Disclaimer: I’m a part of the Wikipedia/Facebook/Twitter generation, and I don’t understand why more companies aren’t using social media strategies as internal community-building tools.
These tools are a part of my daily life. They provide a real way to stay connected to people, issues and ideas I care about. They’re how I gather information, find answers to questions, brainstorm ideas and commiserate. They are a real part of how I exist in the larger world, and I’m not alone. But perhaps more importantly, to people like me, they aren’t something to be feared.
Now, I bet you’re wondering why you should care when you’ve got an ongoing financial Armageddon to worry about. Well, people like me, without impressive titles and decades of experience, are worried. We’re worried about our jobs and our bills … and our companies. And like everyone, we look for reassurance and strength in our communities. Only for us, communities don’t exist exclusively in three dimensions. So why aren’t more companies taking advantage of the realities of social media pervasiveness and building employee communities online?
From security issues to legal issues to IT issues, the hurdles to implementing social media at most companies are likely numerous and varied. But, it seems to me, the real risks aren’t any greater than those associated with email or company Blackberrys or midnight meetings in subterranean parking garages. Divulging company secrets is already against the rules. As is harassment and discrimination. And social media is self-correcting; inaccuracies don’t go unchallenged for very long.
Plenty of people say Gen Y isn’t loyal enough to the companies they work for. And there may be some truth to that, but maybe the problem isn’t that we won’t connect to companies but that we can’t connect to them the way we connect to practically everything else.
Why do you think adoption of social networking by some companies as an internal tool has been so slow? Does your company have an internal social network? Is it well received or not? What’s worked? What hasn’t? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section.
