52-Week Employee Recognition Plan - Week 4: Let Them Use Social Media; They Already Do

I announced last month the 52-Week Employee Recognition Plan. This is the 4th week of that plan.

• Let them use social media. They already do.

Your employees are adults, right?

You already trust their judgment to talk with your (their) customers and prospects, vendors and partners.

Why not trust them to have these same conversations on social media?

Here's a secret: Your employees already use social media.Prior permission was not needed. They have been using social media for a long time. Regardless if your company's leadership can recognize they are adults or accept that they use social media now.

Social media is used to share stories about what we share or fail to share in common: work, love, family, health, work, sports, work. Life, in other words.

Your company is part of your employee's life. So...they share their stories of life with you, their company, their managers, their products and services, their leaders....and how you recognize them. Or don't.

Social media is used by your employees to share their stories that you have the power to create, sustain...and change. And that story is then shared with others. You want to be a part of more people's lives don't you? You already are. If you're not liking the story you hear told by your employees....banning the messenger, your employees' use of social media, is not going to work. They never needed your permission in the first place.

That too many companies have too many executives that fail to recognize this reality, their own reality, is a key reason why those same companies are disconnected from...employees, customers, vendors and partners. And why so many of those companies notice a lack of loyalty among those same stakeholders.

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Here is the first week of this 52-Week Employee Recognition Plan.

You can start with any week and make that your first week.

You can take one of those weeks and turn it into a month or commit to an accelerated pace and complete 6 of the weeks in one month.

You can create your own week of employee recognition. Share that journey here. Share it in your blog or Twitter or Facebook.

But do something to recognize your employees! They set your brand apart as your ultimate competitive edge. And the more you recognize their achievements, the more achievements you'll see and they'll enjoy, along with your customers and and shareholders, partners and vendors.

Comments

[Drew Hawkins]

I really appreciate this post. Restricting access is an equivalent to when we used to have "silent lunch" in elementary school. Even if access is blocked, employees will still find ways to use social media (aka smartphones).

Social media is going to become a primary source of communication eventually for many. Why fight it now?

[Me]

Thanks, Drew. I love the example you gave here. It paints a great pic in mind: a company full of employees....rows and rows of cubicles forced to work quietly lest they speak out of turn.