Social Media – it’s not ‘if’ but ‘when’
Social media, Web 2.0. Blogs, Wikis, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter etc are all terms now frequently used to describe communication vehicles for improving an organisation’s internal communication and employee engagement. The aim of these tools is to foster human connection by transforming employer- employee monologue to dialogue – that is, by providing an online communication venue which allows both the organisation and employees to be part of the conversation.
So is social media a nice ‘to have’ or a ‘must have’ for organisations? As the uptake of social media tools increases, so do the studies to identify or validate their value and usage as effective communication tools. According to a recent study by Watson Wyatt, “social media tools are helping employees actively participate in creating and sharing information”. IBM also recently published a research paper titled “Motivations for Social Networking at Work” which indicated employees were motivated to engage in social media for three reasons:
- Caring – connecting on a social level with colleagues
- Climbing – the use of the employee social network helping people advance their careers
- Campaigning – used to help gain support for ideas and projects
An Economist Intelligence report concluded that employee social networks will become pervasive… it is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’.
So where to do companies start? Our belief is that companies need to take small steps into the social media arena and identify tools that match their values and communication objectives. Basic ‘intranet 2.0’ tools such as internal wikis (a collaborative website which can be directly edited by anyone with access to it), blogs, and social network tools can be designed to help employees participate in company wide dialogue. This can result in:
- Faster distribution of information
- More effective communication to teams offsite
- More sharing of customer experience information
- Improved idea generation and promotion of innovative ideas
- Reduced office politics
- Improved company wide communication at all levels
From our experience, companies can utilise these tools to aid their company and employer branding initiatives. For example, success breeds success and social media provides an excellent medium for employees to collaborate on how the customer experience can be improved, or to share success stories on how the brand is lived and breathed throughout the organisation. Social media tools also provide a fast and furious way for employees to communicate when an organisation isn’t living up to its brand promises! So organisations beware… authenticity is the key.
The following video exemplifies how an organisation can integrate social media tools into their communication strategy. In the words of Best Buy, they are “getting set up for the next generation of employees” and have implemented some rather unique communication tools.
At the end of the day there needs to be a commercial tie back and for Best Buy it is using the insights, inputs and feedback to improve serving their customers and reinforcing their brand promise.