Talking Talent

Every company has a clear Internet policy, and many are working on teleworking guidelines.  But how many have an official policy for the use of virtual worlds during the working week?

Big Blue has some very interesting official guidelines for more than 5,000 employees who inhabit Second Life and other virtual worlds.

IBM was the first big corporation to create rules governing virtual worlds, arguing that having a code of conduct is like a corporate stamp of approval, encouraging workers to explore more than 100 worlds the company collectively calls the “3D Internet.”

IBM’s rules which apply to Second Life, Entropia Universe, Forterra, There.com and other worlds are logical extensions of the real world, and can be summed up in one phrase: “Be a good 3D Netizen.”

According to business blog Bizmaze, while you shouldn’t play “Big Brother” with staff use of email and internet technology, it is important to establish a clear technology policy and communicate it to all your employees.

A good technology policy should cover both email and the Internet (although it could also include company phone systems and other technology resources). In addition, you might also want to set up a filter to block access to inappropriate websites.

You could do without the filter, but you can’t do without the policy. It can help protect you against potential liability, which could come in several forms.

Inappropriate use of email or the web could result in internal harassment and discrimination claims by employees involuntarily subjected to offensive content at the hands of coworkers. (For example, statistics show that the Playboy home page is one of the most visited websites between the hours of 9am to 5 pm).

Email between supervisors discussing an employee firing might appear as evidence in wrongful termination litigation. And defamatory email sent outside the company could come back to haunt you in the form of a libel suit. But you may violate your employees’ privacy rights if you secretly monitor their email or web access.

So what do you do?

Defeat any expectation of privacy that your employees may have in use of your technology resources. Let them know that nothing in any email should be considered private and that email and web usage could be monitored or randomly audited.

Also make sure that your technology policy clearly defines the proper and improper uses of email and Internet access. And let employees know that violations of the policy could lead to disciplinary measures, including termination. Remember, you are paying your employees to do work, not email their pals and shop on eBay. Furthermore, they are using your equipment and thus surrender a certain reasonable amount of privacy.

There is no doubt we have a digital divide in Australia.

While the number of Australians connected to the Internet grows each year and costs fall, the gap between the information-rich and information-poor is still palpable.

Those on higher incomes are leaving lower income earners behind.  Those in the city have almost unlimited access to information and the capacity to be plugged in to a global economy, while country people still suffer from the tyranny of distance.  Single parents, unemployed people and older Australians are also missing out.

And in today’s wired world information is power and this digital divide can mean a dramatic inequality of opportunity.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Use of Information Technology (2005-06)  reveals that while the number of households with broadband Internet connection almost doubled (to 2.3 million households), and while the number of Australian households without access to home Internet has decreased by 20 per cent (from 2002 to 3.2 million households in 2005-2006), that’s still millions of households without home access to the Internet!

Tellingly, the ABS’ 2006 Children’s Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities survey indicated that of the 2.7 million children aged 5 to 14 years, 92 per cent used a computer and 65 per cent used the Internet at any site.

What about the other 35 per cent of children who don’t have regular access to the Internet?  Or the 8 per cent of children who aren’t using computers at all?

Those on the wrong side of this digital divide face being marginalised as the ‘net becomes an increasingly dominant feature of economic and personal life.  And for young people, this means more than being able to access MySpace and YouTube.

In the job market, for instance, the best opportunities can increasingly be found on the Web rather than via traditional sources.  As more and more companies, government services and community groups deliver their services via the Web, these disadvantages will intensify.

Broadband is a national priority - but more than that, we need to ensure that all Australians are connected to the information superhighway in the first place.

The stereotypical online gamer is a greasy-haired, pimply, overweight teenager with no social skills and too much time on his hands, right?

Wrong.

Statistics from the US Entertainment Software Association (ESA) suggest that the average gamer is 33 and more likely to be learning vital business skills than wasting time.

In World of Warcraft, for instance, thousands of players adventure together in an enormous virtual world, forming friendships, slaying monsters and engaging in epic quests that can span days or weeks. At last count, 9.3 million people were playing the game.

An IBM study, conducted in conjunction with MIT, Stanford and software start-up Seriosity, found that multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft and Everquest can help the next generation of workers become better corporate leaders as work becomes more collaborative and virtual in nature.

The study suggests that hours spent playing online can hone abilities to effectively collaborate, self-organise, take calculated risks, influence and communicate - skills that are not generally taught in universities or workplace training programs.

But do online games really provide insight into the future of our organisations as our leaders communicate with workers across a ‘virtual environment’ that spans many countries, cultures languages and time zones?

The impressive organisational skills needed to run a World of Warcraft guild, organise raids involving as many as 40 people and co-ordinate their different abilities to defeat a game’s strongest foes are all relevant to work.

Some of the lessons that gamers learn include the ability to make decisions rapidly, analyse and use data from varied sources and recognise people for their contributions - are all valuable assets in the workplace.  Perhaps even more so is the ability to assemble and motivate a group of individuals – many whom are volunteers - to make rapid decisions and act effectively under uncertain conditions.

What do you think?