Check Your Perspective

There was an interesting story today on All Things Considered about the impact of "social technology" in the workplace and the differences between generations. It got me thinking, and I figured I might as well think out loud here.

The story addressed people who stay in touch with such things as Twitter, Facebook, SMS, Blackberries, through blogs, etc. there was some pretty broad generalizing of the Millennials, who accept these things as the norm, Gen-Xers who have adapted to them, and Boomers who aren't big fans and tend to roll their eyes a lot. Their were some questions about etiquette, employee productivity, and different perspectives on what's appropriate in the workplace and what isn't.

Let me say this first of all: in a meeting, the electronics go off. If you're meeting with employees, whether one on one or in a group, they should be focusing on the discussion and not on a conversation with someone else. Frankly, I'm of the opinion the same is true in social settings...if you're out with friends, focus on the ones who are there, not the ones who aren't. (and yeah, I'm guilty of violating my own statement). Every new communication technology has led to etiquette issues, from talking on a speakerphone when you don't need one, to ensuring everyone in your subway car hears your cell phone conversation, to sending out an SMS during a job interview (though with regard to that last one...I mean, c'mon!). If you see your employees doing something stupid, you should counsel them on their behavior rather than letting them continue. If their parents didn't teach them, then sadly, maybe you need to.

There's also a concern that people are being paid to work, not to Tweet or update their blog or things like that. If you're at work, you should work, right?

Of course, that also suggests that if you're at home you SHOULDN'T be working, and the truth is, that dividing line has been blurred more and more in recent years (often by the same technology we'll talking about here). So it may be understandable that people who find themselves working outside when they're supposed to be on personal time may feel justified in using work time for personal issues. And honestly, how different is it to be talking on Twitter rather than talking around the coffee pot? Whether they're using the company's bandwidth or the company's break room, they're still using company property. Taking a break from work for a few minutes can help them reenergize and do better work in the end...that's why we allow coffee breaks and smoke breaks Where you need to step in is when the personal stuff becomes the norm rather than the break. And honestly, you don't need new technology for that problem to arise. I'm surrounded by three workers who span these three generations and they carry on all day about one thing or another having nothing to do with work (unless they're complaining about how hard they're working), and they're not using any technology at all.

You need to realize that your Creatives are often very collaborative by nature and may be using these technologies to share work-related ideas, ether within the company or with peers and friends in the same field. That can be a good thing and lead to better results, though you want to be sure they aren't giving away corporate secrets.

As with any technology, as with any method of working, the key question is "are your employees getting their jobs done to the best of their abilities?" If they are, but you find they don't need to spend much time working in order to do that, then maybe you need to rethink your structure rather than worrying about who's Tweeting. You may find these social technologies helping more than they hurt, but you might have to overcome some biases in order to see that objectively. And of course, this is more likely in creative fields than in, say, customer service. As one commenter suggested on the ATC story, You probably don't want to wait for the guy behind the counter at Subway to finish sending an e-mail before making your sandwich. But remember, if you're leading Creatives, you're working in a different world from customer service, and need to adjust your style accordingly.