The social network
Think preventing your employees from using Facebook during work hours is good for your business? Think again.

AT SOME WORKPLACES, logging on to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter is strictly verboten. Not so at The Idea Factory, however.

The St. John’s-based marketing agency has made itself a social media friendly zone since it opened its doors in 2001, says Kevin Casey, the company’s chief strategy officer. “The average age of the employees at our agency is 25-26,” he says. “To them, social media is their oxygen.”

It’s easy to understand why other employers go the route of blocking Facebook and Twitter at their workplaces. If employees are too busy checking out the latest posts on Facebook and Twitter, it can keep them away from whatever it is they are being paid to do. Successful businesses aren’t built on unproductive workers.

Casey understands that point of view, and he says some of his clients have told him they can’t believe The Idea Factory has no restrictions on the use of social media at their shop. But the policy makes sense for the company. It has very clear performance goals for its 17 employees, and as long as they are meeting them, The Idea Factory isn’t interested in policing their social media activity at work.

What it is interested in doing is attracting and retaining good employees, and Casey thinks having a liberal social media policy helps his business do that. “Everybody works in different ways and this helps say that you trust your people,” Casey says. “It’s all about attracting people to a workplace that inspires instead of perspires people. You’ve got to treat them right”