From: @TheManagementTeam
To: @TheEmployees
Subject: Corporate Social Media Policies

It has come to management’s attention (we own your PCs, the network and the log files, remember?) that our employees are spending an increasingly large amount of time on Social Networks – and that we may have even developed a number of Social Media ‘gurus’ inside the walls of our company.

Because of the increased time and energy many of you are spending on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other Social Networks, we thought it important to issue a brief memo to clarify company policy toward these initiatives.

Personal Use of Social Networks

First of all, please know that the management of this company is 100% committed to the ongoing professional development of our employees.  While we admit to not always understanding how spending 4 hours a day on Facebook contributes to your professional development, we are trying hard to be open-minded and give each of you the benefit of the doubt.

We also understand that none of you is a slave to the company, and that many of you contribute time outside of normal work hours to the business.  We also understand that many of those you  are networking with may be our partners or customers – people, after all, ultimately do business with people.  We do not want to begrudge you the ability to tweet about your favorite sports team or share last night’s dining experience with your friends.  Just please don’t let it get out of hand – or allow it to interfere with your or others’ job performance.

We also understand what stepped-up activity on LinkedIn means.  Our employees are truly our greatest asset – and we want you to stay.  We just want you to be productive while you’re on our payroll.

‘Corporate’ Social Initiatives

We are bit more concerned by those of you who are claiming the time you are spending on these networks is being done on the company’s behalf.

Your management team and board is always interested in discovering and investing in programs that contribute to the growth and profitability of our company – that is our job.  We are delighted when our employees think ‘out of the box’ and try new things.  There are few things that would make us happier – and our company more profitable – than finding creative new ways to reach our current and prospective customers.

However, please realize that any ‘investment’ – needs to be justified in light of the resources that need to be invested – whether those resources are time or money (because, ultimately, they are the same thing).

We continue to hear that the ‘power’ of Social Media can be utilized to improve revenue, lower costs, enhance customer loyalty, etc…  So show us – in financial terms.  In other words, if you propose that we invest our time and money – you need to build a business case.

While we frequently hear the term ‘Social Media ROI’ used both inside and outside the company, we have thus far seen precious little concrete evidence that this ‘ROI’ actually exists. More often than not, what we find instead are weak excuses that Social Media can’t be measured, or citing of fluffy non-metrics such as ‘engagement’.  Or we find cases like this – not the type of ROI we are looking for.

We also hear many of you citing the ‘wisdom’ of some big-name Social Media ‘gurus’ who, as far as we can tell, don’t represent any particular company and seem be mostly in the ‘business’ of flying around the country, attending conferences, selling books, and congratulating themselves on the size of their networks.  We even understand that one of the better-known ‘gurus’ built his name and reputation while working for a large technology company, where he was frequently critical of and embarrassed his employer until he eventually resigned.  That’s not the type of Social Media ROI we’re looking for either.

The bottom line is – we understand the need to network – we only ask that you keep your use of these networks under control, use them appropriately, and do not disparage or otherwise embarrass your employer.

But if you’re going to make the claim that your Social Media time is being spent on the company’s behalf, we will hold you to a different set of standards.   If it’s for ‘us’ – you need to show us the money.

Thank you for your attention.  If you have any questions or concerns, our doors are always open.

Well, almost always….

@TheManagementTeam