Communicating openly with your workplace community, recognizing them for good work, and giving them an avenue to share their ideas and interests will vastly improve your company’s bottom line.
THE PROBLEM:
The corporate world is revolutionizing the way they handle employee engagement programs and and benefits —starting with HR’s introduction of social platforms within the organization. The rise of social media in the past two decades has been key for consumers to interact with brands, organizations, and establishments in an enabled two-way conversation which was previously unavailable. A study from Harvard Business Review has cited, what was once a communications tool for young people has morphed into a new vehicle that business leaders are using to transform communications with their employees and customers. With it having such a significant influence in consumer marketing, it only makes sense to use it within the workplace.
Onerous processes and tasks are no longer paper-based and are integrated into social, innovative software platforms to make them more engaging and agile. Apart from efficiently managing human capital, these tools have successfully boosted employee engagement and productivity. Staying connected in the workplace is an important way to foster this engagement. One of the main principles of a social platform that leads to such results is that it makes for easier, more streamlined communication.
Often, it becomes more challenging for an average worker to know what is happening within the organization, keeping guidelines and goals unclear to them. For executives and management, it keeps them from understanding the operations of the organization and adjust employee programs and strategies accordingly. Social platforms such as LiveWell allows businesses to create an online community for their employees to easily access work news, updates, and other important information relating to their programs and benefits. The tool brings all of employee engagement initiatives onto one platform and allows program owners to target and develop their communications to relevant users. Utilizing these tools to communicate with employees makes it easier than ever to provide information, and gather data in real time.
However, enterprise social networks are not as simple to in taking off like their social media counterparts. For social business initiatives to be successful, a report from Deloitte underscores that leadership and behavioral changes are to be considered. They hit at the core of companies’ cultures and require that enterprises embrace innovation and collaboration. Leaders of such enterprises are not necessarily tech savvy, but they are advocates of technology, with a clear understanding of the potential impact that adopting innovation and technology has on their businesses, as well as retaining and engaging talent. Ultimately, employees want to feel connected to their organization’s goals, feel that they are part of a bigger team, and have a venue to voice their opinions and ideas. If done well, using an internal social network can foster creativity and collaboration among the community, and streamline goals and energize people to actively participate in their organization’s affairs.