Managing and Leveraging Workplace Use of Social Media at a South African Supply Chain Company

The rapid growth of social media has drastically changed the way people communicate in their private lives and at work. Social media has become a part of our daily lives in both environments and serve as an emotional outlet on various topics. Due to this, there are legal risks associated with the use of social media in the workplace and proper management of this risk is required. Alternatively, this rapid growth also brings about numerous advantages which may be leveraged by organisations. Social media is expected to continue to evolve and expand. In the process, it will become more integrated into both business and personal lives. A qualitative approach was adopted and primary data gathered by means of interviews with the supply chain’s employees. Content analysis methodology was chosen for the analysis of the qualitative data and themes were developed. These themes were also compared to theory and conclusions were made. The main finding of the study was that social media interaction is inevitable, whether the organisation denies access to this technology. Employees will find a way to communicate via social media. The recommendations resulting from this study will enable the company to implement a proper social media policy whereby the employee will know the legalities of using social media and both the employee and the organisation covered against any probable legal risk. The company may also leverage the advantages of social media to the benefit of the organisation.