Employees increasingly being asked to turn to LinkedIn

June 09, 2011

A new survey by workplace solutions company Regus has shown that bosses are not only using company social media profiles on sites such as LinkedIn to attract businesses - but they are encouraging their employees to do the same on an individual basis too.

The survey found that 55 per cent of businesses were encouraging their employees to joint networks like LinkedIn and Xing in order to drum up business.

The number of companies that said they were successful using social networking to win new custom rose by eight per cent from the figure in the 2010 survey, to 43 per cent. The use of social networking - and particularly through LinkedIn - was not just confined to new business either, with 50 per cent of businesses polled stating that they used it to engage and inform their existing clients.

Regus regional vice president, Sande Golgart, said, "As businesses emerge from the downturn they are increasingly reconsidering pre-recession working practices and opting for more flexible, competitive strategies.

He added that no area of business is being overlooked, from supply chain management, to leaner working practices, to cloud computing, to increased use of video communications and mobile working.

He said, "Particularly in the US where MerchantCircle reports that more than 70 percent of small businesses are promoting their business on Facebook, more and more companies are leveraging this channel to increase the loyalty of existing customers, and as a successful acquisition tools."