That headline might seem like a classic study in contrasts, if not hypocrisy. After all, many hospital marketing consultants—including us—advocate hospitals to not firewall or otherwise restrict hospital employees’ access to social media.

Tommy Pischedda: Not a good person to emulate when predicting the longevity this social media “fad.”

However, we certainly don’t want to advocate unchecked or irresponsible social media usage—especially in environments such as hospitals where mistakes or accidents due to inattentiveness can be the between life and death. It is precisely that kind of risk (among others, such as perceived risks of privacy) that has forced some hospitals to take an extreme all-or-nothing approach to social media. Increasingly, the result is a “nothing” decision that has the obvious results.

Of course, one of the problems with any type of extreme thinking is that by default, it eliminates the potential for discovering new ideas—and an outright ban of social media certainly does that. (We’ll examine this subject in more detail in our July newsletter feature story).

Make Social Media an HR Issue

Rather than trying to predict the problems social media might cause (at the peril of the advantages it can deliver), leave the determination of what is an acceptable or appropriate usage of social media to your human resources department and managers.

More specifically, instead of attempting to cast a one-size-fits-all social media governance policy across your organization (which most often results in universal restrictions), let your employees have access to social media…but let it be one of the first factors that are assessed if there are any indications that they are slacking off or otherwise not fulfilling their obligations and responsibilities.

Sure, that means you have to trust your employees to use their time wisely…but don’t you already, especially at a hospital?

That trust extends to what they might say in a social media setting. A popular fear is that hospital employees might use social media to criticize the hospital. Well, if that’s the situation they (or your hospital) are in, you’ve got much bigger problems than their access to social media…which, by the way, is just as available outside of the hospital as it is inside.

Remember: Your employees are adults…treat them as such. If you prohibit social media in the workplace, they’ll find a way to access it, either by circumventing your firewalls, using mobile devices (often while away from their desks on “bathroom breaks” or “visits to other departments”).

But again, should you encounter any of these conflicts or problems, let HR resolve them. Don’t deprive the rest of your employees or your hospital of the tremendous advantages and benefits that social media provides.

Don’t be a Tommy Pischedda

Who is Tommy Pischedda? He is Bruno Kirby’s limo driver character in the film This is Spinal Tap. Cynical of modern rock stars that don’t share his admiration of old-school crooners like Frank Sinatra, Pischedda proclaims that “rock music is a passing thing…it’s a fad,” highlighting the humorous pretense that it’s Pischedda that is out of touch with what is now and is going to be the future.

Social media, like rock music, is not a fad. It’s not a “passing thing.” It’s here and is only going to become more ubiquitous—much like the telephone in past decades or e-mail in past years. Considering that a mobile “phone” is not just a telephone, but also a device that does e-mail and social media, it’s even more hard evidence that these modes of communication are becoming more a part of our everyday (and every moment) lives.

So go ahead…get behind social media at your hospital. The reasons are many and are scattered throughout the rest of our blogs.

But also go ahead and take more appropriate measures toward those that abuse social media at work. Nobody wants a nurse or a doctor or a security person or anybody that is supposed to ensure the health and safety of our loved ones to be distracted with writing a Facebook comment or reading Twitter, regardless if it’s for personal or professional reasons.

But don’t think that restricting their access will prevent that…nor will it ever give you the opportunity to realize the amazing value that an all-hands-on-deck social media culture can add to your hospital.

AVID Design offers hospitals experienced social media strategy and content creation—including blog writing and social media content.

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