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CFOs, Gen Y’s, and SMAGs
Posted by Cindy Kraft (CFO Coach), Jul 27, 2010, 14:21 PM (view user's blog)
The effects of social mediaThere’s a fascinating (well at least I thought so) post on Antisocial Recruiter Networking by Michael Goldberg, a talent acquisition leader. His article is based on a New York Times article on the effects of social media on our kids.
What in the world does that have to do with you? Stay with me for a moment.
Last week’s poll in SmartBrief for CFOs was around using social media in the workplace. There was a 50 / 50 split between those who had a social media policy in place or were investigating one and those who had a firewall prohibiting it or were just clueless.
There is so much to lose on both a personal and professional level for executives who choose not to embrace the power of Web 2.0 technology. Social media is here and it’s trending north.
When kids get cell phones at the age of 8 and spend all day texting and FBing friends ... recognize they are your potential hires when they graduate from college. Young adults are, and will be, more tech-savvy than any of us old-timers can ever hope to be. Will they want to work for an executive team that has a strict anti-social networking policy in place or is clueless about what engaging with the public and customers or clients through social media can do for the business? If you did manage to hire them, would you expect them to stay in a culture of extinction for long? Recruiting is expensive. Recruiting top talent ... and keeping them ... is painful.
And for finance executives who still have years left to contribute to a brilliant career ... will you ever be able to compete with a social media savvy 45-year old finance executive candidate when you are 55? I hear “age discrimination” bandied about frequently. No question it exists. Some of it though is brought about by a defiance around change. It’s not how I got to the top and I have no intention of learning/using/participating now.
Isn’t it great that we have free will and free choice ... accompanied, of course, by owning up to our decisions!
BTW, SMAG = Social Media Age Group
- Hiring
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© 2012 Proformative, Inc.
Comments
Social Networking
I'm 38 and use Facebook. Although people might enjoy some of this social networking during the day, think most people can live without it during the workday. We have free will and free choice, but not all of us control our own destinies sometimes. Sometimes it's best to compromise, settle, etc. Not sure what my siblings (your name is Kraft and my sister worked there, interesting) and parents would say, but they don't control what I do.
Social Networking
Of course most people can live without it, Ed, but my point is that the younger generation often chooses not to. They are very socially connected and it's very much a lifestyle. My point is that companies who play by the "old" rules and finance executives who for whatever reason refuse to embrace this technology, will have difficulty recruiting, hiring, and particularly retaining the Gen Y top talent.
Time is fungible
Interesting post. I have mostly gen Y's on my staff. My approach has been to treat everyone as professionals, set high expectations for deliverables, and let their time be fungible.
Yes, generally they are expected to be in the office during normal business hours but frankly the focus is on meeting deliverables (both quality and timing), not necessarily what they do in the office. Some bang out tons of work at night on their laptop, some come in very early, some like to get a lot done on Saturday mornings. After all, work can be done from anywhere with a data connection these days.
This approach has worked for my team, and I have largely adopted it myself. Consequently, my view is who cares if they are doing FB or shopping on line in the office as long as they deliver.
Time is fungible
Exactly the point of my post, Scott. Thanks for reading and for commenting!
Social networking
I do think that Scott makes a good point, and in general I agree with that. It just matters that work gets done, and generally the high performers are going to do that and use their time on the internet or on the phone intelligently. If companies want to block certain sites, though, I don't have a problem with that. Sure, it's probably the 20% that are causing the problem for everyone, but that could be reason enough. Also can see how social networking can be beneficial in recruiting and hiring, Cindy. It's the use during the workday that I think is debatable.
Social Media during workday
It's important to differentiate between hourly and salary workers. Yes, the deliverables are what truly matter, but if an hourly employee is spending 2 hours/day (during worktime), that means he/she is only spending 6 hours/day doing actual work. A salaried employee, on the other hand, can work extra hours, work evenings, etc. to make up the time in order to produce required results.
Facebook, texting, twitter can be useful during the workday when collecting ideas and for research, and therefore businesses shouldn't ban them. I'm also fine with spending time on these activities during break time. However, when an employee is using social media for pure pleasure, and their supervisor or peers are waiting for them to complete their task, and slows down the entire process.
Socila Networking
I have utilized Social networking sites ofr less than 2 months. Since developing a social presence I have increased "click through" site views by over 35% and have had over 25 inqiuries into our services that a simple web presence sould not generate. Brand awaremness and brand management through social networking is the future. I have suggested that our entire sales force be required to keep an active account on at least 3 sites.
Social Networking
In my experience most organizations that BAN internet usage of any type are really more a symptom of lazy management. It is easier to lock down the usage than to deal with the offending employees who would abuse it. The problem is as Cindy points out you then miss out on what could be usage that is very beneficial to the business.