concerns
• E. Putting It All Together: Sample Cell Phone Policy

8. Portable Computing Devices: PDAs, Laptops, and Beyond

• A. Use Rules
• B. Security
• C. Driving Safety
• D. Wage and Hour Concerns
• E. Putting It All Together: Sample Portable Computing Device Policy

9. Cameras and Camera Phones

• Alternative 1: Banning Cameras
• Alternative 2: Use Restrictions
• Putting It All Together: Sample Camera Phone Policy

Appendixes

• A. How to Use the CD-ROM
• Installing the Form Files Onto Your Computer
• Using the Word Processing Files to Create Documents
• B. Acknowledgment Form

Index

Here are summaries of important legal or procedural changes that affect the latest edition of this product.