Great question, Nicholas. I believe that companies who are not social media-friendly will have a difficult time keeping young talent. Once they begin working at a company, if they find that Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are blocked by the company's IT department, it sends a very strong message that social media will not only be tolerated, but that the company doesn't trust its employees to be responsible.

Social media, when used properly, can be a very helpful tool in a workplace for research, customer service and community building. Of course, some employees may take advantage of being able to waste excessive time on social media, but these are the types of employees who shouldn't be hired in the first place.

Karin W Replied on Jan. 26, 2012

Trust is an absolutely key component of how social networks will play a role in the organization. It isn't as simple as 'allow it or block it' if the culture is not conducive to a trust based cultural orientation. If an organization is not now operating on a trust based parameter then introducing SN without proper preparation (culture shift) will create all the fear type problems that some imagine.

Industry sector also matters-someone working all day on a construction site is not all that likely to be overly concerned about whether or not their company allows or blocks.

It is an "it depends" response to this question.

Karin W

Founder, HR Concise

Posted on Dec. 21, 2011

That is an "it depends" question. Consider that Apple restricts SM use for employees but get young people lining up to work there; then consider that IBM and Cisco encourage, enable and expect employees to use SM. The decision depends on the culture, target candidate, industry, systemic structure and in a rocky economy most people just want a job, the SM isn't going to be a deal breaker. The question should be why would an organizations management decide for or against SM and the response becomes more complex but more valid.

John Anderson

Principal, The Glowan Consulting Group

Posted on Jan. 27, 2012

I have seen the difficulties organizations have attracting young top talent when their systems and tools are not what the individuals want and feel that they need.

We must be careful to not look at these new tools through old eyes. What many may see as risky, unnecessary or a waste of time may be seen by younger employees as essential.

Like any other resource, they must be managed but not blocked.

David Boroi

Posted on April 26, 2012

We have a white paper, "Social Media and HR- Friends or Foes" developed by Sage software that may provide helpful advice: http://bit.ly/policyforsocialmedia