SBA

Managing Social Media at Work

Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, Myspace etc.) has become one of the most popular uses of the Internet. It connects people and allows them to interact when they're apart; families, friends, ex-colleagues... Because it offers staff a distraction from work it is often seen by managers and business owners as a threat to productivity – so is it? and if it is, what can you do about it?

In practice, in most work places, Social Media is not an issue. Most staff are sufficiently responsible and conscientious to forgo temptation and limit their use of Social Media while in the office, dipping into it during lunch and tea-breaks etc.. A few are not, and these exceptions have led managers to ask me to ban access to Social Media websites. In each case my guidance has been that they should “fix the employee”. In my experience staff don't abuse Social Media at work unless they are bored and unmotivated, it's usually not a problem unless they are badly managed.

It is far better to identify the issues leading to a problem employee and fix the individual than it is to incur the displeasure and ill-will of the majority of staff by banning access to relatively harmless websites which they may enjoy while munching on their sandwiches during lunch-break – that is their time and should be respected as such.

But you've tried that, you've discussed it with the wayward employee and it hasn't helped, so what can you do?

Firstly, produce a written company policy about personal use of the company's internet access facilities, and ensure that it is distributed to all staff. It doesn't have to be long or complex, just explain what is and isn't considered appropriate internet usage at work. This should include “behaviour likely to bring the company into disrepute”, so that you have explicitly prohibited the use of social media to make disparaging remarks about the company. Ideally staff should sign a copy for the file so that you have a record that they've read it.

Secondly, ensure that you have web access logs on your web gateway, recording which PC went to which website and when. You should also have this information anyway for other reasons, in case of real Internet access abuse such as visiting porn sites. With it you can present a wayward employee with the evidence, “You seem to have visited Facebook 20 times yesterday and spent 40 minutes on it.”. The presence of a log is normally enough to ensure that staff are self-policing, and you should state in your company's Internet Access Policy that all web access is logged. Do not monitor the log as a matter of course, that would be an invasion of your employees' privacy, but use it to produce evidence when you have grounds for suspecting abuse.

Thirdly, which applies to all web access from work, ensure that your internet connection uses a web filter to prevent the download of malware and viruses, which are sometimes spread through links on social media sites.

If all else fails you may have to use the web filter to ban some sites, or to ban specific computers from visiting some sites, or limit access to specific times of day – lunchtime and outside of core hours. This however this should be an action of last resort, because once you go down this path you will be engaged in an endless war of blocking new sites as they emerge or your staff move on from banned sites to ones you haven't banned yet!

Social Media has a constructive and positive role in the workplace, it helps to unite staff, aids them in coordinating their social activities with their fellow employees, and contributes to cooperation in the workplace, breaking down interdepartmental barriers. In doing so it also increases staff loyalty and commitment. Don't ban it unless you have to, instead be aware of it and manage it sensibly to get the most benefit from it. Some major companies have even implemented “private” social networking in their IT systems to improve collaboration and cooperation between staff, resulting in improved business effectiveness and productivity.