There has been a lot of disscussion lately about the potential "power" of social media inside organizations.
First things first: There are really two different discussions going on here.
Number one is the communications delivery discussion - This has to do with the use of blogs, podcasts and wikis to deliver information within an organization. In this sense, social media has be viewed as another tool, vehicle, channel etc. and nothing more.
Considerations:
- Content rules the day. The medium is irrelevant if the content stinks
- People who follow social media often forget how many people in organizations (particularly frontline workers in sectors such as munufacturing and retail) have no clue what blogs are
- Social media is cheap. Often the only cost is labor and bandwith
- Social media is often accessible from anywhere, any time
- Using multiple channels to communicate allows employees to opt-in and consume information on their on terms
- Social media is easily trackable
The second conversation is the social network conversation - This conversation revolves around the idea the social media tools (like blogs, flickr, dogear, cogenz)
can help employees exhange information, develop leads, colloborate on projects and generally work more efficiently and effectively.
Considerations:
- While these tools have been very successful online (i.e., MySpace), it remains to be seen whether employees want to form similar communities at work
- There is a danger of just adding more process into the system
- Again, few people are aware of these tools, leading to a digital divide in the work place
- These tools allow employees greater flexibility in time and location
- These tools allow for greater cross-functional communication and interaction
- These tools take more control (or the perception of control) out of the hands of corporate communicators, and into the hands of the employees
My Humble Opinion: At the risk of being all things to all people, I personally think that we need to be involved in both discussions. Why? Because if all you are able to do is write internal newsletters or suggest an employee blog than you are limiting your strategic impact. And if all you are able to do is develop project management tools, but can't facilitate a larger conversation on the strategy of an organization, you are just spinning your wheels.
In order to provide the best counsel for our clients we need to think strategically about all communications in an organization. When a company sends out a newsletter, when employees talk around the water cooler, when a worker blogs about his job, when a project team creates a wiki, when a entry-level clerk discusses his job with his buddies at a bar, when the CEO gives a speech, when the HR department changes a benefits plan, when the company launches a new brand Web site.........these are ALL forms of communication, and to ignore the fact that each of these has a potential affect on the engagement and effectiveness of employees is to sell yourself and your client short.
Now, I entered the "real world" a.k.a., the working world, very recently so I certainly don't have the perspective of some of my more esteemed peers. I didn't experience the introduction of e-mail or the dark days of the intranet craze.
The fragmented, over-cluttered communications we have today is all I have ever known. And you no what, I love it, because I think there are more opportunities today for corporate communicators than ever.
However, we must not see ourselves simply as internal communications specialists. If we want to convince our clients that we can have a larger organizational impact than we need to adjust the way that we view organizations.
Here are a few ideas I have for how we can alter our thinking. Each is coupled with a blog that I read to spur my thinking (notice none of the blogs are from PR or internal comms people).
View employees as consumers - When employees come into work, they don't flip a switch and become machines. They are people. They have unique interests and consume information in various different ways. Communicators need to find ways to meet them on their terms. Today's audience is sick of being yelled at, you have to find ways to engage them. The total amount of communications in your organization represents a very cluttered market, why will employees choose your offering?
Be a social scientist - How do groups form in your organization? Where do people go to get information? What causes workers stress and confusion? How is authority formed and who do people trust? The path of employees through any organization will likely be a fascinating evolutionary process.
Be authentic, but be spectacular - People talk, and people like to talk to people. Traditional one-way, stale communications is not going to get the job done. Tell people how you feel, listen to them, trust them. After all, you hired them. Today we have more tools at our disposal than ever, and people expect more. The demands in terms of quality, scope and impact are higher than ever and we will have to deliver in order to get the job done.
Technorati Tags: internal, employee, blog, wiki, strategy
