March
 Do you allow your staff to accsess social networking sites?
 At Carlton we have blocked the use of several networking sites. We have found in the past that a small minority of staff have spent hours per day on these sites and that time was not being spent on delivering for our clients. So we made the decision to block some sites, but it was a case of the few spoiling it for the many.
“Most organisations find it unacceptable for staff to spend hours on personal calls or gossiping in the cafeteria and this is the electronic equivalent. We know that blocking these sites doesn’t prevent their use as they can still be accessed on mobile phones and Blackberries, but felt that blocking these sites on our system was a transparent way of dealing with the problem.
Kevin Riley, director of Carlton Resource Solutions
 Like many other organisations, we’re still very much dipping our toes in the water when it comes to social networking, but we’ve already seen the benefits of making information available to the public using these tools.
“We gained useful feedback from a teenage audience on the Safe Drive Stay Alive initiative by setting up a page on Bebo and our Twitter feed was particularly useful in highlighting school closures during the recent bad winter weather.
“Our next step is to develop guidance for employees on the appropriate use of such tools and how they might help us promote other aspects of the council’s work.
“Employees are able to access social networking sites during break times, in line with general guidance on appropriate internet use, as we’re conscious that many of our own staff make use of such sites outside work.
“It’s important to be flexible enough so that our approach to social networking can adapt to the rapidly changing nature of these tools.
www.bebo.com/SafeDriveStayAlive
http://twitter.com/Aberdeenshire
Kate Bond, Head of Corporate Communications, Aberdeenshire Council, UK
 Our position on social networking sites is a bit of a moving feast. As a company, like many, I think we failed to understand quite how big and important a communications tool these vehicles were going to be. At first, the issues centred on the ‘technical’ as Facebook and YouTube, in particular, had the capacity to eat up not just an inordinate amount of a day but also huge amounts of bandwidth. There was one Shell office in the Far East that was having 50% of its bandwidth absorbed by YouTube alone! It would hard to claim that the use was entirely ‘business related’!
“Now, however, the importance of Facebook and Twitter is well understood and we are developing strategies to use them ourselves. I actively encourage my team in External Affairs to use and understand them. If we don’t we will get left behind.
Our position on social networking sites is a bit of a moving feast. As a company, like many, I think we failed to understand quite how big and important a communications tool these vehicles were going to be. At first, the issues centred on the ‘technical’ as Facebook and YouTube, in particular, had the capacity to eat up not just an inordinate amount of a day but also huge amounts of bandwidth. There was one Shell office in the Far East that was having 50% of its bandwidth absorbed by YouTube alone! It would hard to claim that the use was entirely ‘business related’! “Now, however, the importance of Facebook and Twitter is well understood and we are developing strategies to use them ourselves. I actively encourage my team in External Affairs to use and understand them. If we don’t we will get left behind.Steve Harris, Head of External Affairs, Shell UIE,
Steve Harris, Head of External Affairs, Shell UIE, UK
 Working within the communications industry we are obviously keen to utilise every opportunity available to us to engage with existing and potential clients.
“I believe that in business the wider your circle of contacts the better – and in this day and age, social networking, when utilised in a responsible manner, can provide increased access to people who may be interested in finding out more about your services and expertise.
“On a personal level, Mackenzie PR’s staff are very much trusted to use social networking sites during office hours. By letting them use their own discretion to decide what's appropriate, I believe they access information in a responsible manner and in a way which doesn't interfere with their work.
“At the end of the day a high performing team is a high performing team, whether they use the likes of Facebook and Twitter or not.
Morven Mackenzie, Director of Mackenzie PR
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