Since the beginning of corporate culture, there has been an ongoing tug-of-war between managers focused on productivity and employees seeking relief from daily stress in the workplace.
Time spent at the proverbial water cooler has taken on a whole new meaning with the phenomena of social media. Whether chatting with friends and family on instant messenger, posting updates on Twitter, sharing videos on YouTube, pictures on Flickr, arranging dates on Facebook, etc.
By some estimates at least 50% of employees use some type of social networking application at work, while on the clock, while two-thirds of companies filter access to web sites and tools that are perceived as inappropriate or a waste of time in the workplace.
Corporate Culture and Human Capital
How organizations deal with this issue says a lot about their corporate culture and meeting the need of employees to adequately balance their work and personal lives. It’s a delicate balancing act to be sure!
HR and IT managers may cringe at the very thought of social networks being used by employees on company computers and networks. Many employ firewall rule sets and other security measures to block access. And for sound reasons including productivity, conserving network bandwidth and preventing legal issues.
Some employees use proxy servers to subvert these measures and “go around the firewall” … potentially risking termination for breaking company policies! And there days, many employees now work remotely at least some of the time, making firewall restrictions impossible to even enforce.
Setting and Enforcing Policies
So, how do managers and employees find common ground in a business environment where human capital and satisfied knowledge workers may be the most valuable assets many companies have? Three simple steps generally proscribed are to:
While this straightforward approach may seem all too obvious and strictly a black or white issue to many managers, the reality is that setting and enforcing a strict policy could lead to any number of gray areas, including reduced employee satisfaction and morale, increased costs of enforcement and, in today’s world, potentially can even decrease companies’ competitiveness if you don’t have a social media strategy and your competitors do!
Smart companies are learning to leverage social media in the workplace to build brand awareness, employee and customer mind share and even increase productivity by enabling knowledge workers to connect globally to people inside and outside the organization.
Obviously, the policies your organization sets are highly dependent upon many factors and may even need to vary based on job function; a manufacturing line worker probably would not require internet access, while a social media marketer would be unable to perform their duties without full access!
The Internet and Corporate Evolution
With every new technology, corporations face new dilemmas; 15 years ago very few employees even had access to the internet. Now, most office workers need access in order to do their jobs.
Social media is still in it’s infancy and companies are struggling to understand whether there may be true value in allowing access versus the immediate response that many managers initially tend to have to Facebook, blogging, instant messaging, etc; “That’s a complete waste of company time and resources”.
Companies such as Microsoft and Siemens already have thousands of employees with profiles on Facebook. Southwest Airlines not only has encouraged employees to blog about why they love their jobs but also has an official company Twitter account, but also has 6 employees devoted full time to social media.
Transparency, connectedness, innovation and a healthier corporate culture are just a few reasons organizations should consider a more “open” policy rather than insisting on draconian limitations.
Bandwidth continues to get cheaper, making IT’s argument that video uploads, etc. are a drag on resources. HR and line managers who put adequate productivity measures in place should not fear time spent online anymore than time spent at the water cooler.
Corporations who don’t satisfy workers will end up employing the dregs of society while competitors keep their workforce connected, balanced and in high morale.
What do you think? Should your company reconsider its internet technology policies and social media strategy?
