I
expect the answer will vary among different HR managers. According to
our guest speaker, the most-heard employee complaint is: “That is NOT
fair.” Often times, employees do not feel they are treated equally
because they misunderstand their managers, regardless of whether they
have a valid complaint. In this case, effective communication can help.
In
Sheraton SU, for example, the Housekeeping Manager holds a pre-shift
meeting every day to ensure that management’s expectations are
effectively communicated in the department. The manager is perceived as a
“tough guy” with high expectations, but because of effective
communication, people in the department feel they are treated fairly
(and toughly), and they have very few complaints. As a matter of fact,
employees in the department also nominated the “tough guy” as an
outstanding manager.
What
if a manager cannot host a pre-shift meeting every day? Are there any
other remedies? Will an open door policy help? How about adopting a
social media strategy for internal communications?
I understand that there are organizations and managers still feeling reluctant to implement any social media strategies because of the privacy concerns, but the truth is not every social media tool is designed for public communications. A good case in point is Yammer.
Even the most popular social media tools, such as Facebook groups,
blogs (with restricted access), and Twitter (with restricted access) can
be used for “private” communications. Social media itself is not a bad
thing; it turns bad when a person or an organization does not know how
to use it properly. In my opinion, social media is just another means of
communication.
What
do you think? Can social media be used for internal communications? How
so? Are there any cases where companies use social media in dealing
with employee relations and complaints?
Relevant discussion:
References:
The picture was downloaded from http://3204group7.wordpress.com
Social media can be used for internal communications as long as this tool is not misused and abused by employees. The biggest outlet is the Facebook member’s only page along with the others in which Dr. Kwok already mentioned. Facebook although it is a public site, there are ways in which users can make their member’s only page private and invitation only access. With this FB page, all updates and current events can be shared with employees. Google hangout can also be used to communicate with employees if the manager is away, a quick video session can keep employees posted on their tasks. I haven’t heard of any cases where companies use social media in dealing with employee relations and complaints but I think it is important to keep their internal business or issues within the company.
ReplyDeleteHow is your experience with Google Hangout? It does not work well with Windows 7. Maybe you can also give us more insights when we talk about Google+ next week.
DeleteWhen complaints from employees are shared with the public it only shows that there is a lack of communication which can only mean there is a lack of leadership in the workplace. Although this may not be the case, you never want to share such private concerns with the public. It’s almost like sharing your personal life with a stranger who isn’t afraid to judge.
ReplyDeleteSocial media can definitely be used for internal communications. I actually think that this is a great way for managers and other employees to communicate with each other if there is no time for a pre-shift meeting. Just as Christine said above, a private Facebook group is a great way to communicate with staff without anyone else being able to access it. The manager and staff members are all able to post comments, questions and updates on this private page. Blogging is another great way to communicate within the staff at a company instead of a pre-shift meeting because just like Facebook, these blogs can be private and it is possible to make these posts as long as the manager would like. If I was a manager and was not able to host a staff meeting, I would definitely use social media.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t heard of companies that use social media for internal communications, but I think that major companies with a lot of staff members should take advantage of this free tool to create an alternate way to communicate if necessary.
After I heard all the feedback and comments, I start thinking if social media will be more effective in the corporate level rather than the property level (for a hotel chain or a restaurant chain, for example). Face-to-face communication may still seem more effective in the property level, but it is almost impossible for corporates to do face-to-face communication with every employee. Any thoughts?
DeleteI think social media communication would work well on the corporate level because employees would be able to get comments/feedback from bosses that they usually do not come in contact with. If CEOs used social media to contact the employees, they would gain respect because the employees will be able to understand where their ideas and comments are coming from.
DeleteSocial media should not be used as effective communication between employees. Bosses could give a weekly or monthly review on an employee instead and other urgent comments or changes that need to be made can be discussed in person or over email. Using social media between an employer and employee defeats the purpose of having a relationship with your boss. It could even worsen it as feelings/opinions over text are often misconstrued.
ReplyDelete