In case you’re not yet familiar with social networking, or Web 2.0, the issue involves allowing (or not) access to such sites as Facebook (personal “friend” networking), Twitter (micro-blogging – 140 characters), LinkedIn (professional “contact” networking), etc. All of these sites provide a forum for ongoing conversations between members, friends, etc, and encourage open discourse on any topics of interest to the participants.

Before you decide to take a stand, you should take a moment to mull over the following five considerations.

1. This is not new.

While there certainly is the potential for such activities to detract from employee productivity, it’s not unique to social networking. A recent study by Nucleus Research found that companies that allow employees to access Facebook lose an average of 1.5% in total employee productivity. That may be, but I wonder what the results would show for, say, use of cell phones at work, or unauthorized use of the internet, which we now know to be a valuable research tool.

2. Most businesses require external communications.

Just as companies have relied on email, faxing or use of the telephone, they should consider the potential value of social networking as an effective communications tool. This is perhaps most critical as a consideration in your company’s sales and marketing efforts, where every potential avenue for building the company’s brand and generating sales should be captured. It’s also interesting to note that social networks may be the only remaining way to get to a prospect without a gatekeeper.

3. It’s a primary communication and networking tool for people known as Gen Y, or the Millennials.

It may be risky to ignore an entire segment of the market, a segment that will become increasingly important as their spending power grows now that they’ve finished college and joined the workforce. You can best reach them by marketing through social networking channels.

4. Your image is important.

Social networking can provide a wealth of information to the company about how it is perceived by the public. It’s possible that conversations are already occurring on social networking sites about your products and/or your company. You can follow such conversations and potentially gain a great deal of insight into what people like and don’t like, and perhaps what they would really value as new products, new services, etc.

5. Employees resent restrictions.

They generally believe that they have a right to stay connected – and privately so – with their networks, and they may perceive any restrictions you impose to be infringing on their rights. This is not, in fact, a valid legal position, but it does pose an employee morale issue. Further, companies that are more open to social networking may be perceived as employers of choice, especially with the Gen Y workers, and this could become an issue for you down the road in attracting and retaining top talent.

Resistance to change is natural, and the emergence of social networking, or Web 2.0 is a dramatic change. You should first learn as much as you can about social networking and then assess its potential value – and risks – to your company’s business goals. Then, when you’re ready to develop a policy, seek the guidance of someone who understands both the social networking elements and the importance of effective human resources management.

Watch this space for additional blogs on Web 2.0 / Social Networking as well as learning to utilize Social Media Marketing to your advantage.

Conduct an informal employee survey and follow-up interviews with a representative sample. It’s very common for top management to be completely unaware of what the employees really think or feel.  Sometimes the smallest things become the biggest issues, but attentive employers can spot these opportunities and implement reasonable solutions while increasing their credibility with the employee population.

Review your policies, procedures and practices to ensure that they are all compliant with current labor law.  In 2009, there have already been quite a few changes made to existing legislation, and failure to be compliant is a distinct vulnerability.

Institute lawful union avoidance measures.

Communicate actively to your employees, and let them know you’re listening to them. Employees who feel that they have a voice and are truly heard by their employer do not need to bring in a union to speak for them.

Train your managers and supervisors. An employee’s direct report has the greatest ability to affect his/her level of satisfaction with the job and the company.  It doesn’t matter what the owners or top management do unless the managers and supervisors are speaking and behaving consistently throughout the company.

Look at your selection procedures. The people you hire should be compatible with your work culture, values and practices.  Even more importantly, the people you hire should be right for the job – their background, experience and competencies should be well matched to the job requirements.  If not, they are destined to be disgruntled, dissatisfied employees or, in other words, a unionizer’s dream.

If you don’t know where to start or how to work through this To Do List, get someone to help you.  But doing nothing is like camping out in the backyard during a hurricane.  There’s only one outcome you can rationally expect.