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Social Networks Evolving Into 'Commercial Networks'
KANSAS CITY, MO, (PRNewswire), February 19, 2010- Social networks are morphing into "commercial networks" for businesses and will transform the world of work with the profitable opportunities they hold for both individuals and prospective employers, according to Manpower Inc. Organizations can tap previously invisible and inaccessible pools of talent in the form of virtual workforces via the connective power of social media.

"Social networks are really a misnomer because they are turning into commercial entities and changing the way companies do business," said Jeff Joerres, Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO. "Groups of individuals who, in the past, could not participate in the traditional workforce for religious or cultural reasons, or because of disabilities can now work virtually through social networks. These untapped but highly-skilled workers are critical in the face of an aging global workforce and worsening talent mismatch."

Virtual talent pool Web sites effectively enable companies to access a diverse on-demand workforce and in turn, individuals can offer their skills and services to prospective employers. The beauty of what are becoming commercial networks is that the location is a virtual site and the job can be performed anywhere with an Internet connection. In future, even more highly skilled jobs will infiltrate these pools with a "plug and play" operational system through which workers offer their services and employers can pay for them to complete a specific task, no matter how great the geographical distance.

With the rapid evolution of technology has come the advent of what Manpower has termed "Net Taylorism," whereby projects can be parced into modules without giving the complete picture, to avoid intellectual property concerns, and resourced virtually. Companies can take all of the pieces of the puzzle that are individually worked on virtually and fit them together for later replicable use, simply paying royalties to the module creators.

Joerres provided CEO insights into the growing power and potential of social networks at last month's World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos during a panel discussion titled "Social Networks vs. the CEO - is the CEO prepared?" The nature of social networks means companies now have access to a wealth of innovative ideas in a way that was never possible in the past. Through sites such as Facebook, employees can connect to their CEO, whose access to their unfiltered ideas can inform their view of the business in exciting new ways.

Such collaborative and innovative mindsets around social networks increase employee engagement and enhance the perception that the company and employees are leveraging these tools constructively in pursuit of common business goals. Manpower's new Fresh Perspectives paper, Social Networks vs. Management? Harness the Power of Social Media, explores how companies can harness the popularity and business value that social media can garner to drive employee engagement, boost organizational performance and further corporate goals.

According to Manpower research, 75 percent of employees say their company does not have a formal policy around the use of social networks. Most organizations that have instituted a policy have done so in order to avoid productivity loss, mirroring the corporate reaction to the growing popularity of the World Wide Web in the 1990s, when it was feared that employees would waste too much time idly surfing the Web.

"The focus of company efforts should be to channel use of social networking in directions that benefit organizations and employees alike, rather than trying to control employees' social networking behavior," added Joerres. "The key is to equip your employees with a framework for what's on-message and the tone of your company, and then empower them to be ambassadors of your brand."

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