Is social media working for your business?

With 6% of workers confessing to spending at least an hour a day using sites such as Twitter and facebook, does virtual networking present a problem?

I’m the first to admit that I use social media while at work – after all, I’m sat here blogging. And it’s certainly been useful for me; I have instant access to literally hundreds of contacts to help with recruitment, advice and information sharing. It’s not that people use the internet per se. It’s how and when they use it.

Besides, blurred boundaries between work and play aren’t great when you’re trying to present a professional image. But that problem hasn’t just appeared with the spread of the virtual variety of social networking. If they weren’t on t’net, they’d be bugging the person at the desk next to them, or spending too long at the coffee machine.

Based on their recent survey, Myjobgroup.co.uk are reporting that 55 per cent of the UK’s working population are apparently accessing social media whilst at work, however 1 in 10 respondents claimed that social media made them more productive. According to their analysis, Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks could potentially be costing the UK up to £14billion in lost work time.

Banning facebook might be one solution but it won’t stop time wasters time wasting. As a manager, when standards slip, you should be asking questions. Trust and respect go along way but the starting point for that is setting clear expectations. A good email and internet usage policy is key, as are performance monitoring plans when you need to intervene. SMEs in particular would be wise to head the advice of Lee Fayer. The Managing Director of Mjobgroup.co.uk suggests that monitoring is needed to boost productivity by ensuring that employees are not abusing their freedom of access.

For help and advice on managing employee internet access, get in touch with jen@thehrexperts.co.uk.