Once upon a time, the question of allowing social media browsing at work was an easy one – don’t do it. But as social media has evolved, it has become an integral part of virtually everyone’s life. More than that, it has become an integral part of most business plans. It is difficult to ban social media if you rely on it for your growth and profit.
Moderating the use of social media on company computers is no longer even an effective deterrent, as your employees all have phones which can easily be utilized at any time to browse the Facebook feeds. What is a company to do to protect their productivity?
Social Media and Productivity
Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook – the list of social media sites keeps growing. But is it truly a problem at work? After all, not only are these sites prolific in our social lives, but they are critical to our business success. Most professionals swear by the peer approval and networking they can achieve on Linked In. Many small businesses rely on Facebook for sales and marketing exposure. And Instagram and YouTube have spawned entirely new ways to reach the younger demographic and sell virtually anything with photos and followers. With so much business being conducted on these platforms, is social media really a detriment to productivity?
Unfortunately, the answer appears to be yes. Studies have shown that workers spend up to one quarter of their day browsing the social media newsfeeds, and approximately 70% of these say that the activity has nothing to do with their jobs. This is bad enough for small companies, but for large organizations, the total loss of productivity can be vast and cost tens of millions of dollars each year.
What Can Be Done?
The reality is, there are some employees at your organization who need to be on social media to effectively do their jobs. Human resources may post jobs and receive resumes on several social sites in addition to traditional job posting portals. Marketing personnel surely are required to operate on social media on a regular basis, and most organizations even employ social media experts to work solely online.
Companies can place filters on company computers which will only allow those employees who need to access the sites to do so. Still, as mentioned, employees carry phones which can easily be utilized to check Facebook feeds throughout the day, and policing personal devices gets into some difficult territory. Still, corporate policies should be drawn up and disseminated regarding social media use, so that the worst offenders can be warned and if necessary, dealt with.
If that sounds harsh to you, you are not alone. Companies in 2019 are truly struggling with the right balance of privacy and productivity when it comes to employees and social media.
Possible Solutions May Require Change
Every company should look at their corporate environment and decide the best way to combat this productivity killer. For some, this will mean blocking internet access for many employees. usually combined with the introduction of an intranet which will still allow them to interact online with those they need to in order to do their job. Organizations may also look at those positions within the company which can be assessed by work completed rather than hours. In other words, employees may be paid based upon productivity rather than the standard hourly work week, tying compensation to productivity whenever possible.
Productivity is a necessity for any organization to survive and thrive. If you are looking for ways to streamline operations, reduce overhead and maximize profits and productivity, call the experts at Alliance IT. Our team of expert IT professionals is here to help you to get your business on track – from consulting to managed services, we are your partner in success.
