Other results indicate concerns of threats, acknowledgment of benefits may require revisiting corporate social media policies
WALNUT, Calif., Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — A new survey released today explores the sentiments of human resource professionals on the topic of social media. Results show interesting concerns regarding threats from social media, corporate policies, impact on recruitment and effects on productivity.
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 a past study by Cisco showed 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.
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.
The 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.
Find the survey results along with a PDF version of the full report at http://www.mysammy.com/survey-social-media.
About MySammy, LLC
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 check out www.mysammy.com and follow us on Twitter.com/MySammySoftware and Facebook.com/MySammySoftware.
Media Contact: Edward M. Yang, Email, 1-888-317-4687 ext. 1