At a recent Ecademy event in London on Social Media for Business with Louis Gray, the topic of Facebook in the workplace was raised and Louis gave his opinion. He, and most of the audience agreed, that employers should allow the use of Facebook in the workplace.Interesting to note in this week's issue of Webuser magazine their News Editor, Ben Camm-Jones comments on the same issue and highlights the recent issue Dixons Store Group faced when some staff were insulting customers on Facebook.
See coverage on the story from the BBC earlier this month.He sums the article up by saying: "So it's simple - let your employees use Facebook. The weakest links in your workforce will soon reveal themselves."
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I agree. Business owners, directors and managers have to realise that Social Media is an exciting new way of communicating with their customers (not always positvely!) and they should be embracing the likes of Facebook, Ecademy, Twitter etc. When staff are using these mediums employers must ensure the content is monitored and any wrong doings are nipped in the bud.
But I know the power of using these social media sites as an amazing way of connecting with customers and potential new customers in a really positive way. Working for a company that knows and understands this helps boost the morale of it's staff and people feel they can make a difference.
So if you're an employer who doesn't allow access to these social media sites, think about how your staff feel and think of the positive ways you can harness these sites to help your customers. And sure, the odd idiot might abuse the new found trust you've given them, but as Ben Camm-Jones says "Facebook is an excellent way to suss out unsuitable employees".
