30% of Employees Facebooking During Work Hours

[Jeff Kershner]

We've had several conversations here on DealerRefresh about dealers blocking Facebook from employees in fear of low productivity. At one point there was a study that showed where over 50% percent of companies block social media in the work place.

That stat was from a study in 2011. I'd be curious to know if this percentage has changed any over the last year or so. If you know of a recent study with this data, please share in the comments.

Above is a graph from resent research where Statista shows just how popular Facebook is during work hours - with almost 30% of employees "working" Facebook. Gmail and Yahoo email come in at a close 2nd and 3rd, though I would disregard one checking their email as a huge issue in causing low productivity. Unless they're checking their email for Facebook updates and then going sliding over to Facebook from there

Either way, no matter how you define your dealers social media strategy, lets agree that playing on Facebook, or the internet all-together isn't part of it.

I for one have never supported blocking social media from the employees at the dealership. I believe everyone would be treated like an adult until otherwise proven they can not conduct their urges to use the internet at work for non-productive items (within reason). Let's be real, how many of us haven't huddled a staff desk to watch a gut busting video on YouTube?

"If I were on the floor and worked at a dealership that restricted my access to social sites that I was able to leverage for rapport building and possible incremental sales, I’d have my iPad hooked to my hip or my laptop tethered through my phone for internet access."

What about you?

Is social media hurting your productivity at work?
Are you Facebooking during work every day? If so - whats your percentage of personal vs professional?

Should casual social media be STOPPED at the dealership?

 

[Sarah Udelhofen]

I think that most employees check their Facebook & personal sites on a regular basis throughout the day. I know I'm guilty of that. I'm surprised they are only saying 30% of employees use Facebook during business hours. I would think that number would be higher with all of the smart phones, tablets, ect. I think social media can be a great selling tool that lets face it....not many salesman utilize. I would never recommend it being blocked at a dealership but I do understand why some companies still do block it. (Most of the time I find those companies don't have a strong presence on social media & don't see the value in it, but then again not many dealerships do it right!) I don't think Facebook stops my productivity at work however, I do see how it could effect some people.

 

[chriskleslie]

Blocking Facebook or any other social sites can actually do more harm than good in my opinion.
I actually encourage the use of any and all social media. This is a great time for me to teach sales folks the proper way to tag our dealerships on a platform level. For the bold ones I teach how to set up listening channels and proper hashtag usage.
It helps bring down the costs of paid advertising and helps drive the earned and owned segments. It isn't something that should be forced upon or taken away. But rather trained, explained and encouraged.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Sarah Udelhofen Maybe only 30% admit to it
You can block it from your employees at work but it's not going to stop them. They'll just pull it up on their phone. 
I say embrace and train your people how to leverage it for personal branding to potentially sell more cars.

 

[Sarah Udelhofen]

dealerrefresh Agreed!! They will do it no matter what, might as well promote best practices &helpful hints on what may help them use it as a selling tool.

 

[KevinFrye (blog)]

We fought this battle in the past, and Facebook was blocked on our networks. The first to complain were our customers who accessed our wi-fi, so we opened the wi-fi to social media. Then the sales reps just bypassed their direct network connections and used the wi-fi to get to Facebook. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Bottom line, the sales rep and the dealership of the future need to embrace and participate with social media, and we opened up Facebook on our network some time back. We actively train our folks on how to engage with their customers using social media. The greatest opportunity for sales referrals now lies with social media sites, so opening up Facebook and educating your folks on how to use it is key to future success. I will be talking about this at length at DD15...

 

[Michael Rodriguez]

We start blocking tomorrow at our dealership. I will let everyone know how it goes.

 

[zonewebb]

AutoLawJD dealerrefresh - My guess is that isn't listed in their job description, though.

 

[AutoLawJD]

zonewebb true.

 

[Tommy Diana]

i would answer, but i'm too busy at work on facebook. lol.