There is the upside to social media, and with most things there is also the downside. As more people use social media, employees will tend to check in from time to time, catch up with friends, view pictures, add some content. This may result in data loss for the employer.
According to an article in Federal Computer Week, the recent Osterman Research Security Survey reports that emails and blog or social media posting may account for a combined eighty percent of the company data loss. While social media is on the increase, plain old emailing accounts for some 35% of the data loss. As one who has friends who no matter how many admonitions cannot refrain from copying the world on every email, not blind copying but copying, this number comes as no real shock to me. Well, maybe a little.
As a background checking company, we are often asked if we will conduct social media background checks on prospective employees. I find that it is difficult for a third party to establish a criteria that would prove accurate and satisfactory for employers. The more obvious metric is finding job applicant postings where the applicant cast aspersions on his former employers or managers. Not good. I have written about this, including in an article entitled, When an Employee blows You Out of the Water.
But there are many eccentrics who are posting questionable content on Facebook and other social media sites who may be highly qualified for the employment position. These may turn out to be the people with the best skill sets and the most talent that in between marked weekends do wonderful work for their employers. As for the social email that goes out of the company server to businesses and personal associates, there are ways to monitor quantity and destination. Still, this remains the big leak for data loss and this will probably continue to be the case for quite some time to come.
I would be curious to hear how companies tighten up on their emailing and social media policies in order to thwart data loss and diminished employee production.
