Does your organization block social media sites?
There is a stigma about social media in the workplace. Many CIOs and IT directors see things like Twitter and Facebook as productivity killers. In many organizations, access to these platforms are blocked at the firewall. But should they be?
I’m guessing you know my answer on this ... NO.
While the paranoid IT department blocks these sites citing productivity and bandwidth concerns, they are overlooking the benefits of allowing employees access to social networks.
Recruiting: Happy employees will happily talk about how great it is to work for your company, while you stand poised to reap the benefits of this through recruiting. In fact, I would suggest that you setup a company fan page and encourage your employees to be there talking about you.
Brand management: Your employees are your team. They are your first line of defense and offense for your company. Happy employees can act as company ambassadors and help evangelize your company to the online world. And if you’ve provided the appropriate mechanisms, can help you identify a potential online crisis; giving your management team the ability to react before things get out-of-hand.
Professional networking: I’ve met alot of contacts through social media channels while working at MindComet and have been able to grow my professional network significantly. This has benefited me and MindComet. People from my network have provided training to our staff and some of these people have spent money with us.
If you are going to encourage social media at your company, by no means do I think you should just open the flood gates. I would suggest that you first draft a corporate social media policy and then educating your staff about the policy. If you’re not sure how to write a social media policy, check out IBM’s policy, and use a reference. You also should define and communicate the consequences for violating your company’s social media policy.
Posted by Jeremy Hilton on Mar. 04, 2009