It is nearly impossible to ignore the impact that facebook has had on the world as we know it. This seemingly overnight sensation has taken the Internet by storm and as of October 2007 consists of over 42 million users worldwide, most of whom are teens and young adults either in or entering the work force. Considering that this service has only been online since early 2004, I believe this is a clear indication that Facebook is and will remain the World’s premier social networking tool for years to come.
Now you may be thinking “great, a lot of people use this website, but what benefit is that to me?” Well, the truth is that facebook is a massive and essentially untapped resource when it comes to employee morale and productivity. It is no secret that many corporations have begun using facebook to screen potential recruits before they are granted interviews, and some are even reprimanding those who prove to be violating company policy within its pages. While these practices definitely help improve a company’s ranks, there is still something missing from the equation.
The personal information that the pages of facebook contain should also be used to develop and encourage those who are already an integral part of the business. If I were to log on to any person’s facebook page, I would more or less have instant access to information about their interests, hobbies, dislikes, hopes, dreams, and everything else in between. But it doesn’t stop there. I would also have access to a list of that person’s friends (only those that use facebook themselves, but then again pretty much everyone does) and their personal information, pictures that people have uploaded and so on. In short, one could essentially learn about someone’s entire life in minutes, with only a few clicks of a mouse. While this is a scary thought for many, at the same time it proves to be a valuable tool in developing good working relationships between people, more specifically managers and those who work under them.
Such vast amounts of personal information could be and should be used by companies to get to know their employees on a more personal level and allow them to relate to their lives as much as possible. Building such relationships is key as it will encourage people to communicate more effectively with their managers and executives as well as improve morale by showing them that they are valued and belong to a team. Essentially this creates a much more positive and welcoming work environment where people are able to enjoy themselves and therefore be more productive. I know that when someone knows what is going on in my life and is able to talk to me about it, I feel cared for and am much more driven in life.
Facebook is also a useful tool to develop targeted incentives and events that are based on the common interests of those within the company. These incentives and events are then easily posted on facebook as a group or event to which people can be invited to and attendance can be tracked. This feature is also helpful in planning these events as each person’s page also shows every advertised event that they are planning on attending and even those that they have attended. Using this information would definitely be beneficial in making sure that attendance at such events is as high as possible.
Imagine that all this information is utterly free for anyone to access. Well, that’s not entirely true. Facebook employs a system whereby only users within the same network have access to each other’s pages without being friends with them. These networks are organized into different university and colleges, high schools, geographical areas and even workplaces. In fact networks are set up for most major corporations around the world. The only thing people need to join them is an affiliated email address. Interestingly enough, once people access these networks, their email accounts are most likely to become neglected as they will check their facebook pages as often as they need to eat or sleep.
In all, the more you know about your employees, the better you are able to serve them and the better you are able to serve them, the better they are able to serve your customers. Facebook is rapidly growing every day and is projected to have over 60 million users by the end of 2007. By no means should facebook ever be a substitute for direct human interaction; however, as we become increasingly disconnected in our physical world, it is a valuable tool that should not be ignored.
No comments:
Post a Comment