HR & Social Media: What Would Jesus Do?

Are you an HR person wrestling with how best to use social media?

You've got plenty of company.

At this week's IQPC Corporate University sessions there was an entire two-day track dedicated to Social Media. Speakers included Sharlyn Lauby and Jessica Lee, HR pros who know their way around the online community and the tools available to best do that. 

The questions from the audience surprised me since I've been online for some time:

 1. Do we need legal regulations before we start using social media? (This was the starting point for a lot of people; their management wanted to nail down any liability before seriously discussing social media).

2. How do we control "it"? The concept of losing control to gain relationship--as well as instant feedback from customers and employees--is still terrifying to many.

3. How do we explain and best use tools like Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and LinkedIn?

These are all reasonable questions.

They are also indications that, while a portion of the population takes social media for granted, businesses do not. That means HR pros who believe there is a place for social media will have to introduce them in the same way as any other change: Awareness, Education, but most importantly, specific examples of Application.

Then, organizations need to do what they do with everything else: answer the question, "What is our strategy and how can we use some or all of these to further it?" 

Note: If you are charged with this, a good example would be Scott Monty at Ford Motor Company. 

Fluoride, @Jesus,
& Social Media

You may not know this but there was a time when, like social media,  people were scared to death of Fluoride. Yep, the stuff that's in your toothpaste to help prevent cavities. When I was a child there was a movement to put Fluoride into drinking water. The population rose up indignantly claiming, amongst other things, that it was a Communist plot to poison us all. I recall my parents and our neighbors in hugely emotional discussions about Fluoride. (If you Google "fluoride" you'll see that it is still unpopular in many circles). 

Fluoride was Twitter. All of the implications weren't understood, it was a new "solution" and, as such, it became a rallying cry for many "slippery slope" arguments.

Which is why executives aren't totally crazy when they hear the mention of a new solution named 'Twitter' as a business tool. I give you, cut and pasted directly from Twitter (drumroll): @JESUSLordThyGod, Thank you for being my 3000th follower.

This first grabbed my attention because, as a follower of Jesus, I thought that the "following" part was the other way around. I had absolutely no idea that Jesus was using Twitter Himself.

Then I put myself in the position of a COO sitting next to the kids at home watching this particular tweet go by. If I'm the COO I'm not going to be comfortable with this as a  "solution" until someone shows me specifically, with a 'sticky' business example, how my company can use Twitter to further some part of the mission. And, in ways that minimize misunderstandings and liability.

There was a time, not long ago, when web portals and email raised eyebrows. It took time to figure out what was useful, what was 'safe', and what simply didn't matter. Most of all, it took hands-on experience to discover the answers.

What to do? Stop talking about social media and start showing examples of internal chats and how they cut communication time and increase project understanding. Show how many high potential employees have been hired through LinkedIn and Facebook. Design a learning program using all of the tools, pilot it, and do an honest evaluation about what works and what doesn't.

Don't dump social Fluoride into the organizational drinking water. Introduce it purposefully--think "business toothpaste" for a better chance at a brighter smile.

Comments

[cvharquail]

Steve, I probably need more coffee, since I don't *quite* get this one. Are you saying that the COO might not "get" how a tweet from @Jltg could possibly be work-related? I think I lost you at the fluoride example. Going back over it, to ponder.
cvh

[Steve Roesler]

CV,

Here's wazzup:

People at the conference were trying to figure out how to help their corporate leadership "get" the various social media. What happens is this:
When people like the COO are only exposed to @Jltg examples, they have no idea how a tool like Twitter will ever relate to their organizational life. Similarly, in the 50's, many people didn't see how fluoride would really help their dental life:-)

Thanks for taking the time to let me know I needed to clarify a bit.

[Sharlyn Lauby]

Steve - thanks for the mention. I totally agree that's we need to stop talking about social media and start taking action. There's a very supportive community out there to show us the right way to use the tools.

[Mark A. Griffin]

We have a whole generation that is entering the workforce that has primarily spent their high school and college years communicating in 140 characters or less! As HR Professionals we need to understand and embrace this technology.

[Brad]

Legal regulations are a must these days with social media especially to protect your brand and make sure everyone is on the same page in using all the different social media outlets. We've learned this a year after just going full blast.

[Steve Roesler]

Mark,

Just finished doing a webinar to HR professionals and echoed your sentiments. We were discussing ways to reach the best job candidates and I talked about the usefulness of Twitter.

[Steve Roesler]

Brad

The legal implications are certainly real, as are the potential benefits of various social media tools. The trick is to get the legal eagles and social media folks together and have some good, long, conversations to educate each other about both sides of the various issues. A knee-jerk reaction one way or the other isn't going to be very helpful in the long run.

[Tech Guys]

I love reading blog post that make sense. As technology moves faster everyone in every field must adapt. Especially those deciding who is the best canidate for positions specific for tech.

[Lena Morgan]

I totally agree that's we need to stop talking about social media and start taking action.There's a very supportive community out there to show us the right way to use the things.
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