Hans de Kraker responds to our recent post on The Future Factors with the following questions: How do you avoid masses of people binging out on a computer and wasting time opposed using the communication parameters and tools available for constructive purposes. How do companies avoid poor time management due to staff being blocked from social networking sites?
Watching the news feeds is appears that questions like these seem to be on the minds of many corporate Human Resouce departments around the globe. Given the current flurry of concern around related workforce issues about the impact of the apparent craze for the medium of social networks we thought it appropriate to try and address the issues systemically.
There is an old express which I think addresses the related issues eloquently. "People don't resist change rather they resist being changed" The constant struggle between an organization and its people is the issue of imposing changes that people resist which then becomes a constraint to organization progress.
The alternative is to engage people in the process of change so they embrace and own any change initiative. Consider the issues of use and or abuse of the medium of social networks and the corporate concern for time management as an opportunity rather than a threat. What could be the opportunities? Considering the following:
- Ask employees how the company could use the medium for purposes such as improved customer service, marketing, public relations, employee relations, product development, internal communications etc. etc.
- Engage employees to help define the value of using the medium for accomplishing business objectives
- Find out how many of your current customers are or intend on using the medium for their own business purposes
- Rather than try and constraint employee desires unleash them to your benefit
- Asking employees to develop creative ways to use social networks for your business purposes
- Find out what networks your employees like most and see what opportunities exist in those networks relative to your business interest
The list could go on and on but the objective here is to changing the thinking of management to embrace the medium rather than ignoring or trying to control it to your own disadvantage. Social networks are emerging as a powerful medium.
Discovering the why, how and value of the medium should be of strategic value to any business. If you do not know how to ask the right questions you will discover nothing. If people contribute to making a company successful they fell important and valuable. Engage the people and tap into the creativity and value propositions social networks offer them. Trying to control people time by dictating rules they resist is an old method that not only doesn't work instead produces more problems, less productivity and impacts an organization systemically.
Reverse the thinking and lead change rather than creating resistance to changes.