In a recent study by Fast Company and American Express, it was found that only 7 percent of managers view social media as being important when evaluating an employee’s performance. Many employers have actually blocked access to many social media sites because they believe them to be a drain on productivity.
However, social media has permeated all business functions and customers are demanding social media support and employees need to be constantly connected in order to function. In this social economy where everyone is connected all the time, social media knowledge is an important asset for employees to have. Here are a few reasons why.
Social media can further develop hard and soft skills.
Social network skills can make employees stand out at work, build a strong network, and increase their value to the company. Interacting with colleagues via social media platforms allows employees to network with others that they wouldn’t normally have exposure to. Learning how to use social media also develops both hard and soft skills. Hard skills are developed through learning how the tools work and soft skills through the ability to use the tools to build relationships and influence.
The customer wants social.
From a business perspective, new customers want to be both sold to and serviced via social media. Social is becoming a main mode of communication, and employees need to have a good understanding of how to utilize the tools. If your clients are involved in the social conversation, then you need to be there with them. Social media tools have been effectives used by companies to reach customers, compete for talent, and grow their businesses.
Blogging will draw more attention to your site.
Smart companies such as IBM and Microsoft have utilized social media skills to encourage their employee’s to generate content for company blogs. Microsoft’s blog attracts about 50 million visitors each month. These posts produce a wealth of information that promotes the company. Having a blog with employee-generated content can secure new job leads.
Employees can use social to recruit.
Using employees to recruit via social networks has proved to be very effective, though only 13% of managers think that it’s important. For example, employees from Salesforce.com post 350 status updates about a job opening which were visible to 159,000 professionals. Overall these status updates yielded a 60 percent increase in referral submissions.
Leveraging employees’ knowledge of social media is becoming ever more important for generating leads. It can help you drive attention to your business and not enough companies are taking advantage of this.
If you’re looking for employees with social media experience, let the experienced recruiters at BOS Staffing help. For more than 35 years we have helped clients throughout Northeast Georgia and nationwide find top notch talent and manage their workforces more efficiently. Contact us today to get started.
