Li and Bernoff highlight that for an organization, connecting to its employees is just as important as connecting to its customers. For top management, it is crucial to have an ear to the ground and get feedback on what works and what doesn’t for employees. One way to achieve this is through a company’s internal intranet site. This can be a one-stop shop avenue where employees retrieve corporate information, share their ideas and bookmarked articles, and blog. Avenue A/Razorfish’s Clark Kokich feels that such online and social media applications are “the virtual equivalent to management by walking around” (Li and Bernoff, 2008, p. 222).
For an organization, social media applications and collaboration tools like wikis are a promising avenue to cultivate two-way symmetrical relationships with employees. However, it is not easy getting employees to buy into the social media concept. Some employees, particularly mature workers may be apprehensive of new and social media technologies.
My career in Singapore has proven first hand that open and effective communication is the bedrock for establishing trust with employees and encouraging them to embrace new technologies. Despite staff-management dialogue sessions, social media remained a vague concept to the predominantly mature workforce, resulting in a largely apathetic attitude. Recognizing the key to transforming conventional mindsets lay in effectively communicating a nebulous concept, I undertook some research in social media to prepare myself for all kinds of questions. Our team sought to foster a culture of creativity and innovative thinking and established an effective channel of communication and trust, engendering employees to embrace the social media initiative and easing them into the transition process.
What are your thoughts about encouraging reluctant employees to embrace social technologies in the workplace? What is the best way to achieve this?
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Neha, this is such an interesting area to explore. I think selling social media to employees for organizational use partially relies on how they perceive the necessity and risk of using them. In that sense, get the management to use it first- because when all the executives are using them, everyone may think this kind of technology is necessary and safe in the organization.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Jean, getting management buy-in with the social media technologies you want employees to use can be really effective. In large companies, I think employees could also be nervous to post their ideas and suggestions in a place where anyone could see it and attribute it to them. Having management take some of the fear and uncertainty out of these tools could be really valuable.
ReplyDeleteMaybe these apprehensive people can be involved in (each week) meeting and reviewing the stakeholders comments made on the social media tool. OR, be involved in a focus group which is based on the comments of the stakeholders. I think they should be involved but it doesn't necessarily have to me a direct involvement with the social media.
ReplyDeleteJean - That's a great point. Yes, I do feel that management needs to highlight the benefits (and the drawbacks) of adopting social media in the workplace. And certainly having the management use social media applications first helps promote its use. : )
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel, great point! Management buy-in is key for promoting the use of social media applications at the workplace. If the CEO and senior management are blogging then employees will feel this is acceptable and hopefully they will be willing to share their ideas through blogs. : )
ReplyDeleteEileen - thanks for sharing your ideas. I agree that having a focus group is a great way of indirectly involving employees in social media at work, and with reduced pressure and fear on their part. Hopefully, over time, the more familiar they become, the less they will fear new technologies. : )
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