Mixed Signals for Social Networks
According to Mashable, a company called ScanSafe reports that a third of employers are now restricting access to social networking sites. Concerns center around security threats, lost productivity and network capacity.
All these concerns have legitimacy, but consider what reporter Anjali Athavaley wrote last week in the Wall Street Journal: "Job References You Can't Control."
So what does this all mean? Do recruiters and employers have to network outside the office to prospects? And what about marketers, developers and engineers who are building money-making applications for FaceBook users? Should they be restricted? I understand the concern about security and bandwidth, but is the solution to ban the networks that can identify potential employees and drive new products and services?Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn Corp. and Jobster Inc. are making it easier for employers to get in touch with people who have worked with job candidates in the past or know them personally. Recruiters say they use such sites -- where people create online profiles and then link to professional colleagues who are also members -- to find mutual connections they can hit up for information. Many hiring managers say they even check to see if they have mutual connections with a candidate onFacebook and MySpace, the popular social-networking sites.
It is only another reason to check out Shel Holtz’s “Stop Blocking” campaign. My belief is that accessing social networks is a cost of doing business. But it is not carte blanche to do anything one pleases. Employees need to understand the threats from malware and should be reprimanded or dismissed for abusing their privileges. I am confident most will not be downloading videos and viewing content that HR has deemed off limits (e.g. content that offends or is pornographic). Employees have jobs to do. Social networking without guidelines is as bad as outright bans. Prohibiting social networks won't guarantee higher productivity, but it may limit opportunities and access to valuable information.
Let me get back to you.
Technorati Tags: Stop Blocking; Recruiting; ScanSafe;
In my opinion, the consideration is whether a social network promotes a business initiative and benefits the organization. For example, as a recruiter I have always used conventional networking, or target recruiting, to find and attract the best talent for my client company. Social networking sites like LinkedIn, MySpace, and FaceBook potentially broaden the scope of that network. Our IT department boasts another example of acceptable social networking via online application support forums that enhance efficiency, quality, and productivity. On the other hand, most blogs, including yours, are filtered.
Is this warranted? Many would argue that, within the wide spectrum of job responsibilities, most employees do not need access to social networks in the workplace to perform their jobs or maximize performance. Instead, most of these social networks are seen as additional distractions.
In the end, it is less about if a company should allow social networking and more about the who and the why. If the social network enhances the ability to perform the job at hand, then a whitelist of applicable sites should be made accessible to respective employees. On a case-by-case basis, employers will have to evaluate when the professional merits of the network outweigh its social significance. (Comment this)