Using Twitter at the Office

The advent of social media has brought communications into a new century and made it possible to craft human resources policy in a more intelligent way. At last, it's possible for an HR manager, using social media, to almost instantly connect with any number of employees and convey information that used to have to be circulated in memos posted to the break room wall. Among the various social media providers, Twitter seems to be the best format for rapid, responsive interaction with employees, vendors, and potential clients alike.

What makes Twitter the ideal social media outlet for your human resources department to pursue is the very feature that drew the most criticism when the platform was launched: its character limitations. By forcing a Spartan 140-character limit on tweets, using Twitter for updates, announcements, and awareness of issues important to your company, Twitter gives your memo writers the gift of brevity.

In the past, an office memo could wander from its ostensible purpose, but now an HR department using a size-restricted social media platform such as Twitter has to get to the point right away. Twitter's enforced austerity has a way of cutting out much of the chaff that used to go into office communications and encouraging the crafting of better, more concise human resources policy. The HR department must think more in terms of communicating the policy via brief, informative tweets through the company's social media platform.

Adopting Twitter as the company's social media of choice has advantages beyond communicating policy to employees. It can also be used to keep the company's vendors in the loop regarding supply chain issues. Shareholders can keep up to speed on recent developments via the company's Twitter feed, and even the general public can be reached with a public relations effort that doesn't cost a thing.

Part of Twitter's distinction is the speed with which it gets your messages out. Of course, other social media platforms operate at near the speed of light—nothing less would be tolerated in today's world. Unlike posts on Facebook or Reddit, tweets can be read in an instant. An employee might not be allowed to visit Facebook from a work computer, but reading the company's Twitter feed can be done from a free smartphone app. An employee who would never visit the company's Facebook page will generally have no problem signing up for the company's Twitter feed and waiting for an alert, ensuring your message is read within minutes of being posted.

Reorienting your HR department's communications strategy to take advantage of social media is part of the job for a modern HR manager. Choosing the right social media platform is also important. An official company Twitter feed helps you stay in constant, productive contact with workers across the company.

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