Effective Communication: Social Media's Impact on Employees

This essay examines the application of social media in enhancing communication between employers and employees. It explores how social networking sites, microblogging platforms like Twitter, and professional networking tools can improve employee engagement, facilitate information sharing, and foster a sense of community within organizations. The essay discusses the benefits of using social media for employee recognition, sharing company news, and addressing employee concerns. It also addresses the shortcomings of social media, such as the need for clear guidelines and the potential for negative feedback. The paper emphasizes the importance of organizational policies to ensure responsible social media use and concludes that effective social media use is crucial for improving productivity and maintaining positive employer-employee relationships. The essay highlights the importance of considering the youthful demographic of the workforce and adapting communication strategies accordingly.

Running head: Application of social media 1
How social networking sites help employers to communicate effectively with employees
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Application of social media 2
How social networking sites help employers to communicate effectively with employees
Introduction
Social media platform allow people to interact and communicate within the network system.
They enable the users share information, develop relationships and create some contacts among
individuals of different ages, social classes and professionals. The social media is a complement
of the already existing offline relationships. They provide a social and technical infrastructure for
interaction and communication through the use of messages, wall posts and comments. Very
little has been done on social media since previously many of the studies dominantly focused on
particular media. Social networking platforms have a vast mechanism in which they help to
develop value in an institution. The impact of social networking platforms is great therefore the
benefits can be quantified to the nature of a job (Goyal, 2012).
Market competition is increasing daily with the drastically changing business environment.
There is a need for the managers to adjust and adapt proficient methods to gain advantage over
competitors as well as enhance the performance of the organization. In many organizations there
is lack of interest in using social networking platforms and many consider it as the last option in
their human resource strategies. In most cases employers in many organizations focus on service
delivery. Therefore, if organization’s social media platforms such as Facebook, websites,
Instagram and twitter accounts are not properly structured and no frequent update is made to
attract and motivate the employees (Lehtimäki, 2016). . This kind of attitude and perception has
contributed loss of opportunities for many organizations.
Background
Some recent studies have revealed it is quite essential to use social media in a better
structured and professional manner to develop their strategies to attract more competent
work force and also meet their different needs. The impact of social media in human resource
has demonstrated some potential if utilized in the right manner. Marketing via social media is a
procedure that allows an individual to endorse and promote services and products through
online channels to reach a large number of people in the community (Golbeck, 2013). . Social
media is a good platform that facilitates the employers to share information with their employees
about the services and products of that particular organization. Using platforms social media to
reach the emplyees provides a platform for honest communication where they can give their
ideas and demands to help one continue improving hence outdoing the competitor. In the modern
world people are more informed and knowledgeable hence making it much important for the

Application of social media 3
organizations to be available and approachable to get the views of the employees. Managers
must realize the importance of using social media platforms to influence more customers and
competent employees into their businesses. Social media is one of the most influential tools of
communication between the employers and the employees. It helps the organizations top
management to keep in touch with all the employees. the influence of social media within an
organization is so high and if utilized effectively the company can maintain and attract
competent employees to work for them (Guo, Pathak, & Cheng, 2015) .
Social media sites offer a good platform for the organization’s different professionals to
debate on various policies, promote professional ethics and share any other necessary
information. Workers and employers in an organization can use social media to improve the
quality of services, increase personal awareness and create a health professional network
(Brake, 2014).
Often, employees in an organization may use social media platforms to consult colleagues on
issues regarding different matters within an organization, get updates on the recent industry
development as well as get some information that may help them professionally. The platforms
such as Facebook and twitter can be utilized by the employers to discuss new ideas and other
challenges in an organization with the employees. People in social media tend to be more
honest and free to speak out their concerns and give their genuine opinion on different matters
which makes it a better place to engage them.
.
Micro blogging
Micro blogs provide a more concise and dynamic form of exchanging information through
social media. They allow individuals to write and post a number of brief and precise messages
within a short period of time. One of the most popular micro blogging platforms is twitter. The
users may publish their messages using “hashtags” which allow people to easily access messages
related to a certain topic or group. For some time now, twitter has been used during seminars
and conference to get comments from the audience. In most cases, twitter has proven to be a
suitable method of communicating urgent matters to a large number of people within a very short
period as long as they have a mobile phone. Proper utilization of twitter different organizations
leads to enhanced employee and employer communication, saving of resources and improved
relations among the employees. Twitter is also known for saving time and opportunities by
preventing unnecessary meetings and office visits. Organizational news, promotions and other
information in an organization can be shared through twitter therefore enhancing communication
among different departments. Twitter has also been proven to be quite useful during crises and
emergencies hence essential in every organization (Carim, & Warwick, 2013).

Application of social media 4
Professional networking
Many employees in an organization may participate online either for personal or professional
benefits. The social media platforms used by professionals in a company in most cases targets
the colleagues. Such professional networking platforms are often accessible to individuals in a
specific profession or department. Apart from the business discussions, social media can be
utilized by various organization to address the challenges faced by the workers, suggest different
strategies of approaching matters as well welfare of all the workers within an institution. The
platforms if well explored can be of great help in engineering a good and better way of
communication between the employees and employers (Perrin, 2015) .
Social media gives the employees and employers an opportunity to discuss related issues freely.
In many organizations such discussions have proven to increase productivity either at the
department level or organizational level depending on where it is utilized. Effective
communication through social media leads to workers increasing their productivity. Social
networking sites like twitter Plaxo , and facebook enable employers to get new knowledge
and ideas from employees. Social site are powerful tools to connect people with common goals
and interests. This media helps the employers to bring together the employees in order to
increase and ease productivity through transfer of the necessary knowledge to all members of
staff in an organization (Gulyas, 2013).
Employee recognition
Social media is a terrific avenue in which the accomplishments of the employees can be
recognized both externally and internally. An organization can give recognition to the
outstanding employees through the social media. Such recognition gives room for the staff
members to interact and build cohesiveness in an organization. Workers are able to congratulate
each other as they keep updated on the organizations current events. The kind of interaction
facilitated by the social media within an organization plays a big role in improving the morale of
all the staff members. When the employers are in touch with their employees through the social
media, communication becomes easy and therefore many are motivated to do more to increase
the productivity of a company (Munar, & Jacobsen 2014).
Platforms such as Facebook and Linkedlin enable employers develop a two-way dialogue
through chat rooms which allow instant messages. They help in creating a good perception for
the workers to coordinate and work together with the employers. Further, using social networks
for communication makes the employees to appreciate the connection hence focus much on
improving their performance. Employers use Twitter and linkedln networks to achieve

Application of social media 5
organizations and business connections with their employees. Social networks allow employers
to understand the weaknesses and strengths of the employees. Communication through
networking sites gives room for business continuity and quick effective reaction in case of an
emergency. This is because of their ability to simultaneously connect a number of people.
Employers in many organizations are embracing the use of networking site to communicate with
their staffs when need be especially during emergencies. This makes it easier for the employees
to adequately and effectively deal with any tragedy in an organization (Malthouse, et al 2013).
Frequent and good communication between the employees and employers allow all parties to
participate in initiating and facilitating a better performance in an organization. The simple
reason for such a move is that communication through social networking site allows all members
including the subordinate staff in an organization to develop together as a team. It is important to
always note that majority of the staff members in many organizations are the young people
who are much attracted by the social networks and are determined to use them in their work
places. Employers should therefore consider using social networks when communicating with
young people in order to get a good percentage of them engaged in what the organization intends
to do and achieve in the near future( Sigala, & Chalkiti, 2015).. Having majority of the staff
members in many organizations as youth has made the use of social media a prerequisite of
getting most of the things done in the right manner. Many organizations are slowly adopting
social media sites as the convenient means of communication. A number of these sites have
advanced from just being socializing platforms to working platforms. A significant number of
organizations around the globe have come up with policies to assist them effectively and
efficiently use social media sites such as Linkendln, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Plaxo to
communicate with their employees. These networks allow the employees to have some sense of
belonging to the organization hence inspiring them to work hard to better their service delivery
(Criado, & Villodre,2018)
Shortcomings of social media
While it is important to embrace the use of social media, organizations must provide their
employees with well stipulated guidelines on what kind of information to share in social
networks platforms. Both the employers and employees should be careful not to violate the
ethical provisions of the organization (Wickramasinghe & Nisaf 2013).. Employers should
ensure that whatever is posted in their social media accounts is professional and affects the
operations of the organization in one way or the other. This should aim at avoiding personal
expressions of social, political or viewpoint which may lead to argumentative behaviors. Often,
social media platforms are used to express complaints and reviews about an organization

Application of social media 6
therefore subject to both negative and positive comments. Like in any other business, employers
in various organizations must be ready to manage the complaints and suggestions from the
employees. Continuous employee complaints about the organization about matters which are not
addressed may jeopardize the relationship between the employers and employees (Ivana, G. I.
2018). This may be detrimental to the organization due to the in appropriate attributes created to
the employees and eventually these attributes become the reflection of institution
.
Conclusion
Employers and employees communication within an organization is something that should not
be ignored. The impact of social media to the society and how the networking platforms have
transformed management and communication in the business world should also be given close
attention. Proper use of social media in an organization can have very important implications in
improving productivity. On the hand, using social media inappropriately can complicate the
efforts made by the organization to develop a good relationship and communication between the
employers and the employees. Organizational policies on usage of social media must continue
evolving to keep in line with the fast growing internet and technological advancement. For any
success and improvement, managers must navigate the ups and downs that come with social
network platforms. Employees have to feel happy and comfortable communicating with their
seniors has they enjoy professional and personal benefits of social media.

Application of social media 7
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