Bamillionaire's Blog

Social media and workplace productivity.

In a world of evolving technology, we must understand and use the right tool to get the optimum result.

Years before now, we had to use post offices to get information from point to point and it has gradually evolved to fax, telephone, email etc.

The internet has been an agent of fast communication.hence, a tool to growth and development of businesses and world economy.

Different platforms have been setup on the internet to facilitate easy communication both for business and social purposes.

We would be talking about social media as it relates with workplace productivity or how it can be used for business productivity.

What is social media?

It’s a means of interaction among people in which they create, share and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. I.e. facebook, twitter, linkedIn, skype etc.

According to a recent study from Mckinsey global Institute (MGI), there is a great deal of potential value in using social media “to enhance communications, knowledge sharing, and collaboration within and across enterprises”.

A study from data analytic firm Evolv suggests that employees who use up to four social media networks are exceptionally productive and stay in their jobs longer than those who don’t have access to social media at work.

How does social media relate to workplace productivity?

For clarity, what I am talking about is using social media at work to work. Social media is a great tool that can enhance your business and employees productivity and can also work against you if not rightly managed. You won’t be able to manage it if you don’t measure its merit and demerit as it relates to your purpose.

You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

A billion IT-savvy users have embraced social media and the trend is still nascent! Today, enterprises are focused on using social media as a cost-effective marketing strategy; however, the full potential of social media is yet to be tapped. Implementation of social media tools and processes within the organization can help improve communication and collaboration to achieve shared business goals. External social media can help you stay close to your customers and get regular feedback to improve business processes and operations. More than a choice, it is now a business imperative for the enterprises to embed social media in their products, services, and business strategies. Nivedita Aggarwal

Social media use at workplace would deliver:  

Ø  Information                                    

Ø  Marketing

Ø  Networking

Ø  Team building/team work

Ø  Stress relief

v  Information: the rate at which information is transmitted is fast. For example, an event happens somewhere and people are quick to take pictures and write eye witness stories about it and straight, it’s uploaded on social media sites.

No wonder media organizations (TV & Radio) now have links on their websites for eye witness report. People all over the world can use to link to report events as it happens. Such information can be useful and can only be gotten at that time on social media platforms. Would this aid productivity or not?

v  Marketing: over the years, different social networking sites have been used for the purpose of product marketing. It’s a place where customers can be found and products sold. Employing social media at work to work can help you reach far more people and get immediate feedback. You can even integrate a social platform on your website where you can interact with your clients/customers.

Business Week recently cited a two-year study finding that found that common social media tools, such Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Skype, enabled employees to answer more customer queries at a quicker pace than relying on e-mail or phone calls.

v  Networking: sharing of knowledge between professionals in related fields is made easier through social media platforms like LinkedIn, Skype, Google talk etc. the potential for value creation when social technologies are used to improve collaboration and communication within and across enterprises is twice as big as the value that can be created through all other uses across the value chain.

Nandhakumar’s study revealed that company policies that encouraged employees to use social media for work “led to increased customer interaction and, eventually, higher productivity.” In a real-world business setting, a social media-enabled workforce was able to accomplish more sales and customer-relations tasks more quickly.

v  Team building/team work: the use of social media tools like yahoo messanger, IM, blogs and other online communities etc would help teams stay in touch and share information. Allowing employees to use social media at work can increase productivity by facilitating better collaboration, providing faster communication among group members, and attracting and retaining highly skilled professionals.

This is especially true of companies in which employees are working from different locations. In-house tools such as private social network Yammer and wikis can allow groups working on specific projects to keep teammates updated in a more efficient way.

Watching a project come together bit by bit through a workplace social network in and of itself fuel commitment, enthusiasm and a collective sense of purpose and achievement. It also can keep people accountable.

v  Stress Relief:  have you ever gotten a message link to a particular blog or site that made you laugh when it popped up? This is mostly done by blackberry messenger users. Checking out a funny video recommended by a friend or associate on social media offers a brief escape that can replenish a workers' energy and give their mind a rest before they return to the rigours of the job.

A study published two years ago by Australian scientists at the University of Melbourne concluded that the mental relief provided to workers from judicious use of social media sites, blogs and YouTube during office hours increased productivity by 9%.

Conclusion

Finding a Balance

Social media is here to stay, and with a growing number of consumer devices now entering the enterprise, the prevalence of social communication in the workplace will only grow. As social media platforms evolve, and new ones emerge, they will likely become familiar and integral parts of the enterprise. So what’s a security-minded company to do?

To protect company assets, businesses need to stay up to date on ever-changing physical and social threats emanating from the social media universe. And they need make employees aware of potential threats through frequently updated security-awareness training. If identified threats are impacting business operations, mitigation strategies and protective measures should be deployed. While formal policies may not be required initially, at the very least, business users should be instructed to always use a strong password on every social media site they visit and to never use the same one that they use at work. Gary Frank

Your understanding of what is obtainable through the use of social media for goal achievement helps you to channel your effort and resources in the right direction. I believe this is a pointer in that direction for you and your organization.

Please share the information on different platforms using the share button.Have a productive month ahead.