Talking Internal Communication...

Facebook Fridays - a great way for employers to experiment with social media

Those of you who read this blog regularly will know my views on social media - I'm passionate about the potential of this technology to revolutionize internal comms and enhance relationships at work.

But many employers are running scared - blocking access or reprimanding employees who dare to visit sites like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook during work time.  Personally, I think they're short sighted. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) thinks so too, a stance I applaud.

I've written about this in a recent article 'Social media face-off a sign of the times' for the CIPR magazine, Profile and its online sister, Profile Extra. Take a look. My basic view is that we, as internal communicators, should encourage employers to experiment with blogging, social networking, video sharing and the like, and help provide frameworks and policies that encourage employees to use these sites in a responsible way. 

So I'm always delighted to read about companies that are embracing social media.

One such organization is Serena Software, a company headquartered in San Mateo, California. Their idea of 'Facebook Fridays' has generated a lot of coverage, both supportive and critical, but I don't mind repeating it as I think it's a great way to toe-dip into the world of social media.

The idea is pretty simple - every Friday Serena employees are given one hour to use the social networking site to connect with coworkers, family, friends and customers. Apparently 85% of employees are now using this site regularly, many of them to hook up with colleagues and customer contacts.

Of course this concept wouldn't work in all companies, but I think there are many environments where just such an approach would work wonders. Just because Serena is Californian software company headed up by a Facebook convert does not mean that such a policy couldn't work in, for instance, a UK-based financial services business.  I'd love to see some UK companies following their lead.

For more views, check out this recent post on the Melcrum Blog and listen to the interview with Serena CEO Jeremy Burton on Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson's FIR podcast.   

What message does your festive bash send to employees?

Firstly, apologies for my radio silence over the last few weeks – we’ve been so busy at Gatehouse that I’ve really struggled to find time to blog.

December is an odd month isn’t it? There’s always something rather frantic about it – it’s that last minute rush to complete projects (or spend budget!) before the end of the year, and to get New Year plans in place before we all down tools for a few days over Christmas. Yet despite the heavy workloads, many of us are now gearing up (down?) for our annual festive bash. Yes, it’s party time! 

Seeing clients, friends and family head off for an evening of fun and frivolity and inevitably return with a major hangover, I can’t help wondering messages these parties send to employees (ok, I'll admit it, that is rather sad). They may not be part of the internal communicator’s armory, but there’s no doubting that the behavior (or misbehavior) of leaders, managers and employees at these events can either reinforce or undo much of what we have worked so hard to communicate during the past 12 months.

Contradictions abound. Take the leader who bangs on about diversity and inclusiveness all year round and then gets hammered at the bar and tells racist jokes. Or the call center manager who severely reprimanded anyone who arrived late for a shift and then fails to turn up the morning after the night before. A mismatch between what you say and what you do is one of the easiest ways to disengage employees. And that's without even mentioning the sex, drugs and fights, all of which I have witnessed at office parties over the years. They are a minefield in oh so many ways.

I remember one party I attended a few years ago where the CEO turned up clad head to toe in a figure-hugging Lycra bodysuit. Let’s just say it left little to the imagination. The venue was rather warm and, if his appearance was not already disturbing enough, the resulting sweat patches guaranteed near universal amusement. This brave move had a number of consequences - for sure no one who was there ever looked at him in quite the same way, but everyone knew he had a serious sense of humor and, thus, was genuinely human. Positives and negatives. 

That one was actually quite amusing and did no lasting harm, but the problem is that most actions are rarely as calculated - in what is usually a booze-fuelled environment, people often let their guard down a little too far. I did exactly that when I belted out that awful karaoke number a few years back. Believe me, it's worth pausing for thought before you down that next glass of Champagne.

If you need more convincing here's some useful legal advice published a few years ago on the excellent legal website from Pinsent Masons, Out-Law.com.