Why Your Company Can't Afford to Ban Social Networking

Social networking is not a fad. It's not one of those things that people think is cool for a few years and then it simply fades away. Much like the internet did, social networking and social media have changed the way the world works. We're now connected to every friend, acquaintance, girlfriend, boyfriend, and business contact that we have ever encountered – it's a powerful and even revolutionary tool.

Social media has already changed the way people communicate and interact with each other and it's changing the way business works – for the better. But still, a recent Challenger, Gray & Christmas study found that 20% of companies have banned social networking sites from employee computers! If your company is one of those 20%, you should seriously reconsider. Here's why.

It's called social NETWORKING for a reason

Network, network, network. It's all you heard from your parents growing up, your professors in college, and every successful person you've talked to since. Companies inherently understand (I hope) that employees need to network both inside and outside the company because you never know where that next big sale, or new hire will come from. In a recent press release, Nick Ragone, Director of Ketchum's Communications & Media Strategy Group says, "Banning these types of sites would be the equivalent of asking your boss, 'Do you think I really need to make sales calls or network; can't I just hang out in my office and wait for the phone to ring?' "

Of course not! Why then, would any company consider blocking a website that allows all of your employees to be in one giant virtual room with the best and brightest from inside and outside your industry? Sounds like a case of short-sighted management to me.

Social networks are the best place to recruit

Yes, I'm aware that "passive job seeker" is the big buzzword in recruiting these days, but there's a reason for that. Passive job seekers are the people your company really wants to recruit. They are the ones who are perfectly happy in their situation. They make a good salary, they enjoy the people they work with, and their employers are happy with their performance. But they still hang out on social networks, they're actively involved in online communities, and they read blogs. And they will listen to a more attractive job offer if your company can create the online presence you need to connect with these people.

Active job seekers on the other hand, are actively searching for a job for a reason. They're on Monster, CareerBuilder, and JobFox because they really want to get out of their situation. But, chances are, they are in a less than perfect job because they couldn't get anything better. You may find the occasional gem of a resume in your inbox, but you'd be much better served to connect with the people you really want through Linkedin, Twitter, or Brazen Careerist.

Social media can directly impact your bottom line

Social networks and blogs are very much about networking, connections and conversation, but if your company big whigs won't go for anything that doesn't directly impact the bottom line, show them that social media can do that too.

The Washington Post reports that Marriott made more than $5 million in bookings from people who clicked through to the reservation page from Marriott's corporate blog. I don't know the exact traffic numbers for Marriott's blog, but I do know that the longer blogs are around, and the more you write the more direct traffic you get. And in this case, an increase in direct traffic will no doubt lead to an increase in revenue.

If you hired right, your employees will not waste work time on social media

Ketchum's press release pretty much sums it up when they say, "Yes, there are a few bad apples that may waste time on these tools, but they will find ways to waste time even if they don't have social networking sites – they will find something else to distract them."

Top employees, the employees you should hire, will spend time on social networking sites, but they will not do it at the expense of getting their work done. There are only two possible reasons that your employees are wasting time on these sites. One reason is that you hired the wrong people, and you should get rid of them ASAP. The other option is maybe your company needs to provide more work to employees or re-think how you define employee engagement.

Some companies are so obsessed with controlling employees, they've failed to see that banning social networking at work is no different than controlling the number of employees who received a PC in the '80s and limiting the number of employees with internet access in the '90s. And we all know what a great idea that was. So go ahead, ban social networking at your company. But do so at your own peril.

Leave your thoughts here. (8 responses)

This article´s comments All Employee Evolution comments

Greg Rollett

Aug 26th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

Great post Ryan. I am a big advocate of this to my clients and in my talks. YouTube is one of the best goldmines for research for reports, information and finding pieces for presentation, etc. Facebook and LinkedIn are easy resources to connect with people that can easily make a call, text, IM and get things done on the fly. Going through your friends list or contacts can spark an idea or a connection that you may have overlooked.

I do see the time suck in Social Networking, but given the right employees, there is more value for the company to create a better network than to block it and create a pissed off team member.

Ryan Healy

Aug 26th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

Hey, Greg. Thanks for the comment. Social networking can be a time suck, but so can regular old face to face networking! Both types are well worth it in the end.

James

Aug 26th, 2008 at 10:54 pm

Your characterisation of "active job seekers" (surely tautology – you can't seek passively; desire – yes, seek – no) as employees who probably got themselves in a bad situation because they "couldn't find anything better" is highly presumptuous and inconsistent with the experience of myself and every professional I know. Lots of employers are great at putting up an attractive front despite having deep-seated problems that you won't see in the job ad or interview. Employers, and employees, change over time, and what was a good situation 12 months ago might not be now. Projects finish, departments get assimilated, outsourced, etc. There are many reasons why an employee might become an active job seeker that are in no way attributable to not being able to find anything better.

Social Media Squad

Aug 28th, 2008 at 2:21 pm

Great article. Social sites – especially LinkedIn – can and should completely change the way companies hire new people. Some companies are implementing LinkedIn with their HR department and mandating that employees have an account. Why hire a complete stranger from the paper or craigslist if you can spend a few minutes on LinkedIn and find someone that comes with a recommendation?

Companies that fail to embrace the power of social networking will be left behind.

Benjamin Jancewicz

Aug 28th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

I completely agree, but I'm playing the devils advocate here: Couldn't social networking also take down your company as quickly as it helps it out?
If someone posts on Facebook that they're having a rotten day at work, and all their coworkers see that, it could cause some damage.

Sean

Sep 3rd, 2008 at 10:07 am

Well, I agree that social networking can be powerful and useful, and that it shouldn't be banned out-of-hand. But I do think there has to be some control/regulation in a corporate environment. There are worlds of difference between LinkedIn and Facebook, and Twitter, and YouTube.

I think there's a middle ground here that will accomplish what Ryan's advocating, which is finding ways to leverage social networking for the betterment of the employee and the company. But a free-for-all isn't it. It's too easy to abuse or, perhaps worse, to "justify" and paint as useful those times when it isn't.

Benjamin Jancewicz

Sep 3rd, 2008 at 10:35 am

Something I just thought of (Sean, your "worlds of difference" remark set it off)…

Isn't Blogging a perfect example of how it's worked? All the mediums you mentioned (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter & YouTube) are ones that I use with my own business. I write and get client reviews on LinkedIn, I post up new work to show off on Facebook and Twitter, and demo new animations and product showcases on YouTube.

I started Blogging 6 years ago, and when I started out, there was the same complaint about Blogs (and the then-dying Forums) that they decreased work productivity.
Now, every company worth their salt has a blog, and every support structure for a product has a Forum.

Social Media just seems like another similar tool…

Kristina Summers

Sep 4th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

I agree with Sean that there should be some controls ust because if there were none we would have offices full of people glued to their monitors and getting NOTHING done.

On the other hand, my company is one that just recently lifted the ban on sites such as Youtube and many blogging sites and I am so happy. (And not just because of my blogger status)

I was charged with creating a campaign that would take our organization to the next level, by appealing to a younger, hipper audience. (Previously our target audience was 53 year old white males…sad.) But every idea I came up with and tried to research….BAM! Blocked. So at my insistence (whining really) I got those sites un-blocked, at least for our department. (Yeah Me! )

Anyways,

Thanks for putting out such a great post. I am planning to forward it on to as many as I can think of. People need to know what they could be potentially losing out on by putting a ridiculous ban on social media. It is not going anywhere and dany sound business needs to take a hard look at the real possibilities.

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