Businesses wake up to social networking

The use of new technologies at the workplace has always been a point of confrontation and contention. Some companies opt to block the use of new technologies while others believe that the key is to harness them properly.

In the new world order, where technology is increasingly becoming an inseparable part of our lives, many organisations are leveraging the connective power of social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ning, Plaxo, Hi5 and Second Life, to enhance productivity, innovation, collaboration, reputation and employee engagement.

Emirates Business spoke to some experts on the subject who believe that companies need to harness the popularity and business value of social media. If done in the right way, these technologies can boost organisational performance and further corporate goals, they said.

Do organisations/does your organisation have a formal policy regarding employees' use of external social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn?

Fadi Salem: Most private sector organisations do not have formal policies for the use of external social networks. For the ones that do have such internal policies, they are only limited to banning or controlling usage of online social networking tools in the workplace, as they are perceived as a waste of employees' time and companies' productivity in such organisations. Some avant-garde organisations do formally utilise social networking tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn groups, Twitter feeds or YouTube and image sharing websites for business development and for reaching out to current and potential customers as well as for recruitment and marketing.

From the findings of a survey conducted by the Dubai School of Government throughout several government entities in Dubai, we realised that they don't have a formal policy on external usage of social networking. Few government departments do have internal policies in place, which are limited to controlling or banning usage of some services in the workplace. Some government entities are planning to formulate official policies within the entity for such usage.

Interestingly however, all entities acknowledged that formal external usage of such tools by the government could potentially increase transparency, knowledge-sharing, collaboration within government, innovation and efficiency in government departments as well as citizens' reach and trust in public offices.

Soumitra Dutta: Formal policies usually vary from company to company. This is true in most parts of the world. In general, I find that most companies either go for a total ban or set no rules, fluctuating between two extremes. What is needed is a more middle-of-the-road policy where use of online social networking tools is encouraged for specific business purposes and within specific contexts.

David Awcock: While [our] policy doesn't specifically name social networks, it does cover this technology. The policy is written at a high level to allow for flexibility and to ensure it doesn't date. The policy states limited private use of bank systems such as email is acceptable, but subject to management discretion.

The privacy of personal information involved in such private use and the continuity of private use is not guaranteed by the bank. To ensure use of such media is not an unnecessary drain on network resources nor a security risk of inappropriate commercial information being posted, either intentionally or unintentionally, we do block access to network intensive social networks, webmail and video and audio streaming sites such as Skype and online television.

Do you think employee use of external social networks leads to productivity loss?

Fadi Salem: This is the same argument that was triggered in the 1990s when the internet was introduced in the workplace, whether in private or public sector organisations. It was perceived that introducing internet connections in the workplace would waste employees' time and reduce productivity. Numerous studies worldwide have indicated over the past two decades that overall, the introduction of the internet has actually increased productivity and innovation, not to mention efficiency. We are witnessing the same trend today.

Since 2009, studies have indicated that usage of social networking in many countries has exceeded usage of email. Eventually, both social networking tools and the perceived risks or costs associated with it by businesses or governments, will evolve from being a 'costly' phenomena that is not fully understood, into more developed and regulated mass communication tools, where employers and governments will develop policy regulations to take advantage of the unprecedented potential social reach of these networks. It is only a matter of time.

Soumitra Dutta: Technology is fundamentally organisationally neutral. Online social networks can be used to waste time and decrease productivity or they can also equally well be used to enhance business value. For example, many companies are using these networks to identify potential recruits or source experts for business problems. It is really a question of education of employees and choices made by the firm.

David Awcock: External social networks are growing ever more popular as a way of staying in touch and sharing information. While these channels have enormous advantages over conventional ones, we are very aware they can first and foremost lead to privacy and security issues. Today, privacy is vanishing online and seemingly innocuous bits of self-revelation can increasingly be collected and reassembled to help construct a complete picture of an individual's identity.

You may not disclose personal information but your Facebook friends and Linkedin colleagues may do it for you by referring to your school, employer, gender, location, interests etc. These patterns of social communication are revealing. We are a bank and deal with a lot of confidential information of our customers who trust us. Privacy and security is of prime concern to us. So, we limit use of these public social networks within our bank's network. However, we do run internal social networks for our employees by which we share information and socialise.

It is security and privacy that is most important for us as a bank, so productivity is not much of an issue. In many of our offices we do operate internet cafés where we provide a limited number of PCs that offer public internet access outside of our bank network. Staff members are trusted to use these in a disciplined way. At Standard Chartered Bank, we expect staff to be disciplined enough to know their priorities. They are given clear goals and objectives and are encouraged to maintain a good work-life balance.

In today's world how effective is it to block the usage of sites like Facebook when employees can just pull out their iPhones and BlackBerrys to get onto these networks?

Fadi Salem: This is a global trend. One survey last year revealed that in the US, almost 90 per cent of companies, fully or partially, blocked access to online social networks at the workplace. However, blocking or censoring online content or services is a waste of resources and time and counter-productive as well. In our region, almost 60 per cent of the population was born in the digital era.

They can't imagine or accept living or working without information technology. In countries with high mobile and internet penetration such as the UAE, connectivity possibilities are numerous. Controlling access, whether in private or public sector organisations, is becoming almost impossible.

Instead of blocking usage, which is almost useless with the availability of Blackberrys, iPhones and other mobile access devices in employees' hands, regulating usage is much more realistic as this will help avoid the negative impact that employers sense (including productivity loss, privacy, security and reputational concerns) while fostering potential benefits. The bottom line is that online social tools satisfy social needs.

The sensible approach to dealing with this is for companies and governments to take advantage of these needs by harnessing and channelling these social tools for productivity, outreach and information-sharing rather than suppressing them. An instance is the Obama administration which has utilised social networking tools officially to reach out to citizens and more importantly, to engage societies in policy making.

The traditional way that information used to flow in organisations and governments, and between them and societies and communities, has changed forever with the internet. Today we are witnessing another change once again with the ubiquitous online social networking revolution under the 'Web 2.0' umbrella.

Soumitra Dutta: It is not a good strategy to block these sites. It is much better to educate employees on how to productively use these sites to generate value for themselves and for their firms.

David Awcock: In our experience, people don't tend to access these sites that readily on hand-held devices given the limitations of screen size, manoeuvrability and the ease of entering text and uploading media. Consequently, the combination of technical and psychological controls has so far proven effective. If necessary, we will implement technology that will block such access within our bank premises, if we believe these will compromise privacy or security.

Can companies channel the use of social networking sites in positive, creative directions that can benefit both organisations and their employees alike?

Fadi Salem: Definitely. Successful examples are endless in today's world, from small shops 'tweeting' to their loyal customers the launch of new products and large companies hiring most of their talented employees through LinkedIn groups, to corporates receiving invaluable collective and instantaneous feedback from customers on services and products. There are several corporate versions of services such as Twitter or Facebook that firms are already using internally.

Even in governments, employees in general realise the endless benefits. According to a published national survey conducted by the Dubai School of Government across UAE government entities in the seven emirates, citizens working in the government sector said online social networking tools were among the top three technologies that could foster better collaboration and bridge silos in the government; strengthen ties between government entities; increase trust between the society and the government; and promote innovation in government work.

It is a matter of time before governments in general start taking advantage of the social acceptance for these technologies to increase the quality and reach of their services and improve policy and decision making by government institutions.

Soumitra Dutta: Absolutely, creating and sustaining networks is an important tool for any business employee and online social networks are just another vehicle for strengthening this vital business tool. Online social networks give employees the ability to reach out to others within and beyond their own corporations, more easily. In a world where innovation is becoming more global and there is a greater need for ideas from all corners of the world, this can only be a good thing.

David Awcock: We consider social networking sites to have tremendous potential for better customer service. We can harness this for tailor-made solutions for customers, to pre-empt customer needs and to be able to respond proactively. Real time information updates are being used increasingly in today's fast paced world and as an organisation we are active in considering how best we can harness the power of 'real time'.

We believe that this approach will ensure that staff at all levels is aware more quickly of what is happening in our world, leading to a feeling of inclusion and transparency within the bank.

On information/expertise-sharing, we are effectively using unified communication technology to improve staff collaboration through email, instant messaging, group chat and even desktop video. As is our use of technologies like Sharepoint, which we use to share and disseminate information internally. We have also piloted internal 'Facebook-like' technology but found that the take-up did not yet warrant wider rollout across our organisation.

Social networking usage has exceeded use of e-mail in many countries Fadi Salem, Programme Director and Fellow, Dubai School of Government

Social networking sites have tremendous potential for better customer service David Awcock, Group Head of Technology, Standard Chartered Bank

There is a greater need for ideas from all corners of the world Professor Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of Business and Technology, Insead

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