We all know how to waste time and we all know that the latest techie gadgets seem the consume the lives of some people that we know. But is it better to allow staff and volunteers to have access to Facebook, Twitter or other online tools? Or will they spend their time mucking about looking at pictures of cute kittens when they’re meant to be writing the next funding bid? An article on Socialnomics looks at this questions and says that it is better to offer access, and that it can make your work more effective.
The crux of the argument is laid out in this extract:
“all new tools have a learning curve. When people started using phones in the work place they had to be educated not to make thirty minutes worth of personal calls, call internationally or speak too loud. More recently when e-mail was introduced classes were held in the workplace on tonality of e-mails, not replying to all, not wasting much of the workday on e-mail, etc. With social media similar instruction and guidance should be given to the work force. For example Facebook IM chatting with your friends may not be the best use of your time, and it will make it difficult for you to achieve your goals, nor is it wise to status update “glad I’m out of the jail I call work for today.””
It’s full of sensible suggestions and is recommended reading if you’re worried about the productivity of your team. Visit the Socialnomics site for the full story
http://socialnomics.net/2009/10/23/companies-ban-social-media-bad-idea/
