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Is Pokemon Go an employee policies & procedures challenge?

26th Jul 2016
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In the recent heatwave I have taken advantage of my local park, wandering round the lakes, finding shade under the trees, but on more than one occasion I was shocked to see people missing all of the beauty around them, fixated on their smart phone. Were they not interested in their companion’s conversation? Were they lost and consulting a map? No, all around me, humans turned hunters. Of Pokemons. We are talking about Pokémon Go!

Whilst the latest craze has passed me by, it cannot be denied that this app is all consuming for a mind-bending number of people. Pokémon Go is fast rivalling Twitter in popularity and has already been downloaded to more phones than Tinder. If your company is office-based or perhaps a call centre or production line where individuals would be missed, you may feel that you have nothing to worry about but, what if you employ field sales staff, couriers or home workers? Are your staff hunting whilst working, or worse still, hunting whilst driving?

The policies that you have in place should adequately protect you from rogue hunters but until Pokémon Go joins the forgotten ranks of Loom Bands, Tamagotchi and Pog, consider this:

Health and safety policy

Your health and Safety policy will define how employees are expected to behave. Employees should be aware of their surroundings at all times, wherever they are on the premises, inside or out. If your car park for example is, or is close to, a ‘Pokéstop’, you may find employees creating hazards by obliviously wandering or even running, through without a moment’s consideration for colleagues, cars, delivery drivers, forklifts etc., focused only on the screen of their smartphone.

IT & Communications / Social Media policies

Are staff currently allowed to use their personal phones during work time? If the answer is no, Pokémon Go is no different. Even where personal use is permitted, staff who are unproductive because they are hunting during work time can be disciplined just as someone surfing the web would be. Home workers and those less visible may also be drawn to the hunt, resulting in reduced productivity.

If your staff have company phones, does your policy permit software and apps to be downloaded without the permission of the IT department? Particularly with field-based staff, if you are concerned, you may wish to check the latest downloads and what your policy permits.

Does your Social Media Policy permit pictures of your workplace, inside or out, to be posted on line? If a lucky hunter finds a Pokémon in the conference room, or under a colleague’s car, are you able to stop them from sharing their glory on Facebook? Is this a privacy or security risk for your business?

Disciplinary policy

This does not mean every Pokémon hunter should be sacked. However, never forget your ability to discipline staff whose behaviour may fall below the standards expected of them, per your policy. If your staff drive on company business and cover a large area, they may see it as an advantage in the hunt. Driving whilst using a smart phone is dangerous, not to mention illegal. Pokémon Go is not a defence and disciplinary action should be considered, per the parameters of your policy.

Of course the need may not arise for your company to be the rule enforcer about the latest tech trends taking the world by storm, but it is always worthwhile to be aware of your employee policies and use them when appropriate.

Get in touch with Dana for more information about employment policies and procedures for your business.

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