It's time to check in again on social media practices. We're all curious about what the other guy is doing and how s/he is pulling it off. As opposed to the early years of research when prevalence data was often below 15%, we're finally getting some telling, meaty specifics via research that offer useful insights into what's happening with corporate social media.
How prevalent is social media use in business? Here's a snapshot of what's happening on the product and brand side. A recent article by Clara Shih on the HBR Blog Network reported that 77% of Fortune 500 companies now have official social media teams. The work they do is called external "social business" and it addresses customer service, corporate marketing and consumer information.
In the Human Resources part of the world the numbers look very different. Towers Watson's recent research findings show that, "only 56% of the employers report using social media to communicate with employees on topics such as organization culture, team building or innovation." Note there is no reference to total rewards although total rewards communications is part of their study. (Based on my own work, I think that's because the percentages are still negligible.)
You'd imagine that as workplace flexibility continues to grow by leaps and bounds (e.g. work offsite, global team members, flexible schedules and so on), we'd see more social media in the parts of our work lives that Human Resources' touches, but that hasn't happened yet. And with most employees working their personal relationships online, you'd think their habits would have leaked farther into their work lives by now, but that hasn't really happened either.
However, there are clues in Clara Shih's blog about the future that hint a revolution may be on the way. She believes that we are on the cusp of another shift in "social business." The next wave will make each employee into a formal company spokesperson. Those in sales and other customer-facing roles will be expected to build their personal credibility as trusted advisors through daily social media interactions. And " . . . for employees in non-customer facing roles, the expectation will be that they represent the company whenever online . . ."
Pretty stunning, huh? Thought you'd like to know where this is trending. Better start writing the policies now.
Margaret O'Hanlon is founder and Principal of re:Think Consulting. She'll join Ann Bares and Dan Walter of the Compensation Cafe to speak the unspoken -- Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communication -- in an upcoming book. Margaret brings deep expertise in compensation, career development and communications to the dialog at the Café. Before founding re:Think Consulting, she was a Principal with Towers Watson. Margaret earned her M.S. and Ed.S. in Instructional Technology at Indiana University, Bloomington. Creative writing is one of her outside passions, along with Masters Swimming.
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