Good news for Westpac Bank’s social networking employees! According to ZDNet Australia, all Westpac employees are now able to access their Facebook profile at work. Westpac’s CTO David Backley, seems confident that Facebook can be self managed with most people doing the right thing and ensuring others do the same.

The bank is also experimenting with their own Facebook-like social networking application that will feature firewall protected confidential information for Westpac staff only.

And wait for it! Australia’s oldest bank has bought a virtual branded island on “Second Life”. That’s right. Westpac have been experimenting with the application, conducting centralised induction meetings for new employees from branches and offices around the country and are very pleased with their results.

While Westpac is by no means the only corporation or bank practicing this new style of managing internal communications and HR, just the fact that they are a “bank” is definitely news worthy. If one of Westpac’s main objectives is to attract the brightest new talent over the next few years, they are definitely on the right track.

Related Links:
Westpac turns to Web 2.0 free for all - ZDNet Australia
Is Facebook good for the workplace? - News.com.au
Do You Facebook, MySpace, Bebo or YouTube @ Work? - Plastic Cup

Something to ponder:
Allowing employees the freedom to socially network, in and around work can be a good thing (even if it’s not business-oriented). These same tools can encourage more effective collaboration and communication within the organisation. For it doesn’t matter how amazing your communication technology is, it’s the people-factor that makes it sparkle and come to life.