Employers to monitor staff social networking usage
Social networking usage is becoming common practise in the workplace with many employees using sites such as Twitter and Facebook to promote their business. A new survey released by Deloitte in relation to employee social networking usage has found that the majority of employers want to be able to monitor this usage.
The 2009 Ethics & Workplace survey of business executives in the US, found that 60 percent of the executives interviewed believe they have a right to know how employees portray themselves and their organisations on social networking sites, and wish to monitor their access.
However, 53 percent of employees disagreed, saying that their social networking activities should not be of any concern to their employer, although 74 percent recognised that social networking sites can quite potentially damage the company’s reputation.
Sharon Allen, chairman of the board, Deloitte LLP, believes that while the decision to post videos, pictures, thoughts and observations on social networking sites is a personal one, employers should be mindful of the “implications of this connected world and to elevate the discussion about the risks associated with it to the highest levels of leadership.”
What do you think?
People who read this, also liked:
What Twitter can do for your business
Is networking really all that effective?
Got something to say? Join the small business forum here at DynamicBusiness.com.au.
Today’s businesses need to be mindful of what their employees are saying in relation to the organization. Businesses should monitor what employees are saying about them, as well as all other constituents, media, customers, stakeholders. Businesses should also look into having a policy in place that prevents employees from “crossing the line.”
Managers must keep an eye on everything that comes into organization and on everything that goes out of it. You never know where information leak may appear from. Furthermore, employees must be aware that they are using company resources (and socialize more at their home computer). I agree that there are cases when socializing during business time might bring you a big sale, but, still, let’s do this in normal limits.
It is important for a business to understand were their employees are at in their lives. If an emmployee is lacking in social life, or something is out of place, than it will probably effect their work and therefore costing the business money. It is vital for a busienss to run smoothly and have trustworthy emloyees. If employees don’t want their employer to see their social networking sites, than they must have something to hide.