Use Social Media to Enhance Workforce Performance

Use Social Media to Enhance Workforce Performance by Jacqueline Kolek   Social media tools and platforms have become pervasive; still, many businesses are grappling with how to employ online strategies to reach employees and drive the strategic agenda.   There's no "one size fits all" approach to social media in the workplace. Programs must be personalized to suit the individual company's culture, industry and talent pool. Done the right way for the right culture, social media has enabled several organizations to solve business challenges.   For Best Buy, an employee video contest helped to improve 401(k) contributions among its young and disparate workforce. Ernst & Young has leveraged Facebook to attract and recruit top talent from across the globe. Dell tapped social media to engage its global workforce to solve critical product and service problems through an online community called "Employee Storm."   Before embarking on any social media program - whether the goal is to enhance the customer service experience, attract and retain employees or motivate workers during times of economic uncertainty - companies must do one critical thing: listen.   Here's a four-step process to help human resource executives and senior leaders understand their internal target audiences and develop programs and platforms that will resonate with them.   1. Listen. Management first and foremost needs to find where employees are already connected to one another, where prospects are asking for information about the company, its brand and where former employees are discussing their experiences or building alumni groups online. They can liaise with corporate communication, marketing or other groups involved in monitoring online discussions to find out when the company brand is being brought up by former, current or future employees on blogs, microblogging sites and elsewhere. They must also talk to managers across departments to understand where and how employees are connecting with each other. Only by understanding where, when and what employees are already doing online can leaders develop programs to reach them with the right messages in the places they are likely to be seen and heard.   2. Lay the Groundwork. Armed with the knowledge gained in the listening phase, companies can begin to understand what works and what doesn't within the organization. For instance, leaders may find that employees are heavily invested in Facebook or LinkedIn networks, or that Twitter grabs their attention for most of the day. Based on these internal discussions, companies should build on existing employee rules and/or create new guidelines for communication in social media. It's critical that employees are encouraged to use these platforms, but also that they understand appropriate use that protects the brand, customers, clients, colleagues and themselves.   3. Embrace the Open Source. A majority of Facebook apps and Twitter tools are created by users. Leaders must recognize that putting development in the hands of users leads to greater adoption and satisfaction. Leaders can create clear channels for people to communicate technical or cultural barriers they are hitting and how they expect to be able to use the company's internal Web presence. They must look for opportunities to expand functionality and scope of online discussion platforms, etc.   4. Constantly Evolve. Leaders must never stop listening to what's being said outside any official groups, services or platforms they set up. Social sites set up for internal communication must never become static and should always meet two crucial goals: what employees need or want to do through digital communication and what the company needs or wants them to do.   Following these guidelines can enable senior leaders and their HR teams to truly understand opportunities to create social media platforms that will resonate within their organizations. This process will help companies put key messages in motion for their internal audiences to improve performance and maximize the potential of their workforce.     [About the Author: Jacqueline Kolek is partner and senior director of Peppercom Strategic Communications.]