Archive for the ‘Engagement / Retention’ Category
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks that in the future it will be commonplace for young people to change their names to escape their digital past (see BBC article here). But is this the solution for avoiding having incriminating or sordid photos or words published online?
We asked some of our DECODER network members, aged 15-30, what they thought of Schmidt’s vision.
The first thing we heard is that Schmidt is a bit behind on this trend. Many people in our network said they post a lot of fake information online, thus keeping their real names ‘clean’. This results in the use of fake names on facebook, names that only ‘real’ friends know. Gen Y are also aware that employers may use digital information to find out more about them – most of them fully expecting future employers to look them up on at least google and facebook. Since stories of those unfortunate few who mess up in the online world end up being broadcast through many forms of media, including TV and online as well as newspapers, many more people are aware of what could go wrong, and learn from the story.
We also heard that people feel strongly that there are logical rules about reputation management online. One rule is that you should always be able to remove information about yourself. For example, of our network members told us she had a phone number listed from a speech she had given a few years ago. Se has tried contacting the organisers to take it off, but has so far been unsuccessful. To this young woman the issue wasn’t about trying to get away from the past, but making sure that people respect each others’ privacy.
In that case, perhaps what we need isn’t an easy way to change your name, but better laws to enable us to remove personal or confidential information from the online record books.
Monday, July 5th, 2010
The BBC writes about Crowdsourcing on their News front page.
According to the article, getting suggestions in from multitudes of users can be very useful. On the other hand, doing something with those ideas is more challenging.
Tom de Castella concludes with the notion that effective crowdsourcing is actually just collaboration in disguise.
Read the article: Click here.
Friday, May 7th, 2010
According to Robert Half Technology, more than half (54 percent) of Chief Information Officers interviewed said visiting social networking sites while at work is “completely prohibited” by company policy. The main reason for the ban is concern over reduced employee productivity. What does this mean for Generation Y, the 15-30 year olds entering our workforce in the age of social media?
Gen Y have grown up in a world where maths homework is done online from a laptop, not hand written in a square papered book. Their world of information is online. They like having lots of information on hand and picking through what they think is important. From DECODEs research we know that most young people connect online with people they already know face to face.
By taking away the tools our employees use to communicate, are we actually reducing productivity?
At a recent DECODE dialogue on the subject, a participant mentioned that social networking sites are the equivalent of the coffee machine where people gather to interact. It would have been interesting to ask those CIOs referenced above whether personal calls are still allowed. What about cigarette breaks? Most of Gen Y don’t smoke, does this mean they get less of a break time to rest their minds and be social?
Recruitment managers tell us that they increasingly use social media to find good hires. It’s efficient, productive, and helps them get to know people. Building their human networks allows for more authentic communication and incentivises employees to help find new recruits. Russell Herder at Ethos Business Law found that 8 out of 10 managers believe social media can enhance relationships with customers and build brand reputation. Managers feel such networking can be valuable in recruitment, as a customer service tool and can be used to enhance employee morale.
The Wasting Time at Work survey from Survey.com says that employees with unrestricted social networking access lose about 2 hours of work time per day. But social media use by employees also yields a 9% productivity boost. Surfing networks at work for pleasure actually increases our concentration levels. If social media in the workplace is a villain, it’s a false villain, and hiding underneath it are age-old work culture issues such as boredom and lack of engagement.
Although Gen Y are digital natives and know how to use the technology at hand, they are also a typical young generation in that they are rebellious, reckless and naive. Some, and I really mean a small minority, do stupid irresponsible things that would freak out most CIOs and most of their peers too. So, assuming we can treat social networking like the modern workplace’s coffee break, how can we best use these tools?
- Train the baby and keep the bathwater: train employees on the good and evil of social networks in the workplace. This reduces risk somewhat and informs employees so that the small minority thinks twice before doing something silly.
- Have strict policies about company information use on social network.
- Open up the good in social networks to all employees. Facebook is not the only social media site. Blocking one will lead to the use of another. Just ask the music industry.
- Re-evaluate every year.
For help building your generation Y employee engagement strategy, please email contact@decode.net
A version of this article was published in Guardian Public. Find the full version here.
Monday, February 8th, 2010
Valentines day is almost here. As someone who is currently single, that doesn’t mean much to me. I’ll be spending Valentines day having lunch with a friend (at home since she refuses to go to a restaurant for fear of being surrounded by smoochy couples), playing golf and watching lots of TV. I might even do some cleaning.
I do wonder what I’m missing out on when I hear (mostly on Oprah) about people with great love lives. Some research DECODE recently carried out showed some scarily attractive traits of people with great love lives. They are more planet conscious, less self conscious, more environmental, eat more organic and less processed food, feel healthier, make more money, have more friends and are more optimistic about work and about life in general. Love seems to transcend relationships and cross into other spheres of life – loving the planet, loving work, loving life…
How does this affect people at work? It seems that those in fulfilled relationships make better employees. Why? They are more likely to be confident and to be engaged in their work. They are more ambitious and loyal to a cause, believing that they want to be leaders one day, and that if they love their jobs the money will follow. People who feel they have great love lives also view their employers more favourably, believing that their employers will be loyal to them. They are healthier, and combined with all these other traits, this might mean fewer sick days.
One key thing that caught my attention – people are less likely to have great love lives if they live with their parents. Maybe its time I moved out.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks that in the future it will be commonplace for young people to change their names to escape their digital past (see BBC article here). But is this the solution for avoiding having incriminating or sordid photos or words published online?
