Social media and team productivity: attention and monitoring are essential!

There is much discussion about the freedom of access to social networks and internet communication programs during work. Some believe that using these services is a way to value employees, offering this freedom on social networks as a benefit to professionals. Others consider that managing access is the best option, defining rules for accessing this content, since the wasted time generated can significantly affect team productivity and company results.

In defining how the company will position itself on the matter, it is very important to initially assess the profile of the professionals in the work environment, the maturity of the team, and the type of activities performed by the employees.

Ideally, a balanced approach should be adopted, combining complete freedom in internet use with stricter access rules that completely restrict access to social networks, communication programs, or services of personal interest.

" management model , where most professionals are young or the activities performed allow for greater flexibility in schedules and freedom for professionals to organize their tasks, an open attitude towards the use of social networks and the internet in general becomes easier.

In this context, it's important to highlight that these companies usually have very effective methods for evaluating results. Therefore, if the team is delivering results as expected or desired, it's possible to maintain greater freedom in the use of social media. However, if the results are not as expected, it's necessary to assess the reason, which could be wasted time or lack of attention resulting from improper use of the network. If this is the reason, it's essential to implement a technology usage policy to mitigate the problem.

In traditional corporate environments, where the management process lacks structured monitoring of activities and results delivered by employees or teams, it's important to monitor internet and technology use, including personal smartphones. Since it's impossible to measure employee productivity and performance, many may be wasting a significant amount of time on non-work-related activities, which can represent a substantial loss for the company. Use our time wastage calculator to estimate the cost this could represent for your business.

In many cases, what can hinder companies is the "gut feeling" of managers. For example, thinking that an employee is not being productive because they access Facebook a few times during the day.

A manager cannot rely on intuition to assess their team's performance; they need to be objective and seek answers to certain questions:

• Does accessing social media or using a cell phone hinder an employee's performance?
• How much does this hinder progress, and in what context—in terms of the quantity of tasks or the quality?
• How does each employee perform compared to the rest of the team?
• Are the employees and team performing as expected, delivering tasks on time and to the required quality?

The answers to these questions can help in understanding where the bottlenecks in low productivity and whether the use of the internet, social media, or cell phones is compromising results.

Monitoring tasks and results

Regardless of the practice adopted by the company, the most important thing is, first and foremost, to monitor the activities carried out by employees, both in terms of quality and quantity. That is, whether tasks are being delivered within the desired timeframe and with the quality expected by the company or clients.

There are numerous online services that can assist in this monitoring, allowing for complete management of the activities performed by each employee and the results obtained. Let's look at a few:

• Acelerato – a solution focused on project management and customer service systems, very simple and intuitive, allowing for efficient monitoring of everything. You can test the tool for 15 days free of charge.
• Runrun-it – an excellent project management solution that allows you to track activities and measure the time spent on all tasks. It has a free version.
• Trello – a very simple and practical service for managing any workflow, it also has a free version with limited features.
• Basecamp – a good alternative for improving communication and recording all information related to the development of tasks and projects. It does not have a free version.

Along with monitoring activities, it is necessary to assess whether professionals are truly engaged with the company's objectives , since this commitment is fundamental for good performance.

In some cases, the employee may be demotivated, and no method of monitoring will solve the problem. It's necessary to talk to them, try to identify the causes of this lack of commitment, so that the situation can be reversed. If this is not possible, the best option is to terminate the contract and replace the employee, seeking professionals who are aligned with the company's purpose.

Internet access management and control

Regarding controlling what can be accessed on the internet, this is a measure that should always be taken with caution. Simply restricting access to social media or other services of personal interest is not recommended, as this can demotivate professionals or even compromise relaxation during breaks or rest periods, which are necessary and important.

The recommended approach is always to seek balance, initially monitoring employees' internet usage and creating restrictions based on content types and specific times, adapting these rules to the profile of the employees and the activities they perform. We've already discussed in this article how to implement a good internet usage policy in corporate environments .

Here at Lumiun, we offer an affordable and simple solution for managing internet access. To learn more, contact us .

The reality is that there is no single answer or method that solves the problem of employee productivity and commitment in companies. However, organizations should strive for continuous improvement and evolution, keeping pace with changing employee behavior and leveraging technological resources to aid management. Some key steps include:

• Implement practical and objective systems for monitoring employee productivity.
• Create a performance evaluation program that rewards achievement of goals.
• Conduct internal awareness campaigns on the use of technology, both in relation to productivity and information security.
• Utilize task management systems, workflow tracking, and internet usage monitoring

Ultimately, the internet exists to contribute to the daily lives of companies and professionals; it is up to each individual to use these resources in a healthy way, focused on the common good, in a personal, professional, and corporate sense.

Share with us in the comments how you view the use of social media and smartphones at work and how you think this impacts productivity!