There are two main goals for every corporate trainer, 1) provide training that is engaging and meets the business need, and 2) limit the amount of time an employee is away from their work. Social networking sites such as Facebook provide a way to meet both of these goals, however according to a survey 54% of U.S. employers ban sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn at work. Organizations cite many reasons for banning Facebook and other social networking platforms including company privacy, productivity, and network security. Here’s the truth: yes, there is some merit to these concerns, but there are ways to mitigate these risks that will allow your company to leverage the opportunities of these platforms. Let’s take a look at the facts and get you some answers to their arguments.
Their Arguments, Your Answers
Company Privacy
Argument: “We see stories all the time about Facebook users that divulge private company information or say inappropriate things on their profiles. By supporting the use of Facebook and other social networking sites we are basically telling our employees it is OK to talk about our business online. We’re not prepared to deal with that at this time. It’s better to just ban the use of these sites altogether.”
Answer: The fact is employees are going to talk about your business whether or not your company supports social networking tools. Denying that is like denying that the Earth is round. If it’s not on Facebook, they’ll talk about the company in email, on telephones, through text messages, etc. We have crossed over into the digital age and with that comes the freedom of self expression on a global scale. Even if your company is only concerned about social networks, employees that are using their personal accounts will still make updates that your company might find inappropriate. According to Finance and Commerce trying to ban employee use of social networks may not be the best option, especially their personal use. Instead many experts suggest that companies create a social networking policy. However, a study by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. found that nearly 59% of companies do not have a formal social networking policy. The time has come for all companies to have a policy social networking. Not sure where to start? Here is a great post from TechRepublic that lists the 10 things that you should cover in your social networking policy.
Productivity
Argument: “According to a July 2009 study by Nucleus Research Inc. companies that allow full access to Facebook in the workplace suffer a 1.5% drop in productivity. During these economic times we need our employees to be as productive as possible and not playing games on the Internet.”
Answer: The Nucleus Research study only identifies the immediate productivity loss and does not review the productivity gain that comes with the use of Facebook. According to a study conducted by the University of Melborne, employers can expect to see a 9% overall productivity increase from allowing employees to access social networking sites for personal use. Now, take into consideration that is for personal use. Imagine what your productivity numbers could look like if you allowed your employees to use a technology that they already rely on and understand to gather information for their professional responsibilities. As I pointed out in “Should Educators be Afraid to Have a Facebook Profile“ Facebook provides a great (and free) platform for training through their groups feature. Also, according to Facebook, they have over 300 million active users and the fastest growing demographic are those over the age of 35. That means you more than likely won’t have to train your workforce to use this technology.
Network Security
Argument: “If we let our employees use social networks on our computers then we will be at greater risk for bugs, viruses, and hackers. I saw articles on this in Forbes, eWeek, and IT Business Edge.”
Answer: It is true that social networks seem to be taking the brunt of attacks from Internet malcontents, but this isn’t much different than the security risks that went along with email when it was first developed (or even still today). Most of the time these attackers are looking to get your personal information. However, just as with email, there are many ways to protect your company from these threats. As I have outlined before, Facebook provides a great deal of information on how to protect yourself on their privacy pages. Additional security measures can be written into your social networking policy.
Most of the time those that are fighting social media tools the hardest are the ones that really aren’t familiar with the technology. They are only reacting to your requests using the snippits of information they have heard from their friends or the horror stories from the news. To win the social networking argument you must be prepared with the data that will put their fears to rest.
Best,
P.S. Even though you’ve got some data, you might not be ready to have the conversation. Here’s a couple resources that have helped me prepare for my “big conversations,” How To Win Any Argument: Without Raising Your Voice, Losing Your Cool, Or Coming To Blows
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