Social Media… to allow or to block?

The newest communication tool appears to be the use of social media. There is a great deal of debate whether or not professional organizations should use this tool as a means of communication or allow there employees access to these sites while at work. Some employers use these tools to reach customers, some allow employees access to these sites, and others forbid social media completely. Social media can include various forms of communication such as podcasts, blogs, and networking sites. Some forms are more appropriate and applicable to the workplace than others.

As an organization we have chosen to take a conservative stance and prohibit the use of the sites while at work. The company will not use social networking sites to communicate information at this time and access to these websites will be blocked while using a company computer. The company has two main goals in blocking the use of these sites: workplace efficiency and security. Further research will be conducted in order to judge the benefits versus the threats of this type of communication. We are constantly evaluating our policies to ensure they are providing the most benefit and we will continue to look at the use of social media for our organization in the future.

We also recognize that our employees and customers may choose to use social media outside of the workplace. To help protect them we would like to offer two suggestions when using this type of technology. First, remember once information is posted it remains accessible for extended periods of time and possibly forever. Second, social media interactions are not guaranteed to be private or confidential and many times can be accessed by the public. Caution, good judgment, and common sense are imperative to protecting one’s information while using this type of technology. The following link will provide access to the full white paper concerning out organization’s stance on social media.  Social media white paper