Social networks and team productivity: attention and monitoring is necessary!

Much is discussed about freedom of access to social networks and internet communication programs during work. Some understand that the use of these services is a way to value the employee, offering this freedom in social networks as benefits to professionals. Others consider that access management is the best option, defining rules in accessing these contents, as waste of time generated can significantly affect team productivity and company results.

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

The ideal is to adopt a position that is in balance between total freedom in network use and stricter access rules that totally 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 professionals and freedom of professionals to organize their tasks, an open stance is easier for social networks and internet in general.

In this context, it is important to emphasize that these companies often have very effective results assessment methods, so if the team is delivering the results within the expected or desired, it is possible to maintain greater freedom in the use of social networks. Already, if the results are not within the expected, it is necessary to evaluate what the reason, which may be the waste of time or lack of attention resulting from the improper use of the network, which is the reason it is essential to implement a policy of using technology, to mitigate the problem.

In traditional corporate environments, where within the management process there is no structured monitoring of the activities performed and results delivered by employees or staff, it is important to have some monitoring regarding the use of the internet and technology resources, including the use of personal smartphones. Because, as it is not possible to scale the productivity and performance of employees, it is possible that many are wasting most of their time in work -related activities and this can be a very relevant waste for the company. Use our time waste calculator to estimate the cost it can represent in your business.

In many cases what can disturb companies is the “achism” of managers. For example, thinking that the employee is not being productive because he accesses Facebook a few times during the day.

The manager cannot use intuition to evaluate how his team's performance is, it is necessary to be objective and seek the answer to some questions:

• Accessing social networks or using mobile phone hits employee performance?
• How much does this disturb and in what context, in the amount of tasks or quality?
• What is the performance of each employee in relation to the others of the team?
• Are employees and team having the expected performance and delivering the tasks within the time and quality of the quality?

The answer to these items can help in understanding where low productivity bottlenecks and if the use of the internet, social networks or cell phones are compromising the results.

Monitoring of tasks and results

Regardless of the practice adopted by the company, the most important thing is, first, there is a monitoring of the activities performed by employees, both in the sense of quality and quantity. That is, if the tasks are being delivered within the desired deadline and with the expected quality by the company or customers.

There are numerous services on the Internet that can assist in this follow -up, allowing complete management of the activities performed by each employee and the results obtained. Let's look at some:

• Accelerato - Solution focused on project management and service system, very simple and intuitive, allowing efficient monitoring of everything. It is possible to test the tool for 15 days without cost.
• Runrun-It -Great solution for project management, allows you to track the activities and scale the time spent on all tasks. It has a free version.
• Trello - Very simple and practical service to manage any flow of activity, also has a free version with features.
• Basecamp - Good alternative to improve communication and record all information regarding tasks and project development. It has no free version.

Together with the monitoring of activities, it is necessary to assess whether professionals are really engaged with the company's objectives , as this commitment is critical to good performance.

In some cases, it may be that the professional is unmotivated and there is no follow -up method that will solve the problem. It is necessary to talk, try to identify the causes of this lack of commitment so that the situation can be reversed. If it is not possible, it is best to opt for dismissal and replacement, in search of professionals who are in synergy with the purpose of the company.

Internet access management and control

Regarding the control of what can be accessed on the internet, this is a measure to always be taken sobriety. It is not recommended simply restrict access to social networks or other services of personal interest, as this can demotivate professionals or even compromise relaxation at intervals or rest times, which are necessary and important.

The recommended is always to seek balance, initially monitoring the use of the internet by employees and creating restrictions on content types and specific times, adapting these rules to the profile of employees and activities performed. We have already talked about this article on how to implement a good internet use policy in corporate environments .

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

The reality is that there is no answer or method that solves the problem of productivity and commitment of professionals in companies. But as far as possible, it is necessary for organizations to seek to be in a constant process of improvement and evolution, following the behavioral changes of professionals and enjoying technology resources that contribute to management. Some items that can be followed are:

• Implement Practical Systems and Objectives of Control of Employee Productivities.
• Create a performance evaluation program with benefits in achieving goals.
• Perform internal awareness campaigns in the use of technology, both in relation to productivity and in information security.
• Use task management systems, activity flow and monitor the use of the internet

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

Share with us in the comments how you see the use of social networks and smartphones at work and how it thinks it impacts productivity!