Social Media At Work

     In the last decade there has been a tremendous change in a way businesses are done. The changing business environment requires companies to be more flexible, lenient and inventive in ways they attract, retain and develop top talent. The book “Social Media At Work” by Jue, Marr and Kassotakis emphasizes the strategic importance of social media use, as it can contribute to the increased communication, collaboration and information sharing among employees of a globally dispersed company. One of the bigger challenges that companies face now is that the “demand is exceeding supply of critical workers” (p.27). As Baby Boomers start to retire and Generation Y is entering the workforce, it is important for companies to rethink their acquisition and retention strategies. Generation Y is extremely comfortable with technology and “will demand convenience in information access and real-time communication that satisfies their need for instant knowledge” (p.29). In my opinion, the increased use of social media may pose potential problems with employees from older generations. As older employees often don’t have a high level of comfort with technology, they may feel threatened and resent the change. 
     According to Jue et al., social media “helps to cut expenses and reduce the opportunity cost associated with travel for traditional instructor-led training. Through social media, experts have access to more affordable ways to design learning experiences “(p.74).  The potential problem with that approach is that the online training lacks the dynamic interaction between the students and the instructor and may affect the quality of training. Moreover, online training may be more appropriate for a younger generation who is used to it (live training vs online training ).  Human Resources Department in order to ensure maximum efficiency of the training should take into consideration the needs and learning preferences of various groups of employees. 
    The use of social media at work also raises the issue of appropriateness and “given the vast range in employee ages, generational perspectives can be an issue “(p.16).  HR Department is responsible for creating a set of rules and policies to set up boundaries. In addition, many companies start to use social media as a recruitment tool. However, using social networking site for recruitment purposes may lead to some legal issues. The sites like Facebook, often provide such information as marital status, religion, age, ethnicity, which all can be the reason for potential discrimination lawsuits.  
     It is obvious that social media is here to stay, and it will have a profound effect on all parts of the organization.