Is your team realizing its full potential? Can social media improve employee morale, job satisfaction, and efficiency at your organization? In what way can social networks empower your employees and make them better informed?
The use of social media tools within organizations to improve productivity is on the rise. Enterprise social platforms—private networks used internally at a business— seem poised to become the dominant method of communication for the next generation of employees. Gartner predicted that by 2014, social networking services would replace email as the primary interpersonal communication method for 20% of business users. Further, San Francisco-based Yammer, which makes social-networking software for businesses, increased from four to five million users in the first four months of 2012.
The use of internal social networking builds stronger bonds between employees, according to an IBM Research paper, and can make your team more effective. Ideally, they would offer your business more efficient communication and a solid ROI. But what else can you expect from an effective enterprise social network?
Maximizing collaboration is the fundamental value-add of any enterprise social network, and speed is the key provided by social networks. Real-time collaboration minimizes the need for constant meetings, which are increasingly outmoded in the digital age. Video and file sharing, notifications, and other digital exchanges of information are, in the best enterprise social networks, instant and secure.
Security is a legitimate and arguably the most important concern for any organization thinking about enterprise social networks. Is social networking safe behind your firewall, in the quiet of your organization? Digital pioneer Larry Kramer famously posited that all organizations with an online presence are essentially media organizations in that they all now deal in the business of engaging and informing clients. With that in mind, every organization is essentially an intense, data privacy environment with high security demands. Proprietary information could easily fall into the wrong hands if an enterprise social network were to be compromised, and data breaches are trending upward. Most enterprise social network builders, like Yammer (which is used by more than 200,000 companies), use cloud technology to store information safely in the cloud.
There is also the matter of ease-of-use. The learning curve of an enterprise social platform should not be hindering widespread adoption. This kills the advantages of instantaneous collaboration. And mobility matters. Many, if not most, team discussions during business hours will originate over the web from the desktop, but if a member of your team is at an important conference while the rest of the team is at the office, accessibility via mobile devices is a major factor. Collaboration and employee engagement cannot be maximized if information cannot be shared and viewed via mobile devices.
Socialcast by VMware, an enterprise social platform that allows team members to communicate and exchange ideas, offers one of the best solutions for social communication within a business. Founded in 2008 and acquired by VMware in 2011, Socialcast bills itself a “real time enterprise activity engine” that is used by more than 17,000 organizations in 190 countries. Their premium feature, Socialcast Thanks, allows companies to create personalized icons and provide peer recognition across all levels of seniority. Everything is stored in a password-protected cloud, and can quickly be adopted by anyone that has ever used Facebook.
As the old adage goes, there is no “I” in team. Enterprise social platforms exist to help organizations reach their full potential through more efficient, digital communication among peers; from junior level employees to the upper echelons. The most effective enterprise social networks erase boundaries between professionals. The days of memos, meetings, and even email are becoming things of some remote past. Social tools like micro-blogging, instant messaging, and collaborative planning software are all on the rise. And that’s not a bad thing, particularly if you are not a fan of meetings.
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Has your business started using an enterprise social network? If so, do you like it? Let us know in the comments and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.
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Ron Mwangaguhunga is a former editor-in-chief at FishbowlNY.com and contributor at Silicon Alley Reporter. He was named one of “25 Media Insiders to Follow” by TheWrap.com and one of “140 (Social Media) Characters” by Paper Magazine. Ron’s writings have appeared on CBSNews.com and in New York magazine.
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