According to the Human Resources and Social Media study by KPMG (source), there are a number of interesting statistics that related to social media  and the talent management/HR environment:

• 40% of companies admit to having no training or governance of social media.
• 60% of employees would like help from employers to share relevant content.
• 43% of companies rely on HR to create social media policies.
• 61% of Millennials don’t use the traditional company resources, turning instead to the Web and other external resources at their fingertips.

And here’s the kicker from a recent SilkRoad study (source): 75% of leaders in human resources and talent management believe their companies are behind the curve regarding both internal and external social networking technology.

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Can you say big gap in communication strategy and execution?

Unfortunately, too many companies are stuck in a place of worrying about the potential negatives of social media in the workplace, which is why back in 2009, 54% of companies in the US had banned the use of social-networking sites altogether. Those numbers have made an abrupt about-face since then, but far too many companies have done little more than begrudgingly accept the notion, which is a far cry from leveraging it into business success.

Many are also still worried about potential security vulnerabilities that come with increased social media presence and activity. These threats come in the form of spam, worms, viruses, spyware, other malware, criminals, hackers, and lurkers. But there are plenty of ways to greatly mitigate if not entirely remove these risks, which is worth the effort given the potential upside.

Social media isn’t a fad, it’s a fact of life, and it’s time for companies to move beyond the fear that social media in the workplace is a drag on productivity and instead embrace it and all the positive benefits it can bring.

It’s especially important for talent management and HR professionals to make the most of it. Let’s face it, as the keeper of policy, procedure and order in the workplace, it’s HR that can really drive adaptation, adoption and change in the workplace. And leveraging the power of social media in the workplace can result in increased productivity, improved retention and better employee engagement.

Think about it – social media tools like web conferencing and instant messaging facilitate communication that can enhance teamwork and collaboration, and do so without regard to physical distance between participants. The huge variety of online communities, YouTube, blogs, and so on offer amazing sources of research and opportunities to both stimulate and hone creative thinking, all of which contributes to increasing the efficiency and productivity of employees. And of course, the marketing communications value of social media is beyond doubt.

If anyone raises eyebrows at your suggestion of going social in the workplace, fire off these following points about what social media can do to drive your message home:

• Improve general communication and information sharing.
• Boost team productivity and effectiveness within projects and business processes.
• Support communities that stimulate innovation and learning, as well as diffuse best practices.
• Encourage peer-to-peer networking to strengthen professional and interpersonal relationships.

It’s also worth noting that a 2012 survey by Nielsen and NM Incite (source) found that people spend nearly a third of their online minutes scanning their social media accounts from mobile devices as contrasted with 20% spent visiting social networks from PCs. HINT: If you’re going to go social, you should probably go mobile as well, which will probably the topic of a future article.

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