Social Networking & HR
March 3rd, 2010 by Harold Ford
Social Networking is an ever increasing subject for Human Resources professionals. I am speaking to various local SHRM organizations throughout the year on this very topic, and hope to educate, enlighten, and enrich organization’s capabilities in this arena. HR departments, now more than ever, need to embrace this major shift in the way we do business in order to increase value to employees, provide increased knowledge to those that need it in the organization, and become more efficient at their jobs.
As I continue my research on social media in the workplace (this thing evolves daily!), I am continually amazed at the speed of growth of social networking sites. There were 250 million Facebook users in September 2009, today there are over 400 million. And what these users say about companies and their brand determines who will win and lose in this experience economy. Whether people like it or not, the future is here – social media is as big a business revolution as the industrial age.
You might tell already I’m a social media activist. I enjoy visiting organizations of all sizes and discussing this topic, and as I question them on their current social media strategy, I sometimes hear a pang of disbelief to the pro’s of social media in the workplace. “Is social networking really necessary in the workplace?” “Won’t social media hurt an organization more than it will help?” “How can I deter the plague of social sites from our company?” Yes, there are potential negative side effects to social media, but when harnessed properly, social media is a very powerful and useful tool. In reality, whether you like it or not, your company’s customers and employees are already using social networking. What are they saying about your brand?
Throughout the next few months, I’m going to leave tools, tips, and advice on social networking in HR. Hopefully as you read my commentary on the subject, you can take at least one idea and begin implementing it immediately.
In the meantime, test your initial knowledge on social networking sites. Can you name the nine social sites from their icons at the top of this entry?
