INTRODUCTION

Social media has transformed the way people work and interact. Its impact has reached into businesses and impacted employees. Companies are beginning to look at the how social media benefits or harms the productivity of their employees.

The following survey was conducted between June and October of 2012 by MySammy in conjunction with Holos Research. A total of 158 responses were gathered from human resource managers, executives and other important stakeholders. Surveys were completed online as well as in person at industry events such as SHRM and the HR Technology Show in Chicago.

This report is not meant to be taken as a scientific study, but rather as a general indicator of the current sentiments in the HR industry.

1. How much of a concern is it that employees may be giving your company a bad reputation by their personal social media site postings?

Three quarters of respondents (76%) expressed concern that employees are using social media to harm their reputation.

2. Does your company have a specific policy or best practices regarding social media websites that all employees must read and agree to?

More than two thirds of respondents’ companies (69%) do have policies on social media for employees.

3. Does your company have a “work” social network that only employees can access?

Proprietary closed social networks that are company-specific are still in the minority.

4. In general, how much do you feel time spent on social media websites during work hours decreases employee productivity? (Please do not include employees whose job responsibilities require access to social media.)

For employees whose roles don’t depend on social media, three quarters of respondents (78%) believe social media decreases their productivity.

5. Conversely, how much do you feel time spent on social media websites during work hours increases employee productivity? (Please do not include employees whose job responsibilities require access to social media.)

Likewise, only one quarter (27%) believe social media increases productivity.

6. Does your company request social media website passwords for employment candidates?

Although some news stories had companies asking for job applicants’ social media passwords, the vast majority do not.

7. Does your company request social media website passwords for current employees?

Similarly, the vast majority of companies don’t ask for their employees’ passwords for social media websites.

8. Does your company have a way to measure employee “productive time” when they are on the computer?

Two-thirds of respondents (65%) don’t have a way to measure employee productivity while on the computer.

9. Does your company block access to social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and others?

Almost 4 in 10 respondents’ companies block access to social media websites.

10. Please rank in order of importance why your company blocks access to social media websites:

The two biggest factors on why companies block access to social media websites were “security threats” (77% important) and “decreased productivity for employees” (67% important).

11. Does your company allow employees to carry and access their personal smartphone at work?

Almost all respondents’ companies (87%) allowed their employees to bring their own smartphone to work…

12. How concerned are you that employees are using their personal smartphones to access social media websites during work time?

…even while more than half of them (58%) worry that they use it to access social media during work.

13. How concerned are you that blocking access to social media websites hurts you with prospective employees considering a job offer from your company?

For respondents’ companies that do block access to social media at work, two-thirds (66%) aren’t concerned it hurts them with job applicants. Interestingly, a 2011 study by Cisco found that more than half of college students globally (56%) said that if they encountered a company that banned access to social media, they would either not accept a job offer or would join and find a way to circumvent corporate policy. See http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-releasecontent?type=webcontent&articleId=532138

14. How likely do you think prospective employees who accept job offers will find ways to get around the blocking of access to social media websites?

Slightly over half (58%) believe new employees will find ways around blocking efforts.

15. How much do you feel blocking access to social media websites hurts the trust between your company and your employees?

Respondents are likewise split on whether or not blocking efforts hurt trust, with 55% saying it hurt and 45% saying it didn’t hurt.

16. If you aren’t blocking access to social media websites, are you monitoring employee time spent on social media websites?

Two-thirds (66%) of those who aren’t blocking social media sites aren’t monitoring the time employees spend on it either.

17.Does your company have clear limitations on how much time employees can spend on social media websites?

The vast majority (86%) do not have limits spelled out on the time employees can spend on social media.

18. How useful do you think access to social media websites is for your employees to perform their duties?

Respondents were evenly split on the usefulness of social media for employees to perform their duties 54% useful, 46% not useful.

19. If certain employees are using social media for work purposes (such as Tweets on Twitter or sales leads on LinkedIn), do you consider that information company property?

Surprisingly, if employees use social media on behalf of a company, only a little more than half (57%) consider that information company property.

SUMMARY

Companies are concerned about social media, yet their actions and enforcement are at times in conflict with their concerns.

Threats from Social Media:

The two biggest factors on why companies block access to social media websites were “security threats” (77% important) and “decreased productivity for employees” (67% important).

While 76% expressed concern that employees are using social media to harm their reputation, only 38% block access at work to social media websites. And of the ones who aren’t blocking access, two-thirds (66%) aren’t even monitoring the time employees spend on them either.

Policies:

And surprisingly, if employees use social media on behalf of a company, only a little more than half (57%) consider that information company property. Looks like companies may need to look at modifying their social media policies, which we show 69% of respondents already have.

Still, the vast majority (86%) do not have limits spelled out on the time employees can spend on social media, likely leading to confusion or soft enforcing of policies.

Recruitment:

Our survey respondents don’t feel that blocking access to social media will hurt them when recruiting job prospects (66%). But as we mentioned, a study by Cisco shows that more than half of college students globally (56%) said that if they encountered a company that banned access to social media, they would either not accept a job offer or would join and find a way to circumvent corporate policy. Companies may need to revisit policies that outright block access to social media, especially in industries that regularly recruit younger job applicants.

Effect on Productivity:

More than 3 in 4 believe that social media hurts employee productivity, yet they have no way of knowing by how much; two-thirds of respondents (65%) don’t have a way to measure employee productivity while on the computer. Yet more than half (54%) felt social media was useful for employees to perform their duties.

And since almost all respondents’ companies (87%) allowed their employees to bring their own smartphone to work, it is conceivable that employees are circumventing website blocking by accessing social media with their personal devices. More than half of respondents (58%) worry that they use it to access social media during work.

CONCLUSION

Social media will not be going away. Companies need to be proactive in terms of setting clear guidelines for use of social media, and be clear in communicating the policies to their employees. Just as important, companies cannot be lulled into a false sense of security that simply blocking access to social media websites at work is the answer.

Rather than using brute methods of blanket blocking, a better solution is enacting solutions to measure productivity. If harnessed properly, social media can benefit organizations through increased collaboration, real-time monitoring and online evangelism.

About MySammy

This survey was commissioned by MySammy. MySammy is a software company that provides enterprises, HR departments and managers of telecommuters with a feature-rich, results-oriented “productivity measurement” software solution that enables employers and managers to graphically view detailed information on how an employee’s time is spent on a computer. The solution provides quantifiable time accountability measurement and collects only the data needed for effective management evaluation of “productive time” and avoids depriving users of their privacy. For more information about the company please visit www.mysammy.com. Follow us on www.Twitter.com/MySammySoftware and www.Facebook.com/MySammySoftware.

All rights reserved 2012.