Social Networking & The Workplace

As promised in the previous blog post, today we will discuss the answers to the questions:

1. Why are 54% banning Social Media in the workplace?
2. Why are ONLY 54% banning Social Media in the workplace?

The list of reasons that follow have been assembled from various sources, direct conversations, and our own experiences here at TSI. Let’s Connect an e-book by Jan Vermeiren and Web Marketing by Stephanie Diamond are two sources that are very informative. So let’s get started.

1. Why are 54% banning Social Media at work?
    (Here are some of the reasons various sources provided.)
     A. Effect productivity, increase mistakes, and jeopardize security.
     B. Clogs the bandwidth other employees are using to conduct legitimate business.
     C. Feeds and leads to Social Media addiction (approximately 14% of users are addicted).
     D. Hackers are 10 times more successful on social networking sites.
     E. 5 million workdays lost per year (WOW!).

The list goes on, but you get the idea. So after reading this, the second question remains . . .

2. Why are only 54% banning Social Media at work?

     A. The #1 answer is moral. People view it as an attack to their freedom, and right or wrong, are           offended or personally insulted.
     B. Leverage . . . the social network value of the employees and their relationships.
     C. Discover what is being said about their business . . . good or bad.
     D. Create communities, welcome participation, and appear more human than an impersonal business.

The choice is difficult. The rewards or failures nebulous. Everyone feels they have rights, but with these rights, remember, comes responsibilities and consequences. Personal responsibility on the one hand is great, but risky. Control and constricting policies on the other hand improve security but at what cost to moral, culture, and discovery of what is being said about your company on the internet.

The question is not should Social Media be happening during business hours,

but rather, who should have access, for what reasons

and what results are expected?

Social Media is a potential business tool for:
     Networking
     Research
     Public Relations
     Brand Defense
     Recruiting
     Instructions
     Selling
     Communications

Learning to live with it could prove to be a profitable and productive choice. All comments and opinions are welcomed and appreciated.