Contemporary organizations across the globe are increasingly harnessing the connective power of social networks to enhance their brand and to drive employee engagement.  Social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Second Life allow individuals to connect, communicate and share information with unprecedented ease and power.

Already, millions of individuals and organizations are active social networkers; half of the Fortune 100 companies have a Twitter account, according to public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. However, the tremendous popularity of social media raises serious challenges about reputation management for organizations. Company brands now exist as living, breathing entities in an online ecosystem and their reputations can be enhanced or discredited at the click of a button.

A recent survey by Right Management  confirmed that workers use social networks to assess prospective employers, highlighting why it is so critical for organizations to successfully factor social networks into their brand reputation activities. Thirty-one percent of respondents said they use social media to determine if prospective employers value and respect their employees. The survey also revealed that 30 percent of respondents use social media to learn about career development opportunities.

For these reasons, there is a clear role for social networks to help build and maintain employee engagement and brand reputations, particularly with the younger generation. With the dawn of a new decade, now is the time for employers to embrace social media to communicate with people who are just as comfortable tweeting or friending as they are saying hello. In return, this generation will embrace employers who use social media as a key part of their daily communication and allow them to use it as a business tool.

For the workforce at large, social networks are invaluable tools for organizations to communicate their organization’s core mission and vision. For example, leaders can use social media to establish and enhance a two-way dialogue with employees, who in turn can then understand better how they individually are a key piece of the company puzzle. This also paves the way for an open forum that was never possible in the past.

But what happens when social networks threaten to derail an organization’s reputation? For example, a negative comment about the treatment of workers in a factory or a blog post about an organization’s questionable environmental practices? While social networks present risks in these situations, they also present opportunities. And while organizations can’t manage social networks, they can use their voice. The key is to determine whether the issue is systemic and needs addressing or whether it’s a person leveraging social networks as a vehicle for therapy or to vent. Organizations should harness social networks as a tool to respond to potentially damaging allegations quickly and easily.

If organizations are one step ahead, already utilizing and actively present or own social networks, they can start, or even influence, a conversation with a ready-made community of brand activists about contentious or sensitive issues. It also demonstrates that companies are actively embracing technological revolutions—and most importantly, that they are listening and willing to act based on things they have heard in the social media groundswell. Ultimately, although social networks present huge risks if used haphazardly, they can be leveraged as a contemporary channel to reinforce your brand and elevate your reputation if harnessed effectively.

Manpower Inc. recommends that companies consider taking the following steps to promote the constructive use of social networks:

Clearly communicate to employees what you are attempting to accomplish. A classic mistake is for companies to enter the social network space without a clear sense of what they are trying to achieve. The risk of jumping into social networks because they are in vogue is more harm could be done than good. Companies should outline what benefits they are hoping to reap from social media, how that vision fits within their company culture.

Challenge employees to innovate. Promote the positive use of social networks by encouraging employees to come up with ways to use these tools to do their jobs better. People love to discuss their successes, so get employees to describe how they have used social media tools in new ways, such as to generate leads or serve customers better. You can focus these efforts by function or interest, as needed. Follow the lead of so many innovative organizations and run a contest for the best new ideas. Engagement increases when employees feel as if they are contributing.

Tap internal experts. Teach by example by encouraging employees who regularly use social networking in their jobs to discuss and demonstrate how it’s done. Keep track of the new ideas that flow from this kind of mentoring exchange and share the ideas and best practices.

Let employees “own” the governance. The foundation of any healthy social network is an engaged community. Let your employees help develop and enforce your company’s guidelines. This approach will certainly appeal to those employees most likely to use social media, promoting trust in the goals of the guidelines that ultimately are instituted.

It is critical not to insist that final policies are set in stone; instead, they should be allowed to change and evolve as the technologies evolve. Any social media guidelines should be linked to your company’s overall behavioral guidelines. The goal is to create a system of governance under which social networking is not seen as an exception, but rather an activity that is intimately connected to your company’s overall people practices.

Only by creatively channeling its use will organizations succeed in reaping those benefits for sustained competitive advantage.

		Debra Clem is the executive vice president of Manpower of Lansing, Inc.