HR Leaders Tout Social Media

Human resource leaders overwhelmingly believe that social media and Web 2.0 technologies can improve communication, bringer greater efficiency to the workplace and provide insight about workers' interests and motivations, according to a recent study by Birkman International.

The study, which is based on a survey sent to nearly 20,000 HR professionals, found that 83 percent of respondents see the potential of social media and Web 2.0 in the workplace, particularly when it comes to improving communication, learning and knowledge sharing.

But while most HR professionals agreed that social media and Web 2.0 are not a fad, nearly half (45 percent) said such technologies could pose major distractions that reduce worker productivity. Sixty-nine percent of respondents also indicated that their organizations do not have an official social media or social computing policy in place, the survey found.

A majority of HR respondents (57 percent) said they've adopted Web 2.0 within the past two years, with the most popular websites being LinkedIn (75 percent), Facebook (66 percent), Google Reader (28 percent) and Twitter (66 percent). When asked how they plan to increase or decrease use of Web 2.0 technologies in the workplace, 64 percent said they plan to create content on blogs, websites, video or audio, while 57 percent plan to spend more time maintaining a profile in a social or professional network.

When asked what types of online communities their organizations use, 34 percent of HR professionals said a blended community (both internal and external), 23 percent said an external-facing community such as a Facebook group, 7 percent said an internal-facing community, and 24 percent said none, according to the study.

It appears as though other sectors face similar challenges to the federal government when it comes to introducing Web 2.0 technologies to the workplace. How does your agency measure up?