image credit: jc50836 Ways Employee Social Media Freedom Benefits An Employer The Social Media Revolution is seeping into the workplace and employers are nervous. According to social web blogger David Armano, approximately
70% of organizations ban social networks devices. USA Today reports a lower amount but still: an October 22nd, 2009 survey shows 54% of businesses are banning social media from the workplace. Fears and worry about decreased productivity and/or risk exposure seem to be resulting in microcosms of censorship within workplaces. We all know how well that turned out for East Germany.
Unless companies are trying to create a Dilbert-like workplace environment of mistrust and oppression, banning social media is simply not a good idea. In fact, allowing employees to access social media could actually result in many benefits for the employer. Here's how:
Team Building and CamaraderieUS employers spend billions on employee team building activities like picnics, holiday parties and team building exercises. Allowing employees to participate in the virtual water-cooler dialogue of social media - gives them a chance to bond and find subjects they can relate to - free of cost to the employer. Studies show the main reason employees stay in jobs (or leave jobs) is due to their level of satisfaction with co-worker relationships. Social media allows employees to find a common bond and enhance the relationships with those they work.
Productivity Benefits from Brain BreaksA Discovery magazine article reports that neuroscientists at MIT have confirmed: taking breaks helps us learn and be more productive. A 2006 study observed rats pausing after exploring an unfamiliar maze. The neuroscientists theorize the rats are using the break to re-trace their steps in the maze for memory purposes - thus leading to better productivity during the next maze run. Another example: educators can confirm first-hand the benefits of sending students to recess - and the chaotic results if kids don't get their downtime.
Social media is the equivalent of workplace recess. Mind breaks lead to employee satisfaction and better productivity. This results in increased morale, reduced employee stress, low absenteeism and more engaged, healthier employees. All of these employee traits help the company bottom line.
On-the-Job TrainingSocial media can serve as a virtual think tank. If an employee is embarking upon a new project and needs advice from her peers, it's as easy as posting a question to their social networks. Many professional groups are established on LinkedIn or Facebook and offer a venue for discussion and the opportunity to post specific questions. Polls and surveys enable virtual focus groups. Employees can easily follow subject matter experts on a site like Twitter for a RSS-like feed of relevant content. While many companies offer organized mentoring programs, with social media, employees can choose their own on-line advisor for guidance and knowledge share.
Trust and Transparency If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th largest. In September 2009,
Facebook reached over 300 million active users. Gen Yer's continue to rely less on email and more on social media to communicate. Banning employees from this widespread communication tool is akin to telling your employees they can't use the phone for personal calls or e-mail friends and family. It's a signal your company is oppressive and in the dark ages. With the sale of smart-phones on the rise, it's likely that employees would access their social media sites on their mobile anyway - creating an environment of concealment and mistrust.
Allowing employees to access social media communicates: "We trust you're mature and know when enough is enough." For employees that do abuse their time on social media, managers and HR departments should address the issue on an individual level - similar to any other performance problem like absenteeism, low productivity or work quality.
Listening / Monitoring Much like many brands are monitoring customers to address satisfaction issues, employers can apply the same model. If employees are complaining about their employer on social media, it might hurt a corporate brand - but it at least allows the employer a chance to address complaints or dissatisfaction.
Many companies conduct internal employee surveys to evaluate morale and employee satisfaction. As an alternative, HR or Marketing staff could consider following and creating user lists / groups of employees on social sites to easily monitor conversation. Or, using a monitoring tool like
Seesmic or
Tweetdeck on Twitter allows an employer to continuously monitor keywords - like your company name - and immediately address unfavorable messaging. Caution: if your workplace doesn't offer a culture of transparency and openness, employees could misconstrue this as employer stalking.
Brand Evangelists Just like unhappy employees complain about their jobs, happy employees love to share their positive workplace experience. And, 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations over a brand's marketing efforts. That holds true for the workplace as well: happy, well-performing employees will attract similar employees - a huge recruiting benefit.
The key for happy tweeps and happy tweets is creating a culture and environment that an employee feels like they can contribute and express themselves. A satisfied employee will be an advocate for your company, might share job openings with their friends and boast about the latest accomplishments. You can't buy that kind of press. Employers that embrace social media and provide employees with a simple policy, best practices, legal no-no's and basic usage / etiquette training will create an environment of openness with lower risk to the employer.
The fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago is a poignant analogy of how closing off people to outside connection ultimately fails. And it's begging the question: How permanent are your social media firewalls?
Traci Armstrong, Director, Talent Acquisition
@tannarmstrong Editor's Note: A version of this post originally appeared in Advertising Age November 16, 2009.
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