DISQUS

Juha · 8 months ago

Interestingly enough, our state broadcaster, TVNZ, has banned Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, TradeMe etc, for employees.

The reason for the ban is apparently to save bandwidth but who believes that?

leesargent · 8 months ago

I think it is a good rule of thumb to think about before you post how you would feel about your mother/employer/spouse reading what you write and if that makes you cringe best not to say it :)

Clare Lancaster · 8 months ago

I think this is a key point for businesses to remember - "Businesses need to accept that their employees have a voice, have opinions and can forward the brand by using their voices to build customer relationships, network and obtain relevant feedback."

It might be asking too much but why not utilise these staff members who are obviously savvy with social media and make it part of their role to interact with potential and existing customers, new strategic partners, media etc.

Kimota · 8 months ago

The problem is that it is still common for some businesses to view 'relationship building' and customer conversations as a waste of time and resources unless it can be tied directly into a sale. I hear it quite often from people bewildered that there could be any business use for Twitter, or insisting that blog posts should tie directly into products complete with calls to action, etc.

There is no doubt that the modern online consumer is far more adept at screening out advertising and blatant marketing pitches. They are in control of the conversation for the first time ever and therefore businesses need to learn how to play the game by their rules.

Leanne · 8 months ago

So it's a courageous company that brings that employee debate inside the firewall. I've worked in one that did, and the company reaped the benefits of such a candid engagement with employees. Interestingly enough, the company also had as a test - around what employee might appropriately say - 'Imagine that what you say appears on the front page of a major newspaper, there to be read by your family and friends'. Still valid.

There is great opportunity for companies to experiment with all these tools internally. That's often how they will work out the potential value for customers. One could query whether a company that is unwilling to have a deep and meaningful with its employees is really genuine about caring for its customers?

Laurel Papworth · 8 months ago

... so the 'honest' 'transparent' 'authentic' voice is only appropriate for marketing, not staff? Perhaps a true relationship will mean accepting that staff will chat about their happiness or otherwise with others in social networks and dealing with the issues rather than just enforcing company policy?

Anyway, "doocing" an employee works against anything the company is trying to do - I liked the fact Telstra's NowWeAreTalking let a sacked employee keep blogging. He ranted at first that his Customer Service departement in Brisbane was being shutdown but eventually moved onto how the outplacement was being managed until he was the final one to leave.

For the record, Facebook is a gated community - you have to be a friend to see most people's content - and has strict rules against being used for data mining and "gained access solely for your personal, non-commercial use," therefore sacking staff due to Facebook shenanigans on personal Profile (not Pages) would contravene that ToS.