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Can companies effectively manage employees' social media activities -- and should they even try?
The lines between "personal" and "work" time have all but disappeared, thanks in part to "the mobile, social cloud." And more and more people are using Twitter, Facebook and other social media for both personal and professional purposes. So what makes for effective corporate policy regarding social media? What have you seen work, what have you seen fail, and what is your company doing to strike the best balance between leveraging and banning social media activities among employees?
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3 Answers
There's a lot of conversation about the pros and cons of social media policies, and for the most part I think guidelines are a good thing. There's many people out there that think that just because they don't use social media for work purposes, they can still say whatever they want - even if it represents their company in an unflattering light.
Banning social media is not the answer. As history has shown, time and time again, if you ban people from something it will only make them want to use it more. If your company is concerned about what employees might say online, then offering a short social media policy is smart. Make sure to emphasize what they're not allowed to discuss (e.g.: proprietary information), and if they'll be held responsible for what they say. You wouldn't believe how many people still think they can't be fired for what they say on Facebook...
Ultimately, social media really comes down to trust. Your organization should hire great people, and should be able to trust that they'll represent your company ethically and professionally in the social sphere. Social media policies are helpful in preventing mishaps, but it all boils down to making sure you're hiring the right people for your organization.
I've found that most employees conduct themselves in a professional manner online. If you're having a lot of negative social media experiences within your organization, then it's probably time to dig a little deeper to find the root cause.
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For more information, check out these discussion threads:
- What should a social media policy cover? (http://www.focus.com/questions/what-should-social-media-policy-cover/)
- Does your company have a social media policy? (http://www.focus.com/questions/does-your-company-have-social-media-policy-it-...)
- Social Media Policy: How long should it be? (http://www.focus.com/questions/social-media-policy-how-long-should-it-be/)
The social media has become the water cooler of the company. Business owners have got to understand that many people have complaints about their job, their bosses, customers and vendors. Social media sites have become the place to vent these frustrations and many employees believe that it is OK to complain in this setting.
We recommend that employees using social media keep my father's adage in mind, "If you can't say something good, don't say anything at all."
And as Caty stated, there has to be an element of trust and if there is a lot of negative information about your organization posted on line, then the problem is not with the employees - it's a management issue.
Here's an article on this subject entitled, Social Networking - Be Careful Out There
http://mckenziehr.com/enews/june2010.htm
As Caty shared, attempting to ban the use of social media will have a negative effect - ultimately affecting employee morale and potentially leading to other unexpected and definitely unwanted consequences.
Social media is now an essential element of the social supply chain. It's the way your employees communicate with each other, your suppliers, partners and customers. We use it to keep up with the competition. We leverage the power of groundswell to build communities and shape perceptions of our brands. So trying to eliminate it would be ill advised.
On the other hand corporations have fiduciary responsibilities to stakeholders. So you do need policies to serve as guideposts for employees as they make their daily journeys through the social maze. The key to successful policies is in their development - the employees MUST be included in the process. Otherwise, the policies end up being viewed as just another corporate dictum. I penned a white paper on this subject about a year and a half ago, but I think it's still somewhat relevant. Here's the link if you're interested - http://goo.gl/VmxK9
Once you do have policies in place you need to monitor your social networking/media strategy to ensure it stays on track. This doesn't mean "policing" your employees. It simply means paying close attention to all aspects of your social strategy, including your brand and how the actions of your employees may be affecting its health. To be successful you need to continually engage your employees and understand their perceptions of how their behavior in the social world impacts the corporation. Making this a two-way conversation is critical. The last thing you want to do is have the employees believe you are spying on them. An interesting side note in this area is the failed "Social Sentry" product that was offered by Teneros back in early 2010. It was designed to scan Facebook and other social networks and look for content of employees. Thank goodness it was short-lived.
In addition to the white paper I mentioned above, I penned another one on the subject of keeping your social networking strategy on track. Like the other paper, it was written a while back (over two years now... wow) but I think still relevant if you're interested - http://goo.gl/wauwq
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