Should your business allow staff access to Social Networks in the office.,,. while using them to build business traffic?.
Facebook on or off? I recently suggested to a client that to add value to his new website - he needs a Facebook and Myspace presence for his company ... a recruitment and temporary staffing business. His reply was that he was turning off access to them because his staff waste to much time there.
How do I convince him to balance the benefits with the distractions?
Good Answers (13)
Ted S
Internet Marketing at Monster Cable
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Does your client forbid employees from talking? How about from using email? Does he expect them to spend their days in front of their monitors without pause? Is he looking to foster a culture of people that work to get paid or one in which people work as a part an organization they enjoy? Does he want his employees engaging people in their fields to learn and promote or to sit alone and isolated?
I ask these questions because whenever this comes up it's important to realize that this discussion is not new, only the medium is. The simple reality is that our employees are human and as such, they crave interaction and distraction. This distraction can mean checking email, planning a vacation, messaging on FaceBook, taking a smoke break or chatting by the coffee machine. All of these appear to detract from productivity but can also boost it. In my experience, employees who are denied the opportunity to communicate have less attachment to their employee and a whole lot less reason to stick around. As a blog posting at Web Ink Now mentioned the other day, restricting access can also limit a company's ability to be in the market place (see link below). What if employees want to read blogs about their field? What if they want to discuss ideas? Where is the line between social (my friends) and networking (my business contacts... a la LinkedIn)? In some groups, FaceBook is used for business contacts as much as personal ones, should it still be banned?
There’s no doubt that employees spending time on other websites are not doing their work at that exact second. But let’s drive a level deeper… what do the employees actually do? Even if they do serve a function which is all about constant production, do we expect them to work without pause and even if we’d like them to do that, do we really think it’s reasonable to assume they can or could?
I like to look at my employees and teams as self-accountable individuals. This goes for high level professionals and call center employees, I’ve worked with both. If someone has 10 tasks to accomplish and has accomplished all 10 thoroughly, gone off and concepted something new and started in on 11, 12 & 13 aren’t they ahead regardless? If my in-bound call center agent has no inbound calls to take and no notes to write up, do they really just need to sit there playing thumb war? My stance is no, they don’t. If people get things done and go above and beyond then they are great contributors to the team and if they want to post to a social site, talk to a coworker, check email, etc…, so be it because they will regardless.
In my experience, if people are “slacking”, stopping them from using a website doesn’t fix anything. The problem isn’t that FaceBook takes all their time, it’s that they chose to put it above other things and can’t find a balance. No one really spends 8 or 10 hours stuck in front of their desk without distraction every day. Employees who aren’t being productive need to be worked with to understand issues, resolve challenges and be encouraged to succeed. Taking them off websites is like telling a first grade bully not to beat up kids and then leaving them in class, you’re not fixing the issue.
Your client is absolutely right to want to insure his team is productive but he also needs to consider what his team is accomplishing today and what is reasonable to expect from them. Furthermore, he needs to consider the implication of slapping wrists and limiting people… being told no can be deeming or insulting at the least and at some point it becomes a reason to leave for a place that sees your value and doesn’t worry about how you spend a few minutes of your day.
Links:
Clarification added June 23, 2008:
Of course you know this all but are trying to find a way to sell it and I think the only way is to outline the reality of the situation. There are lots of employers types out there and some don’t want to accept that people aren’t glued to their monitors… breaking them of that means presenting them with evidence. Discussing quotas and goals and helping them realize that things are being done and more. That management styles require going beyond just saying “no” to resolve employee productivity issues. Finally you can weave in the true value of people participating and sharing as another reason to keep the gates open. If he was more open to employee discretion in the first place this would be your leading point but if productivity is the first concern, it makes more sense to point out the true impact and reality of social networking on that first, otherwise you’ll end up going back and forth about the dollars assigned to lost hours versus those gained from people being on sites for your project which completely misses the point… social networks aren’t the problem.
Matt C
Empassioned Student of Marketing, Design, and Experience
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (2), Web Development (1)
Here's an article you may find of interest:
"Lack of Facebook Access Makes You Want to Quit? Grow up, Punks"
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/tve/?p=338
Also, your suggestion that the client should create and maintain an active social media presence is a good idea, though it could be independent of him allowing his employees access to the sites. Perhaps he could give one or two members of his team etc the responsibility of such an endeavor.
Dean L
Online Media Manager at Express Publications
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Unfortunately some people do waste time on Facebook. Some use it smartly. He obviously don't believe his staff - so maybe he need to recruit new workforce? I believe that having Facebook and MySpace pages is overpriced. Hype. LinkedIn is useful. No pictures of crazy parties here. :) not yet... If u really want to get him on - show him examples - big companies with success stories. It's a tool - work as much as you use it and utilize it. If he can't see advantage - he will fail.
"because his staff wastes to much time there" might mean his staff needs training ? They have tools they don't know how to use, offer them training perhaps in proper used of Social Networking, and how it can create value.
Wallace J
Multimedia Producer, Mind Taffy Design; Graphics Design, VR and i3D programming for Acrobat 3D PDF
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Easy Answer. Have a SMO/SMM Position where that employee does the Social Media Optimization and Marketing for the company. Walls. MindTaffyLLC@Yahoo.com
Links:
Peter B. G
Co-Founder & CIO at P3 Social Media
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Business based social networks - Yes
Social based social networks - No
Basically there are two types of network one that is distinctly business focused, like LinkedIn and various industry specific portals that can benefit business. One of the advantages these sites can offer is getting an answer to a specific problem, or the nudge in the right direction, or an insight of how to resolve a specific issue.
On the other side networks such as Facebook and Myspace do not add any business benefit. Chatting about the latest video shot at last Saturday's party and sharing video's I cannot think has any business value.
I know we all have a chat at work around the coffee machine but that is not the same as burning corporate bandwidth looking at an illegal video of Britney Spears, or whoever is the flavour of the minute. Whatever it is of no business relevance.
Yes and No. Yes if it does not eat too much into getting work done on time and in proper fashion.
No, if too much time is spent on Social Networking Sites.
Beware, one can get lost in keeping track of emails too (not productive nor good). I make it a point to only check my emails twice a day at the most unless I am in Customer Service. Clients can always find me on my mobile/cell phone.
Your client can be convinced with a video demo. Seriously. :)
Have your client know he can still keep track of staff's online movements and have his employees know this as well. (There's software to do this for a network of computers.)
Erica F
Social Media Optimizer, Publisher at ALC Publishing, President of Yuricon
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Issues of trust, maturity and training aside, everyone has their own technique to slack at work. Whether it be walking around chatting with other people, or checking sports scores, IMing, Social networking, reading a book, what have you. It's essential to mental well-being that a company recognize that this is not taking away from work - it's the way we recharge our brains. For old school businesses, the water cooler *was* the social networking site. Now, its online. There is no difference, and a good company won't choke down on this to the point of absurdity. Let people have their slacktime and chances are you'll get better work out of them in the long run - and less chance of burn out.
If his staff is excessively chatting or social networking, perhaps he needs to give them more challenging work, or encourage them to network with each other. Sounds like a good time to manage by walking around, talking to people. :-)
Off AND On.
If your client feels that his staff will spend too much time surfing MySpace, he’s probably right. I previously used MySpace, but deleted my profile because it consumed too much of my time. Those websites are very addicting, and employees should not be allowed to use company time to access them.
At a previous job, employees were allowed to surf these social websites on their downtime. I caught one individual on MySpace looking at a handgun profile. Other employees viewed profiles with inappropriate pictures. These images may compel some employees to head straight to HR with a sexual harassment claim.
I ran some numbers and found that the employees who “played” on these websites had lower productivity levels. Once I banned these social sites, our team’s productivity levels increased by 25% in a two week period.
Suggestion:
Instead of your client setting up a business profile on MySpace, I suggest that he creates an account at Simply Hired. This company will advertise the open positions on MySpace for him. That way his employees are still doing the leg work, they don’t go directly on MySpace, but the open positions are still listed there.
Links:
Colleen C
Director of Partnerships at CMO Advisory Board
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Social networking means big business for employers, if approached carefully. A few things to consider:
Your industry: How much does your business rely on the internet? Are your clients open to social networking as a form of communication? How do you communicate your value proposition?
Your workforce: Have your employees "grown-up" with Facebook/MySpace? How do your employees view these social networking sites in light of business opportunities? Do they understand your expectations and concerns?
Keep your workforce on the same page:
*Implement a workplace policy to address what is and what is not considered appropriate use of social networks in the workplace.
*Educate employees on this policy as well the consequences of violation.
*Don't be afraid to solicit feedback from your employees -- How are they using these sites?
*Enforce this policy if it is being abused.
John B
CGEIT, PMP, Six Sigma Black Belt, Security+, CIW, MCP, A+, iNet+, ITIL, CISM (pending)
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Social networks are a double-edged sword.
There's a lot of value to social networks for business contacts, customer interaction, feedback, and just providing a "human face" to the company. But when you blur the lines between the business and personal interactions, you run the risk of someones "off hours" activities reflecting poorly on the company. The flip side of that is that you may find yourself in a position of trying to exert control over what amounts to someone's personal life.
My recommendation is that the access be allowed, but that personal profiles and "company presence" profiles be kept seperate. Make it clear that the "company presence" profile is subject to review and audit and has to conform to some sort of "appropriateness" guidelines. (also, that it shouldn't be linked to personal profiles...if it is, they become subject to the same guidelines).
Encourage peer review of the profiles or assign someone to periodically review how these profiles/presences are maintained and managed. It's not that much different than an employee writing letters to the editor or giving public presentations or interviews. If they're doing it on behalf of the company, let them do it on company time, with company resources and while adhering to company standards. If it's personal, then do it on your own time and keep the company out of it completely.
Where it gets a little more hazy is with sites like LinkedIn. It's clearly a business tool and people can easily maintain professional profiles, relationships and exchanges that are business appropriate but not neccessarily related to the company. I tend to view these as "professional development". If my staff wants to engage in these discussions, it helps to develop business skills, grow their professional network and helps to increase their overall value to the company. Each exchange is like a little "mini conference" or Users Group meeting without the cost of travel and living.
With that said, if they spent 6 hours a day on social networking sites, they'd better spend the rest of the day working on resumes :)
Bob L
Author, Facilitator, Business Owner, Executive Mentor, Writing Consultant
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We enthusiastically support our employees spending serious time on social networking sites, especially LinkedIN, ecademy and goodreads, but we have a presence on Facebook, MySpace and many others as well, 53 sites in fact..
First, there is a lot of activity on the social networking arena and most of it isn't about sharing photos of your dog or baby. To keep timely, a company needs to be aware of what the customer is talking about or thinks important. That information is out there on the Internet and much of it is being collected at social networking sites.
Secondly, we have found so many fantastic people through our daily process. This covers the range from contract employees, references, customers and partnerships, as well as a steady input of ideas that keeps us sharp and innovative.
Now it is true that these sites can be addicting and I admit to spending too much time on LinkedIn, So, we limited our staff involvement to 3 hours a day, with certain exceptions, which has proved adequate to make significant quality connections, but doesn't take away from overall productivity. We even have a weekly meeting regarding the social networking sites and divide them amongst our staff, rotating which site gets whose attention. The entire process has added a lot of excitement and when we find somebody we've been looking for, we celebrate.
Social networking is here to stay, at least for the next several years. Businesses need to seriously become involved in the traffic of information, becoming a part of the conduit, or the multi-millions of users will pass you by.
Nancy M
Owner, Masse Creative
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Rick,
Your title suggests you work in a company that utilizes the web as a communication/marketing tool. The fact that you are not adding SocMed to your marketing mix should be a huge red flag to your bosses that your company is either missing a great opportunity or already falling behind the pack.
It would be very easy to start up a "quick n' dirty" SocMed strategy that only involves key players that can be "trusted" to use their time wisely.
In my experience, once the man at the top realizes the potential, he usually invites the rest of the company to join in anyway!
Good luck!
More Answers (2)
Raman V
Intrapreneur, Entrepreneur [Open Networker, all invites welcome - rvaidy5@yahoo.com] 1500+ connections
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If you establish a system based on delivering to timelines, typically people would be busy doing what they are doing, and delivering your projects. If your business people are utilizing Myspace / Facebook to build business traffic, then place a number / business traffic per hour that each person MUST meet. That would set the tone of wastage of time. Regardless, your focus and message to the employees should be clear, deliver on time line, and every body wins. Also you should consider providing them with a little bit of relaxation during the day, which can create a stress releif mood in your employees. You should strike a balance. Check on the efforts on Shell corporation in making their employees happy at workplace. That should provide some convincing scientific data to your friend. Good Luck
Rachel B
Senior Network Engineer
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If social networking sites are eating too much time in your client's employees day and (s)he wants to shut off access, (s)he has much bigger management problems (s)he needs to solve. The employees are either going to get around this issue (proxy servers, RDP, SSH tunnelling are just a few ways around it) or the employees will find some other webpage to waste time on.
