Social media in the workplace: To ban or not to ban?

Where do you stand on social media in the workplace?

You would have heard people dismiss social media as a waste of time and just as many swear how amazing it is, so if you’re confused that’s okay!

Before you decide to ban it or embrace it, let’s debunk seven popular misconceptions.

1.  No one will do any work!

Really, do you have no trust in your staff at all? If people have a mobile phone and email account what’s stopping them using them for personal use all day? Or stopping them ducking out to “important meetings’?

If your team are bludgers they’ll be wasting company time on their iPhones anyway. So if you only trust your staff as far as you can throw them, then you have an HR issue, not an IT issue.

2. The big end of town doesn’t use social media

If you think that CEOs of massive companies don’t use social media, then you’d be wrong. Many CEOs like Giam Swiegers of Deloitte Australia are very active on LinkedIn and Twitter.

If you are a start-up hoping to sell into the big end of town, then you’re in for a treat when you see how many heavy hitters are accessible on social networks.

These CEOs are also well aware of how important it is to use social media to attract Gen Y talent into their organisations.

3. YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are “time wasters”

So is not being able to solve a problem. When you’re stuck on something, one of the best ways to solve it is to search YouTube – chances are you’ll find a video on exactly what you need. It is the second largest search engine in the world (after Google).

Failing that, your best bet is probably to turn to your friends on Facebook or Twitter, which is impossible if you’ve decided to ban these sites! 

4. People will say bad things if I’m on social media

People have always been able to say negative things about you regardless of whether you’re active on social media. At least now you can monitor it and address the situation.

If you respond sincerely to a genuinely disgruntled customer, then in the majority of cases I believe you will be able to turn them around. Even if you aren’t able to, at least everyone else can see that you care!