There is an interesting situation in the workplace these days, caused by social networking sites. Are you taking the time to learn about how this technology - and a lot of it free - is available to benefit your organisation?
The Baby Boomer generation would socialise through associations and clubs after work or in the evenings. Local business associations thrived on people's need to be connected and to belong. Pubs and clubs also drew people to their establishments as a way to connect with like-minded people.
The Internet has created a whole new window for people to connect with one another. From major sites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn, to privately held smaller sites that bring a small group together, they all provide the opportunity to connect with one another in a different way.
The trouble is, the current generation - Gen Y - see these as normal ways to communicate and stay in touch. They have never really known a time when this was not available to them. So they think of something and send a short message to their friend or colleague. The fact they are at work does not even enter their heads.
Is this wrong? At first glance it could be considered as using company time for personal use and not for work. But recent research has shown that this assumption is not correct in every case.
The hidden, instantaneous benefits of being connected
This generation who know no different, use it to solve problems, get ideas or simply as a way to take a break. For example, an employee has a problem with a piece of software. He sends a note to a friend who is a whiz with technology, asking how to deal with the problem. His friend answers and the employee moves past his stumbling block.
Another example, an employee is given a task, she wants ideas and so sends a message out on the 'wall' of all her friends asking how they would tackle it. A friend comes back with an idea that really opens her mind to opportunities and she implements it.
Maybe an employee has been working on a task and needs a break. She decides to email her friend and check if she is ok. Two or three messages are exchanged and she feels revitalised and ready to get back into work. Is this not better than disturbing the person at the next desk?
Or maybe the employee is worrying about his mother who was going to the Doctor this morning and it is playing on his mind. He sees his mother come online and messages for an update. Having got the results of the Doctor's visit, he is now able to focus more on the job.
Examining your mindset towards connectedness
You see, there are times when the connections are valuable and even powerfully useful to the individual and the organisation. But with the mindset that any communication on these mediums during work time is abuse of employers' time, opportunities are lost and performance is actually reduced.
Before you start screaming about all the people that abuse it, I acknowledge that and appreciate these concerns. However, I also think there needs to be a balance. I actively encourage two of my people to spend 30 minutes a day on sites like LinkedIn because there is a lot of value in getting connected to the right people. We all know that most business is about relationships and connections. Here on the desk is the portal to loads of connections for free. Those connections also bring ideas, sales, opportunities to collaborate, and the list goes on.
As leaders we need to check our mindsets and consider if we are taking too narrow a view or too wide a view on issues relating to social and business networking sites. Instead of trying to disconnect, maybe we need to be actively encouraging the right level of connecting.
I went into a company recently where people would actively ask each other if they knew anybody that had knowledge on a specific subject. I was amazed at the responses. "I will ask my friends in the chat room tonight." "I'll stick a question on my wall and see who responds and then connect them to you." "I think my neighbour knows the guy from XYZ company. I will check LinkedIn and see if they are connected and get back to you."
Tapping in to the benefits of social networking
We really need to consider how we are approaching this and learn how to tap into the connections that are available to us. Most importantly - we need to ensure that people are disciplined on how they use it. Here again, we need to encourage good practice without limiting opportunities.
- What is your mindset about ‘being connected'?
- Are you against it without any thought of the opportunities?
- Have you blocked out the potential because you can't control the usage?
- Have you got rules in place that are only making your people creative in finding ways around the rules?
Consider:
- How can you actively make use of connections through all your people?
- Do you set an example to others by showing them good practice?
- Can you actively encourage people to consider the connections available to them and how to capitalise on them for the benefit of everyone?