How Social Networking Sites Help Employers to Communicate Effectively with Employees - Essay Example

? How social networking sites help employers to communicate effectively with employees Introduction The rising popularity of social networking sites and their increasing use have eased communication between the management and employees to enhance high productivity in workplaces. Over the past years, social media sophistication and widespread has outstripped expectation in various organizations. This is because it has provided many individuals across the world with voices in public spaces. Social networking sites have allowed people to use their voice to communicate with each other on every corner of the globe. This phenomenon of communication through social networks has a greater impact in workplaces. This is because it has presented an opportunity for employers and employees to engage in their workplace under collective basis. FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn are the four major social networking sites that are enhancing communication across the world. Effective communication using social media within workplaces is mainly reinforced by their ability to reach instantaneously to a vast number of people in an organization. It has also laid a platform that allows two way communications through instant messaging available in the chat rooms. In addition, effective communication has also been enhanced in the workplaces among employers and employees due to their easy accessibility and usability. This is because in the current world social networking sites are readily available to everyone who is able to use a smart phone or a computer. These factors have enhanced higher adoption of social sites masking them the fundamental part of organizations every day’s life. This paper work focuses on how social networking sites help employers communicate more effectively with employees in order to enhance higher productivity and other added values at workplaces. Communication power of social networking sites in workplaces Internet and social networking media have greatly contributed to fundamental changes concerning ways in which people interact in the business world and other private spheres. Companies and other corporate organization across the world have played a catch-up in order to understand ways of harnessing the emerging technologies for better management. Employers in various organizations have responded to the rising technology in the modern world to facilitate relationships with their employees through social media. Various online communication channels such as emails and other instant messaging have changed efficiency and nature of communication processes in businesses and other organizations. This is by maintaining relationships among working colleagues in order to enhance their primary roles. Since it is difficult for employers to contact all employees in their business organizations, social networking sites have provided an opportunity for them to have quicker and faster communication (Jue, Marr, & Kassotakis, 2009). In case of issues that need instant attention, employers are always in a position to send the messages through social networks such as MySpace and LinkedIn to their employees. This enables information to reach all employees within a short time making them to have quick reaction and decision toward what the employer require them to do. This has facilitated better collaboration of all subordinate workers and their employer in work places. Collaboration has greatly transformed work outputs in businesses and other organization due to effective communication between managers and their employees through networks that promote teamwork (Kaupins, 2011). Frequent communication between employers and employees has also allowed everybody to contribute in enhancing better performance of organizations. This is because communication allows every subordinate member in an organization to grow together in a team. In addition, it has also been noted that most of the employees are young generation who are always determined to use social networking sites in their workplaces. It is therefore, important for employers to use the social networks while communicating to the youths in order to engage large percentage of them on the workforce. In addition, due to the large number of youth employees the demand to use social networking sites tools as a prerequisite for having effective results in work places has also increased. This has thus created a perfect working world for the employees (Challenger, 2009). Communication between employers and employees has given them a chance to discuses work and business related issues together. This has resulted to increase in work performance, in various organizations. Higher work performance as a result of effective communication in organizations through social networking has lead to increase in productivity. Through social sites, such as a MySpace, Facebook and Plaxo, employers are able to capture ideas and knowledge from the mind of employees. This is because these sites have become powerful tools of linking communities with similar interests and goals. Employers will therefore, have a chance of connecting all employees under similar professional interest to ease productivity and marketing. Through the use of Twitter, employers will allow all subordinate workers to participate in companies’ subject matters and transfer knowledge across organization (Maryott, 2010). In addition, emails and instant messaging through social networking sites have enhanced a reduction of time used by workers to do their work. Use of Twitter and Facebook among employers to reach their employees will cut down the amount of time to contact all subordinate workers. This is because social networking sites are very fast for transferring information form one person to the other (Merrill, Latham, Santalesa, & Navetta, 2011). Employers have also leveraged communication through social networking power to find new market and business opportunities. This is by engaging likeminded employees to share their information concerning marketing techniques and strategies. In addition, communication between employers and employees through MySpace and Twitter has also improved innovative values leading to success in the business. This is because free communication creates channels through which all subordinate workers in an organization boost their effort towards achieving their target. Moreover, employers can also use social network sites to gather suggestions from employees concerning ways of improving their products and services in order to have better results (Jue, Marr, & Kassotakis, 2009). Through the use of social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Ning, employers are able to engage and align their employees in various organizational activities. According to Maryott, communication through social networking keep employees emotionally and intellectually engaged in their work leading to success of the company. Social networking sites especially LinkedIn is well suited to enhance communication intended to keep employers and employees connected to the vision and mission of an organization (Maryott, 2010). LinkedIn and Facebook social networks allow employers to establish two way dialogues through instant messages available at chat rooms. This help in raising the perception among employees to work together with their employers. In addition, employer’s communication through social networks makes employees feel connected and thus focusing on their tasks and activities. In addition, LinkedIn and Twitter are used by employers as professional, social networks to make businesses and organizations connections with their prospective employees. This allows employers to have a better understanding of all employees regarding their strength and weakness (Merrill, Latham, Santalesa, & Navetta, 2011). Social networking sites communication allows businesses to have continuity and quick recovery of disasters. This is because they allow a large number of people to connect simultaneously and efficiently. Employers in various organizations across the world use networking technologies such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to communicate to their employees during emergencies. This allows employees to address any tragedy occurring in an organization effectively (Kaupins, 2011). Conclusion Social networking sites have currently evolved into a mixture of socialization and working fields. Many businesses and organizations are now engaging in social network sites means of communication. Many employers have developed policies of using social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ning, Plaxo and Myspace to enhance effective communication with their employees. These networks allow two way dialogues among subordinate workers thus enhancing higher productivity. Employees are also allowed to identify their belonging to an organization thus boosting their workforce to have better results. In addition, through social network sites communication, employers are able to alert employees about any disaster arising in the company. References Challenger, J. A. (2009). Social Networking Opens New Avenues to Getting Hired. California Job Journal, 27 (1197), 3-8. Jue, A. L., Marr, J. A., & Kassotakis, M. E. (2009). Social Media at Work: How Networking Tools Propel Organizational Performance. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Kaupins, G. (2011). Legal And Ethical Challenges Of Corporate Social Networking. 2 (3), 119-145. Merrill, T., Latham, K., Santalesa, R., & Navetta, D. ( 2011, April). Social Media: The Business Benefits May Be Enormous,But Can the Risks -- Reputational, Legal, Operational -- Be Mitigated. Retrieved June 22, 2012, from http://www.acegroup.com/us-en/assets/ace-progress-report-social-media.pdf Maryott, M. L. (2010). Social Networking in the Workplace Creates Peril for Employers. In-House Litigator , 24 (3), 3-6. Read More