Three senior HR practitioners share their thoughts with Lee Xieli on whether companies should be concerned when they see social-networking sites open on their employees’ computer screens.
■ Shaun Ruming
Vice president of human resources and training
McDonald’s Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa
No, I am not concerned if employees have social-networking sites open on their computer screens because they can access these tools at work. It’s the future and how people will really communicate.
One good example is in Japan where we ran a “Big America” promotion for four months about four burgers from different parts of America such as Texas and Hawaii. A lot of the marketing for this campaign came through social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter where customers would try the burger and send out a message to their friends if they liked the sandwich. The publicity for the promotion self-perpetuated.
We have moved from Generation X to Generation Y to Generation Z. Now people are starting to talk about the alpha generation which my son, who is only two, will belong to and what technology they will be working with. But in saying that, we need to be sure the use of social networks isn’t contravening the corporate values and that employees will still focus on their work.
The most important thing for executives and bosses is output at work and that it is getting done at a high standard. It’s not about how people go about their work hours.
I don’t mind my guys working less but producing better results. That would be great because they will have more work-life balance, meaning they can spend more time with their family and more time developing themselves.
So the more efficient they can be in using technology, the better.
■ Nica Foo
Human resource manager
Koufu
Social networking is a phenomenon, but it will eventually be integrated into our everyday lives, just like the internet and computers, especially for Generation Y and Z. Even politicians are using social networking as a platform to raise awareness and increase public votes.
But to drive productivity, we need to educate users on good office social-networking etiquette.
Employee productivity will only decline if social-media tools are abused and not monitored properly. Our concern will always be the possibility of the office network security being compromised or irresponsible personal comments about work or bad-mouthing certain colleagues or the company on public platforms. That will create a negative impact on all parties.
Putting in place proper guidelines for using social-networking sites at work will gear users towards using the platform to the company’s advantage. There is also accountability from both parties when the information is made known to the users. One good use of social media is as an employer branding tool and recruitment channel to create a positive image for the organisation.
For example, IBM has its own version of Facebook for its workforce and it has encouraged many employees from different work locations to network with one another. That allows them to have a common corporate identity.
■ Cecilia Chia-Megel
Director of human resources
Ritz Carlton, Millenia Singapore
Simon Cooper, our chief operating officer and president, is very much into social media. He communicates with all 76 hotels worldwide on all relevant information with monthly podcasts.
And trust me, he will know about any events that happened here [in Singapore] because we update our corporate headquarters. So he would share the information about what we did with 75 other hotels in the next podcast.
We are OK with employees using social
media at work because they usually access the sites for work-related projects and they are very resourceful in suggesting ideas. We also use social media for recruitment drives. I have a talent acquisition and retention team who will post job ads or related information on a corporate Facebook account.
That’s how we get people interested in applying for jobs with us. We don’t publicly advocate it [the use of social media at work], but we don’t say no, either. We don’t have a policy at the hotel because employees have not abused it. On the contrary, employees have added a lot of value to their work on a daily basis.
We see social media more of a plus than a minus. For us, if the wheels are turning and there’s nothing wrong with it, we don’t go in until something major happens.
But there are codes of conduct that govern employee behaviour and international policies that dictate what employees can or can not do.
