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http://www.india-insights.co.uk/blog/india-inc-running-scared-of-social-networking
India Inc running scared of social networking
January 16, 2010
Research shows India Inc is threatened by social networking. Findings show a lack of understanding about social media and the opportunities it presents corporate India.
ASSOCHAM estimates that 12.5% of productivity - average of one hour per day for every employee - in the corporate sector is lost due to employees accessing social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Orkut.
The popularity of these sites is of no great surprise, growth in India's social networking use was covered a year ago on India Insights.
Major assumptions
ASSOCHAM's alarmist findings make a couple of major assumptions; firstly that staff work no longer than 8 hours per day, secondly that all social network use is for personal purposes and companies see no benefit. Both are highly unlikely.
Internet addiction
Their press release dramatically concludes that 84% of users in Metro cities show signs of "internet addiction", as they spend more than a "normal" (what is that?) amount of time online and "can get irritable if they are interrupted while surfing".
Reading between the lines two things are immediately clear, social networks are an established communications tool in India and secondly, Indian corporations are struggling to understand how to utilize there potential. A conversation is taking place and Indian companies and their brands still aren't part of it.
Opportunities presented by social networking
ASSOCHAM and its members need to realize that social networks are here to stay and the onus is on them to understand the potential. Social media wont suddenly disappear and how realistic is banning it?
Only 25% of companies allow staff to use it for business purposes, meaning three quarters are ignoring its potential for research, marketing, recruitment, networking and business development purposes.
Missed opportunities
Corporate India could do worse than look at the likes of Pepsi and their social media program "Pepsi Refresh" and IBM's "IBMers Blog", which harnesses rather than outlaws their staff's passion for social media. In addition they need to remember that Dell earned US$ 3 million from @Delloutlet on Twitter between 2007 and mid-2009. Industry reports suggest this figure is now around US$ 6.5 million.
The problem for corporate India (and employers in general) isn't social networking; the problem is ensuring that employee's are effective at work.
Banning social networks is unlikely to improve productivity. If anything embracing it and developing a corporate strategy for it is likely to help with staff engagement and in turn productivity.
India Inc running scared of social networking
January 16, 2010
Research shows India Inc is threatened by social networking. Findings show a lack of understanding about social media and the opportunities it presents corporate India.
ASSOCHAM estimates that 12.5% of productivity - average of one hour per day for every employee - in the corporate sector is lost due to employees accessing social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Orkut.
The popularity of these sites is of no great surprise, growth in India's social networking use was covered a year ago on India Insights.
Major assumptions
ASSOCHAM's alarmist findings make a couple of major assumptions; firstly that staff work no longer than 8 hours per day, secondly that all social network use is for personal purposes and companies see no benefit. Both are highly unlikely.
Internet addiction
Their press release dramatically concludes that 84% of users in Metro cities show signs of "internet addiction", as they spend more than a "normal" (what is that?) amount of time online and "can get irritable if they are interrupted while surfing".
Reading between the lines two things are immediately clear, social networks are an established communications tool in India and secondly, Indian corporations are struggling to understand how to utilize there potential. A conversation is taking place and Indian companies and their brands still aren't part of it.
Opportunities presented by social networking
ASSOCHAM and its members need to realize that social networks are here to stay and the onus is on them to understand the potential. Social media wont suddenly disappear and how realistic is banning it?
Only 25% of companies allow staff to use it for business purposes, meaning three quarters are ignoring its potential for research, marketing, recruitment, networking and business development purposes.
Missed opportunities
Corporate India could do worse than look at the likes of Pepsi and their social media program "Pepsi Refresh" and IBM's "IBMers Blog", which harnesses rather than outlaws their staff's passion for social media. In addition they need to remember that Dell earned US$ 3 million from @Delloutlet on Twitter between 2007 and mid-2009. Industry reports suggest this figure is now around US$ 6.5 million.
The problem for corporate India (and employers in general) isn't social networking; the problem is ensuring that employee's are effective at work.
Banning social networks is unlikely to improve productivity. If anything embracing it and developing a corporate strategy for it is likely to help with staff engagement and in turn productivity.
