There are so many opportunities that smart organizations can capitalize on with a progressive approach to addressing Facebook use in the workplace.
If an organization chooses to recognize that there are people that love using Facebook and other social media platforms, and has a method of identifying who those people are, the organization could treat those employees as valuable resources to help craft marketing, customer service, and brand identity efforts on social media. Deciding to treat those employees as potential resources, rather than as liabilities, would be a “win-win” solution for the organization and the employee. These employees could be testers, they could be survey participants, or they could create copy or provide feedback on the effectiveness of existing strategies. Who better to poll regarding effectiveness of an organization’s Facebook content than the people that love using Facebook?
These workers can even become champions of new technology and lead changes from within the organization. A great example of this occured at Unilever. A young employee joined their org, and she was immediately shocked at the amount of lockdown regarding new technologies, including Facebook, which was present. She let management know that she was unhappy, that she felt as though they were missing the point by locking down software and online access throughout the company. Management mulled it over, and then actually agreed, and gave her the new position of “consumerization architect,” tasked with assessing and implementing new technologies within the organization.
Another opportunity for an organization that acknowledges that Facebook usage is present, and attempts to capitalize on the fact that workers go to Facebook and enjoy it would be to use the layout, functionality, and structure of Facebook as a template for their propietary software design (I would suggest coming up with your own privacy policies and settings though, no need to copy Facebook’s!). Mimicking communication technology that is effective, such as Facebook’s simple interface and style, for internal communications platforms could be a benefit to an organization. An intranet that allows employees to communicate and connect, to share what they are interested in outside of work, and what their long-term career goals are could potentially lead to greater camaraderie within an organization. Any solution that can bring entire organizations together is worth exploring if an organization wants to have enthusiastic employees.
It stands to reason that creating an enthusiastic workforce would address any “loss of productivity” concerns that would arise from allowing employees to access social networking sites such as Facebook. This is the fundamental mis-step that the “blocking Facebook” solution approach takes – the problem is not Facebook; it’s unmotivated, unhappy, or apathetic employees!
The use of Facebook also presents some incredible marketing and customer service opportunities for organizations that understand how to capitalize on these opportunities. Allowing your organization or brand to have an authentic presence on Facebook and other social networking sites can demonstrate the type of organization that you are, can show your organization’s personality, and it can help build strong ties to customers and partners. If your workforce is participating on Facebook and other social networking sites and interacting with your customers it can be a huge competitive advantage, particularly if you train them and teach them how to do it well. Recognizing that both your employees and your customers participate in these networks, and then giving your employees the tools that they need to interact in a way that meets your organizational needs and goals can have an impact on your sales and your customer service.
What do you see as key opportunities? What did I miss?
image via flickr/incase