Implementing Social Media in the Workplace -Obstacles and How to Overcome Them
Implementing Social Media in the Workplace
(Facing Obstacles and How to Overcome Them)
Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines
Bill Coffill
Endicott College
Social Media originally began, and has long been viewed as a solely a conduit for personal interactions, and a way for friends, family, and acquaintances to remain connected. As of 2009, Facebook alone hosted 200 million users, double from just one year earlier (Hempel, 2009). Due to social media’s increasing popularity, especially among younger people in their twenties to thirties, websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and to a lesser extent, the websites Ning.com and Plaxo.com have grown in popularity and in scope. In the workplace, although the use of Social Network and Social Media sites during working hours for recreational purposes can be a hindrance to business productivity, and often a punishable offense, many organizations are now embracing the use of Social Media to innovate and streamline the process of employee alignment and engagement. Organizations are realizing the potential of this powerful medium to engage and align an employee to the company’s respective vision and mission. (Manpower 2009). Utilization of Social Media and Social Networks within the work atmosphere has been proven to increase core competencies amongst employees, and these networked and socially connected organizations in general outperform the typical vertical, rigid, command-and-control organizations which are not utilizing the power of Social Media platforms (Serrat 2009). Employing any of the various Social Media websites which are now part of our popular culture allows employees to perform their jobs better, and to stay connected, and also allows businesses to reach a greater audience. Implementing social media into your organization’s procedural activities can be a win/win situation if done correctly. Proper training along with appropriate supervision, to
(Facing Obstacles and How to Overcome Them)
Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines
Bill Coffill
Endicott College
Social Media originally began, and has long been viewed as a solely a conduit for personal interactions, and a way for friends, family, and acquaintances to remain connected. As of 2009, Facebook alone hosted 200 million users, double from just one year earlier (Hempel, 2009). Due to social media’s increasing popularity, especially among younger people in their twenties to thirties, websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and to a lesser extent, the websites Ning.com and Plaxo.com have grown in popularity and in scope. In the workplace, although the use of Social Network and Social Media sites during working hours for recreational purposes can be a hindrance to business productivity, and often a punishable offense, many organizations are now embracing the use of Social Media to innovate and streamline the process of employee alignment and engagement. Organizations are realizing the potential of this powerful medium to engage and align an employee to the company’s respective vision and mission. (Manpower 2009). Utilization of Social Media and Social Networks within the work atmosphere has been proven to increase core competencies amongst employees, and these networked and socially connected organizations in general outperform the typical vertical, rigid, command-and-control organizations which are not utilizing the power of Social Media platforms (Serrat 2009). Employing any of the various Social Media websites which are now part of our popular culture allows employees to perform their jobs better, and to stay connected, and also allows businesses to reach a greater audience. Implementing social media into your organization’s procedural activities can be a win/win situation if done correctly. Proper training along with appropriate supervision, to
References: Armano, Dave. (2009) Harvard Business Review - Overcoming the Obstacles to Social Business. Cantor, Brian (2011). How Zappos Escaped Outrage Over Customer Service Problems Carlson, Caren (2011) ERCNET.ORG (2009). Social Media In the Workplace. Retrieved at http://www.ercnet.org/research/studies/Social%20Media%20in%20the%20 Khan, Sharif. (2005) The Chief Cause of Business Failure and Success Manpower, Inc Schweitzer, Tamara (2005). Study: Inc. 500 CEOs Aggressively Use Social Media for Business Serrat, Oliver Smith, William P. (2009). You’ve Been Tagged! (Then again, maybe not):Employers and Facebook.