Social media in internal Business Communications

Transforming into a social business is a pretty big concept with several pieces and there is a lot of debate around what those pieces should be. However, most will agree that there is an internal communications component of becoming a social business. When you look at how social media is being used to improve internal communications, you can start to separate those who are providing lip service to the social business transformation to those that are serious. This also extends far beyond becoming a “social” business and using social technology. The real questions I believe we should be asking are: how can technology be used to increase the speed of knowledge transfer, to influence the culture of working together, and to improve internal business processes.

I’ve worked for several large organizations and one thing was true in every one of them. There are huge information silos between different divisions, different offices, and even within departments. These information silos can be very costly for organizations. The cost impact can range from not knowing the internal expertise available to having multiple departments working on similar initiatives and spending money for outside consultants to do the same projects as well as having employees who do not even know they exist. For many companies, the quickest way to break down silos is to leverage an internal social network.

Create an Internal Social Network to Improve Relationships

The biggest opportunity for mid-size and enterprise organizations is to create an internal social network. The primary goal of the social network is to improve communications and the transparency of those communications. One of the biggest hurdles for large organizations is to stop the turf war between different groups. Internal turf wars are a huge waste of resources and can cost companies millions in wasted effort. While an internal social network won’t stop the turf war, it can absolutely help people develop better relationships.