Face up to the impact of the iPlayer, HR told

2008-01-24

New technology could mean employees watching TV at their workstations HR professionals need to get to grips with the potential business threat of employees watching TV at their computers, according to a leading technology firm. Nigel Hawthorn, European marketing director of Blue Coat Systems, has warned that the BBC iPlayer service, which allows users to download previously shown television programmes, could lead to employees watching their favourite shows on their PCs when they should be working. The large downloading requirements could also disrupt business web traffic, he added. Hawthorn said that HR and IT functions needed to tackle the problem together. “The wo departments need to work hand-in-hand to make sure the iPlayer and other echnologies are not a threat to their business. HR must ensure its policies are up to ate,” he said. The iPlayer was officially launched on Christmas Day and it is thought that other roadcasters will start to promote their own equivalents in the coming months. Hawthorn said that from his experience the majority of firms were now choosing to reate “acceptable usage” policies rather than implement outright bans on websites such s YouTube and Facebook. The iPlayer could be treated in a similar way, he suggested, specially as it included news feeds that could be used by employees for business reasons. “We are seeing more of the softer enforcement rather than the banning of these sites. R needs to look at them carefully to decide if banning them is the right answer or hether they are acceptable under certain circumstances,” he said.