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Social Networking Services and the Workplace
For a long time, online social networking sites were considered taboo at work. IT departments blocked sites and management considered it a termination offense for employees to waste valuable company time perusing such sites, posting to them, etc.
Over the last several years, there has been a gradual change in attitudes as the reality that this is the new telephone and new water cooler combined. Employers have come to realize that these social media sites enable people to connect very efficiently, and are part of the framework of how people interact now, no different than hallway conversations or phone calls. Banning employees from all access to such sites is not only challenging (you control the computers, but what about that smart phone they have), but is also perhaps as lacking in sense as telling employees to not talk in the hallway, at the water cooler, or over the phone.
In many cases, not only social interaction happens on these sites, but actual business networking and communications is enabled. I am a user of Linked In as an example, and find it a handy place to track my ‘business cards’. All of my work contacts can live there, and I can let them know what I am doing, and what my business is doing. I find this very useful, and productive when I need a candidate for an open position, want to talk about ideas I have for my business, or just want to keep relationships healthy with my business network. Others use facebook or other such sites in much the same way.
With these realities sinking in, it has become more common to see employers not only look the other way, but encourage employees to contribute to company groups or accounts on such sites, which broadens the companies visibility as well as having positive impact on their search engine optimization (SEO).
But then came a new set of concerns; virus propagation and data security. We all know that viruses are the bane of modern computing civilization. And we know that viruses come from countless sources. But now we are learning that the developers of viruses are using the wide open lane into your computer known as the social networking site. Our favorite social networking site feels like home, we are off our guard and chatting with friends. We don’t think about the same precautions we take in opening emails. And we pay for it.
Perhaps worse are the uses our data is being put to. I’m not an activist, nor do I worry if someone knows that visit Amazon.com 10 times per week. But, when you consider the types of data we put into networking sites about ourselves, our habits, our homes, our families, our likes wants and needs… and then realize that these sites can collect this data and sell it aggregated or as individual details in some cases, it is a ‘whoa’ moment. After all, who would take all of their personal data and thoughts and simply put it on a billboard on the side of a busy freeway? Well, that is basically what tens of millions of people are doing.
So back to the original question/issue. What should you do as an employer? My opinion is that shutting down all such sites is foolish and will simply chase them to their portable devices, which are slower, but get the job done. In other words, keeping them off the PC at work just causes them to get their social networking done more slowly on your dime! It is a reality, and it is time to address it and set some parameters. Talk about the moose on the table! Set policies about such sites and their use that would be at the same level as policies around personal phone calls or social time at work. Help people set boundaries and hold them accountable for their productivity. If usage of certain sites is causing issues with internet throughput then discuss appropriate times to use such sites or sites which cause issues. Times are changing, and it is hopeless to stand against the current. Perhaps you may even find some benefits to such sites, and having employees use sites in a way that can also promote your business! Create a group on Linked In for your company and post articles and discussions! Link this to a facebook page for your business.
Heck, you may even want to set up a twitter account and tweet (though for the life of me I can’t post anything under 140 characters (I think my blog entries validate my desired level of verbosity).
Also remind employees (and yourself) that any data posted to social networking sites is likely to be public information. Also remind everyone to use ’safe computing’ practices and not randomly open links or download files if they don’t know what they are getting. The Internet is like a busy city – basically safe if you know the rules and behave responsibly, yet rife with potential dangers if you are unprepared or incautious.
Just watch young workers and teenagers and you will see a deep attachment to ‘being connected’ and using social media sites. This is the future, and they are the workers and buyers of the future. Isn’t that enough motivation to start the process of embracing rather than controlling social media sites and employee connectedness to them? After all, it is all about reaching out and being in touch and in contact. Isn’t that sort of a key component of doing business?
As always,
Happy Computing!
Richard Brunke
