Presenting on Social Media to HR

I think it’s good to draw it back to a “business” competency to further their understanding as to why it’s critical for HR to understand SM. In much the same way that we champion HR pros having an understanding of finance (so they can talk to their CFOs) and understanding business objectives/environment (so they can talk to their CEOs), they must understand SM so they can talk to their CMO’s and CIOs. It all becomes critical to knowing how their business operates, garners customers, provides a message to the public etc. It also loops it back to the conversation of not necessarily one group ‘owning’ the company brand, but how the cultivation of that brand is a partnership between senior leadership, marketing and HR (and yes – throw EEs in the mix because how they operate keeps that brand alive and real).

Maintaining positive EE relations ?… well, make sure your messages match. There’s a company with a local presence in my town that recruits thousands of employees each year. They use SM tools to recruit (twitter, FB, etc) – however, not even their corporate recruiting staff (because I asked one of them) can access those tools at work. Another well-managed local brand (from a product/customer standpoint) is extremely effective in its use of twitter, FB, 4square, etc. However, when I asked an HR Manager at the company if their employees could access these tools at work, the answer was “no; of course not! They would waste time and we have firewalls set up for protection.” When I posed the same question to their SM manager, she admitted that she was one of only a few employees with access at work. They effectively recruit/hire a number of their customers. It is, by all accounts, a very good working environment. But there is surely a disconnect between the external and internal message….. (food for HR thought).

Maintaining positive employee relations can also come into play when employees know that the ER ‘trusts” them – trusts them to use these tools responsibly, trusts them to spend their time wisely, trusts them to be champions for the business. Of course, it’s understood that each work environment and each job are different; many people’s jobs allow them to carry/use their cell phones at work… but a forklift operator will never be one of the jobs where someone can do that. So to create the positive environment that fits YOUR company, think through what it means in your workplace. Then educate employees, train them in the responsible use of these tools, explain your expectations for behavior… and manage to those expectations. THAT creates a positive work environment IMO.

OK – I started typing and ultimately wrote a book!

Reply