Resource Techniques

Estate agents, what's your social networking policy?

Many estate agents around the UK will have to, at one point or another, decide their social networking policy to determine whether they want their staff to have full access to social networking, limited access or no access at all. Should estate agents (knowing that their business is a social one) allow their workforce full access so to unlimited usage of Facebook and Twitter or should estate agents run a dictatorship where social networking is banned to out of office hours?

Businesses are currently split on the issue.

Some estate agents see social networking as a distraction from work where people whittle away countless hours and it offers no leads whatsoever. The extreme view believes that social networking is a teenage fad that is alien world to them, phrases such as 'tagging' or 'tweets' will never be used in the workplace.

The estate agents on the fence allow their staff members limited access to social networking. Many of estate agents in this category choose to only allow employees access to social networking between 1pm and 2pm or in their lunch break. These estate agents see social networking as something that they shouldn't ban but it's still a disturbance to their work and it still doesn't provide any leads.

Lastly, some estate agents embrace social networking with open arms and open internet browsers. They see that social networking will benefit their estate agency in three ways. It raises staff morale, bonds staff members closer by giving them an extra platform on which to socialise and communicate, and it provides leads by having an increased online presence.

What it boils down to is... trust in people. Estate agents need to clearly think about how much they trust people to have the option of procrastination but still choose to work. Do you think they'll use social networking as a platform in which to create more and more business by networking online or will staff members use the time so that it is counterproductive to the business? Let Resource Techniques know your views, contact us on our Facebook profile or Twitter profile!

Resource Techniques is a company that specialises in IT services for estate agents and property professionals. We provide the latest website design for estate agents, estate agent software and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services. Do not accept any website designer, demand an industry specialist!

Back to Top