14 May 2008
More than one third of office workers worldwide are using social networks to communicate with customers, according to research.
And the growing variety of communication methods in the workplace is presenting a management challenge to businesses, according to the study by analyst IDC on behalf of supplier Nortel.
Employees are increasingly using social networks and other Web 2.0 tools in their workplace. But while businesses are keen to limit the amount of work-hours lost to personal surfing, restricting access to such sites may prevent staff from maintaining important lines of communication.
The survey found that 38 per cent of respondents are using social networks to talk to customers. And 41 per cent were using such sites to communicate with co-workers.
Among the "hyperconnected" – the 16 per cent of the workforce who fully embrace the latest tools and services – these figures rose to 59 and 56 per cent, respectively.
"Over 80 per cent of the respondents to our survey are using their mobile phone in a mix of work and personal environments, without giving it a second thought," said Peter Newcombe, president of Nortel carrier networks.
"I think we've got to start being a little more enlightened about people using other devices and applications in a similar way."
Business must adapt to these changing work practices or risk alienating potential new staff, said Nortel. As graduates leave an education system where varied communications are prevalent, they will expect the same level of connectivity in their jobs.
"People won't like the idea of going into a workplace where they are restricted from using the tools they have been comfortable with," said Newcombe.
"They won't want to to work in that kind of environment and they'll look for somewhere that lets them be as productive as they can."
The "hyperconnected" proportion of the workplace could soon grow to as much as 40 per cent, according to the survey.
IDC questioned 2400 adult workers from 17 countries around the world.
I personally think it is a great idea, but if you want to control the networking then give them a Social Network within the workplace where employers can control the publications, not control the content, just who has access to the content, a prime example I found was staffsocial.com, police forces and law enforcement agencys are a prime example 10,000+ employees and anything they publish on social network are a risk in the Govt sector, but take a company like Walmart, what networking could do for their 120,000 employees worldwide and they can control the access and content.
Posted by: Alex Wild 29 Aug 2008
This is the most ridiculous thing I have heard.
Social networks do not allow you to totally separate your private and business life - people generally tend to aim their profile at one or the other.
You cannot keep a true audit trail of comms with your customer, or guarantee them a service level (if MySpace/Facebook were to break etc.)
Corporate email and web sites (and the many companies that offer products and services to link into these) are there for a reason.
Any company that allows its employees to conduct business with their clients instead of the corporate infrastructure they paid for is incompetent.
The only exception I can think of is companies that run themselves from a social networking site, but then that must be an unlikely scenario.
38% of companies is an alarming number.
Oh, and I think graduates need to get real if they think they can go to their first 'real' job and use Facebook to talk to colleagues/customers!!!
Posted by: DHD 23 May 2008
Other than our own site WeCanDo.BIZ, which is specifically for business relationships, what tools are they using? I have not found an effective way of managing a professional and social balance of Facebook (pictures of me at stag parties for customers to see?) and LinkedIn seems mainly career based, with little to tie my membership to my company, i.e. if I leave then all my work contacts go with me.
Ian Hendry
WeCanDo.BIZ
Posted by: Ian Hendry 20 May 2008
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