Duh, Social Media HELPS Acquisition Pros
Occasionally a report pops up claiming social media is costing companies money in time and lost productivity. Well, that’s true…to an extent.
Mashable does a good job of putting things in perspective though:
But with a little common sense it’s easy to remember that employees are never 100% productive; before Facebook and Twitter, there was coffee and chitchat around the water cooler. Converting hours spent on social networks into dollars lost is walking on slippery ground.
Newsflash people: social media is good for a contracts office. Its benefits are definitely worth it, and here’s why:
- Your Commander-in-Chief Thinks Social Media is Important. There’s an old saying – “What’s important to your boss is important to you.” Well, this is the big boss; the President of the United States has made the use of social media a major issue for its administration. He’s got the Open Gov Initiative as well as this, this, this, and that. If it’s important to the big guy, it’s important to you too. Period.
- Use “Wasted” Time to Improve Your Employees. Until robots take over the planet and humans are obsolete, employees will always find ways to be unproductive (i.e. personal smart phones). So why not use that “wasted” time to make them productive? What if your employees talked to other employees about new ways to solve problems? You know how employees love to complain. Encourage them to complain and then solve problems together. GovLoop and the Better Buy Project are great examples of this. Acquisition 2.0 anyone???
- Social Media Makes Your Employees Happier. “A happy employee is a productive employee”. Remember that? Well, it’s true. Few things make people happier than communicating to family and friends even if it is at work. Let us be happy. Unblock Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Schroeder steps in again: “I’d rather have happy employees who sometimes go to Facebook and Twitter than unhappy ones who never do anything personal or fun online.”
Think these ideas are genius? Absolutely stupid? Well, give me a shout below.
Like any tool, social media can be used effectively… or not. I agree that being able to post an update to Facebook or send out a couple tweets is nice, but I don’t like the fact that most agencies make employees feel guilty about spending a few minutes doing it.
Instead of spending time telling us what NOT to do with social media, why don’t they spend time showing people how these tools can be fun and interactive AND productive? Teach people all of the awesome things that can be done, and the time wasting activities will minimize themselves.
~Brandon