Social Securities

As social networking via the Internet increases in popularity, sites such as LinkedIn, MySpace and Facebook have made their way into the day-to-day activities of many employees. While managers have plenty on their plate already, now's the time to understand the attraction of these sites and think about how their presence may affect the productivity of their employees.

Power of peers

From public relations specialists to medical professionals, who you know proves just as significant as what you know. Social networking sites can serve the same function as a tradeshow or seminar. Companies want employees to collaborate; and many individuals use Facebook or MySpace as their chosen tool for coming together.

Social networking sites can also:

• Reduce communication costs because access is free and convenient.
• Increase market awareness by increasing the number of channels a company can share their message.
• Improve recruitment efforts by posting jobs in a place with a large audience.
• Enhance PR reach by providing another way to distribute company news.
• Strengthen business relationships through collaboration with industry peers and experts.

Fearing the new

While much can be said about the positives of social networking, its growing use has become a concern among HR and IT professionals. Frequent visits to social networking sites can increase the risk of network damage from spyware and viruses. Additionally, its use provides employees an opportunity to leak confidential or proprietary corporate information to the outside world. Organizations also worry about possible legal ramifications from comments or messages posted by their employees while on the clock.

Those risks, according to a survey by Boston-based security firm Sophos, have led 50 percent of companies to block access to Facebook.

Unplugging the network?

But before you pull the plug on social networking, consider that most available information against social networking is biased. The Internet security market, a business that has grown exponentially in recent years, provides most of the negative information in the media. Furthermore, recent bad press from safety threats to kids and teenagers from social networking sites may shine an unrealistically negative light on these sites' usage.

What it all means

While the legal risks and productivity struggles may currently outweigh the benefits of networking sites, their usage should be monitored. Because IT professionals may not recognize what HR professionals would see as a violation, they need to work together to develop Internet policies to achieve effective monitoring.

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