Many companies today are still fearful of employees using social media, especially while at work. Employer concerns range from loss of productivity, industry espionage, confidentiality breaches, and public complaints about the company and/or its managers. As a result, some companies have requested access to employee (or potential employee) Facebook profiles, as well as blocked access to social networking sites while at the office.
In contrast, other companies — for example RingCentral — encourage employee engagement on social media. There are multiple benefits to embracing social media in the workplace, as illustrated by the below infographic from SilkRoad, a cloud-based social talent management solution. At RingCentral, we prefer that employees get involved with our social media channels, and we encourage them to share news about the company through their personal social networks. To prevent any confusion, we implemented a social media corporate policy that clarifies the dos and don’ts of participating in social networks as a RingCentral employee. The net net? The benefits of employees on social networks far outweigh the negatives.
Is your company supportive of social media usage among employees?
Originally published Jul 03, 2012, updated Aug 07, 2020