Get social, not paranoid

By Siân John | May 19, 2011 | Leave a Comment 

Siân John

A recent survey by HCL Technologies show nearly half of all UK enterprises (48%) ban access to social media sites.  The reason for this was not related to productivity but to concerns about damage to businesses’ reputation from derogatory comments being posted on social networking sites.  The point to consider here is whether this is really protecting the company in the way that it is hoped? In the modern world of mobiles and always on connectivity, employees can post in any number of ways, even if they are within the confines of the corporate network.

In reality, smart companies can permit access to social networking sites by taking advantage of the protection in which they have already invested. Traffic to the sites can be scanned for malware, user postings monitored and scandalous or confidential information can be blocked before being posted to the site…and all while providing a motivational tool to employees by allowing access to social media sites.  It seems that a more social approach to online interactions is here to stay and an approach that accepts this and deals with it will help organisations to understand and manage risk while also making full use of social media in marketing and customer interactions.