We are a start-up with a young, very connected team of people working for us. This means every employee comes to work with a laptop, smartphone and a tablet in their bag and logging onto all variations of social media is the norm. While staying connected is a very necessary part of any new business, I realise I need to set in place some guidelines as to social media usage for the sake of the reputation of the company, and on use of personal electronic devices on our network for the sake of security. What’s the best way to go about this? MM, Dubai
Young, entrepreneurial organisations tend to dislike anything that walks or talks like a process. They prefer to be self-managed, uninhibited, and free to follow their instincts. Which is all fine, and much to be admired. But at the same time, what they do need to show you is that they can be emotionally intelligent. You need to be confident that they can effectively and appropriately self-manage so they are acting both responsibly and safely at work.
The chances that all your people will indeed be able to self-manage in this way are slim indeed. This isn’t because they are young, or wired, or entrepreneurial. It’s just because they are human. Every organisation needs at least a little internal legislation to create a framework within which to operate. The question therefore becomes, how big is the frame? Experience of the wider world shows us that the minute we set restrictions, people seek ways around them. It also shows us that the way to prevent this circumvention is to set penalties (the downside risk) which deter people. So, for example, a $5 fine for littering may well not stop people thoughtlessly dropping their trash in the street – but a $5,000 fine certainly would. However, the social and professional structures which we like and admire are proportionate, so draconian measures such as that will win the regulators within any framework few friends.
You want, I am guessing, a collaborative culture where people willingly stick to a few sensible guidelines that are based on the principle of self-regulation. You want these guidelines to protect the organisation from invasion by viruses and other undesirables, to offer a degree of security so that your IP and other sensitive material are protected, and you want people to be productive at work, spending their time helping the start-up to meet its goals and objectives.
So, treat your people like adults. Ask them if they share your view that some light-touch legislation would be helpful and appropriate. Ask them what seems to them to be appropriate – get them to create the framework within which they both work and play while in the office. I personally would not even tell them what my framework would look like. I would display my trust in their judgement and professionalism by giving them a blank canvas. I would make it clear that what I am asking them to create is a recommendation, which might be adapted or might simply be adopted. And then I would leave them to it.
My suspicion is that the framework around security is easier to create than the one around social media. Nobody wants to work in an environment regularly infected by external viruses, and nobody wants to work hard on things that leak out to others before their time.
It’s the framework around social media usage that will challenge the team. The connected young professional sees social media as a living network that can inform every aspect of daily life, from what to wear and see and eat, to issues of the day, to professional connectivity, to problem solving and so on. Not to be connected is unthinkable, and any restrictions on when and how to use social media are likely to be both resented and very hard to police.
So, whatever the framework offered, there will be offenders. If the group can self-manage and correct behaviour that breaches their own guidelines, so much the better. If not, then you will need to step in, lightly, to speak with the offender and remind them both that the framework was at least in part their own creation and that they must keep to it. This is when it is so much more powerful to have a framework created by the team than one imposed by the management.
The unspoken downside is that if the group, having agreed a framework for use of social media, cannot keep to it, then you will have to tighten the frame. The risk for you is that the framework they offer to you is so broad as to represent an unregulated space in which anything is acceptable. If this is the case, then you will need to negotiate and influence your way towards a structure that is fit for purpose while giving these young wired employees the electronic freedom they have come to expect as a given.
Doctor's prescription: Treated as responsible adults, most young professionals will act in that way. This challenge is an opportunity for you to take a significant step towards creating the culture within which you want your team to work, to play, to flourish and to prosper. So, overall there may be a little bit more to this than meets the eye.
Roger Delves is the director of the Ashridge Executive Masters in Management and an adjunct professor at the Hult International Business School. He is the co-author of the book The Top 50 Management Dilemmas: Fast Solutions to Everyday Challenges. Email him at business@thenational.ae for advice on any work issues
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