How to Effectively Manage Cyber Monday Shopping in the Workplace

By: Laura Mohammad
November 28th, 2011

With Cyber Monday sales topping $1 billion last year, it’s no wonder online retailers offer deep discounts to capitalize on its popularity. But as a business owner, it pays to be aware that your employees may be shopping on company time, rather than doing their jobs. What approaches should you take from a human resources (HR) perspective to ensure that Cyber Monday isn’t lost to Web surfing? The proven solutions to this issue may surprise you.

Ed Ludwigson, vice president and general manager of Staples Advantage’s Technology Solutions, says that with the increasingly complex relationship between personal electronic devices and work responsibilities, it is becoming impractical to have hard-and-fast rules about personal online shopping.

“We wouldn’t recommend a clamp-down,” Ludwigson says. “It winds up being pretty hard to do. Employees use personal technology in their work, and [a clamp-down] may be a little heavy handed,” he says.

“More and more, we see people using personal devices; it makes them more productive. It’s hard to flip the switch,” he says.

Instead of policing employees’ online shopping, Ludwigson reccommends reminding them of your company’s rules of engagement that govern equipment and proprietary information. Here are his tips for ensuring that Cyber Monday doesn’t end in disaster for you or your employees:

1. Accept that the holidays are different. Employees who are typically vigilant may let their guard down. You should remind them about best practices when they are online at the office.
2. Educate your staff. They need to have a basic understanding of cyber security.
3. Balance risk with common sense. Employees may use their personal devices for work-related tasks. This is a continuing trend with the number of portable computers and mobile devices in the workplace increasing every year. “Employees are using their own mobile devices to shop, and you need to create realistic security policies that don’t compromise intellectual property while letting employees stay mobile,” Ludwigson says.
4. Blend the company’s needs with that of the employees. Increasingly, companies are looking for deals on Cyber Monday. Ludwigson suggests encouraging employees to keep an eye out for good deals, and telling them they are permitted to do personal shopping as long as it doesn’t interfere with their work.
5. Make it fun. Brent Shelton, public relations director with FatWallet.com, suggests holding a contest for your staff. “See who can find the best Cyber Monday deal in a set amount of time and blog Facebook or tweet about it. Media outlets might pick up on it, Google will recognize the ‘hot’ news, and your workplace culture would benefit,” he says.

Regarding online best practices, Ludwigson advises that you remind your employees of the following:

• Make sure not to save user names and passwords on shopping sites.
• Don’t access sites that lack a clear business purpose.
• Remember to follow the same practices with social media as with other sites.
• Keep anti-virus software up to date.
• Use strong passwords and don’t use the same password for every site.
• Make sure all websites accessed use SSL encryption when entering personal information.
• Avoid providing a work email address as contact information.

With Ludwigson’s proven HR solutions to potential Cyber Monday problems, your employees and your business stand to benefit from the special deals available on this day.

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