systematicHR

Evil HR being the well know Evil HR Lady of course.  She and I share something in common – we work for prominent organizations, write a blog, and are anonymous about it.  When it comes to social networking and the roles HR plays, there are 2 types of social networking to really consider – the professional network and the social network.

The problem with social networking sites is that it can cause a huge blur between your personal and your professional life. Sure, as your “buddy list” grows your chances for “ins” at companies increases. But, are you really going to get recommended for a job when your “friends” have seen pictures of you doing things that fall into the category of “really stupid.”  ((Evil HR Lady, November 3, 2007. “Facebook, Myspace, et. al.”))

She is right of course, there can be a blur between social networking sites that overlap into the professional life.  But it’s not really about the social networks themselves, it’s the revelation of the personal life to the entire world – which includes your employer and associates.  From my point of view, if someone wants to put stuff about themselves online, that is their problem.  How it diminishes their reputation or amount of respect they receive is completely their prerogative.  The only place where it might matter to the organization is where the employee is clearly engaged in illegal activities, and even then the line between private and work life is blurred.

What I’m more interested in is the ways that social networking can be used to further the professional life.  For example, many of us are on LinkedIn, but the applications for going outside the corporate boundaries to professional networking sites that cater to specific needs is abundant.  We already go to conferences and forums where we network and have discussions with peers from other companies, so why should this be any different?  I’d broaden Evil HR’s definition a bit:

Now, as for more professional sites like LinkedIn, I don’t think there is as much of a problem. But that is designed to be more professional. Use it for it’s intended purpose–to get professional contacts. Not to brag about your weekend exploits.  ((Ibid))

When you create social media on the internet, the possibility of data being dispersed to organizations that may be competitors is far greater.  Records of discussions are kept indefinitely, and even if unwanted viewers are secured out by membership, there is no guarantee that this will continue to be true long into the future.  Informal conversations at a conference are much different.  There is no record of the conversation, and it’s really impossible for your corporation to monitor them.  That’s not to say that the corporation does not have every right to know what you’re doing and saying to people about their products and secrets.  Governance models around how HR and corporations manage employee discourses on public and semi-public sites needs to be developed to protect both the corporation and the employee.  It’s a significant risk, and one we’ll need to deal with soon.