Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) Community

Blogging: A Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide (updated)

This blogging beginner's guide is intended for people who want to incorporate blogs into their organization’s social media efforts but aren’t sure where or how to begin. Individuals interested in blogging for personal/career management reasons, as well as folks aspiring to be professional bloggers, may also find the guide useful in helping them get started. The guide focuses on external blogs, but many of the concepts apply to internal blogs as well. This guide updates and extends the original blog post published in May 2011.

To many professionals blogging is still a foreign concept. Although virtually everyone has read them and some may even comment and subscribe, when it comes to thinking about how to leverage the tool themselves, people often freeze. They feel intimidated because they think their writing skills are not good enough, pressured by the prospect of having to create fresh content on a regular basis, and/or uncertain of how they are going to manage the time commitment.

Cyberspace is full of blogging “best practices,” rules and tips. Many of these guides are great, but they are not necessarily comprehensive and/or designed for people who are just getting started. Therefore, I thought I would create my own guide based on my interactions with social media rookies over the past few years, as well as my own experience as a relatively new blogger (since March 2010). The guide was originally published as a (long!) blog post in May 2011. The updated version updates and extends the content, in addition to presenting it in a more polished format.

You can view the guide through the embedded link below or directly via SlideShare.

As always, I welcome feedback. If you disagree with one of my recommendations, have a tip to add, and/or feel something was unclear, please do not hesitate to add a comment or question to the blog post or SlideShare page, or send an email to blogtips@sminorgs.net. Thanks!

- Courtney Hunt

 

Blogging: A Comprehensive Beginner's Guide

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The Social Media Garden: A 2.0 Organizational Research Study

"What do you think are the main barriers for organizations in embracing social media practices and what ideas do you have for overcoming them?" This is the question at the heart of a public research study being conducted by Silverman Research, which uses a social research methodology rather than a survey format to capture and develop collective insights on important questions. Everyone is able to view and evaluate the responses from others, in addition to contributing their own perspective.

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As the Founder of the Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) Community, I am pleased to offer my support to this project. I learned about the study when Michael Silverman posted an invitation to participate in the SMinOrgs LI group. Obviously, the question is one that is near and dear to my heart, but I am also very impressed with and intrigued by his approach to building a dataset and representing the results.

I invite everyone to enter the Garden, take a stroll through the responses shared by others, and plant a bloom of your own!

- Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

 

Study Overview and Invitation

The Social Media Garden is an open-access research project that has been designed to generate insight about the barriers organisations face in adopting social media practices – and solutions to overcome them. This new approach to online research eliminates unmanageable lists of comments and uses data visualizations to help participants navigate the conversation and develop their understanding. Algorithms then rapidly filter insightful comments based on input from other participants. Here’s a screenshot of a typical page:

 

Of course, there is already a mounting body of research on the use of social media in organizations. However, none of these studies have been conducted using social media methodologies. When one considers the opportunities provided by social technologies to share information, develop ideas and generate insight, I find it immensely frustrating that so much social research is still conducted using surveys. For all the big consultancies, research agencies and academics espousing the benefits of social media, it’s unfortunate that they have stuck to a standard survey approach. This is one the few research studies on social media in organizations to employ a social media approach. We therefore expect to produce many new insights that would not be possible using traditional survey approaches.

The study is being sponsored by Unilever to help push forward the social media agenda in organizations, and to build on their efforts to “social mediatize” employee research across the company (see below for more information on the methodology). The Garden will be open throughout February 2012 and has already received over 450 participants. A full report of the overall research findings will be publically available towards the end of March 2012. All participants will be emailed a copy of the report (containing a combined text, sentiment and statistical analysis), which will also be available on the Social Media Garden website. Please click here to enter the garden and plant your bloom.

A leaderboard of the top authors will be posted in the Garden towards the end of the project. Currently, the top author is ‘philwoodford,’ who wrote:

The two biggest factors preventing organisations embracing social media are: (1) Difficulty in measuring return on investment (2) Fear of loss of control Using social media successfully requires an investment of time and human resources. If organisations cannot see or quantify an immediate and obvious return, they get nervous. Social media is profoundly democratic. This takes power away from managers, marketers, HR professionals and others within the organisation that might be expected to sponsor its growth. Both of these factors will become less of an issue with each passing year, as social media becomes more and more embedded in the fabric of business and society as a whole. Business owners and managers who are resistant to change probably won't be convinced and there's little that can be done to shape their attitudes. The world will simply change around them.

 

Methodological Background

Despite their prevalence, surveys are riddled with problems. The most serious of which, and the one that is most often overlooked, is that they are incredibly boring for participants and consistently fail to provide participants with a compelling and engaging experience. The fact that participants complete surveys in isolation provides people with a very solitary experience. Worse still, a valuable opportunity is missed to capture the insight that comes from measuring what people think of other participants’ comments. This is where surveys really fall down. If participants knew their comment would be available for others evaluate, they would not only be more likely to write a response, they would also be more likely to write a thoughtful and considered response.

In addition, if participants are able to evaluate others’ comments, it becomes possible to identify the authentic voice of that community and see what themes are achieving consensus. Text analysis software is great, but we often forget that we have an even more powerful text analysis tool than any computer – the combined wisdom of our brains. I like to think of this as a form of crowd-sourced text analysis.

However, linear lists of comments that are used in traditional discussion forums and message boards are difficult to navigate and soon become unmanageable as the number of participants increases. This means that many comments never get read. Coupled with the widespread use of over-simplistic binary thumbs-up or five-star ratings, lists favor early birds or those with extreme views and conceal the real diversity of opinion.

Unilever was one of the first organizations to employ this approach internally, using a pre-cursor to the Social Media Garden called “Opinion Space” (see screen shot below). This project engaged Unilever’s 1,800-strong international assignee employees in providing feedback and suggestions to improve its policies for this community. The project won two HR industry awards and has led to the adoption of this approach to employee research and collaboration in different parts of the business.

 

In addition to providing new insight into the use of social media in organizations, we also hope that the Social Media Garden will raise awareness of new ways of generating insight and facilitating mass collaboration.

Michael Silverman is Managing Director of Silverman Research, a company specializing in applying social media principles to social research. A psychologist and organizational research specialist, he was previously Global Head of Employee Research at Unilever.

 

For more information please contact: michael.silverman@silvermanresearch.com

 

The Social Workplace: The Future is Now

In this SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog guest post, Jerry Carducci offers his thoughts on the future of the social workplace. Building on the ideas in the latest S.M.A.R.T. News Digest – Social Media and the Workplace - What’s In Store for 2012? – he anticipates the impact of new digital technologies on organizational culture, employer branding, consumer listening, and organizational policies.

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As a follower of social media in the workplace, one thing remains clear: many organizational leaders are still apprehensive about social media’s potential to enhance operational effectiveness, increase stakeholder value and engage employees. 

We’ve seen how the global community used social media to connect and gain support for humanitarian and political issues. What if your organization could generate that same strength of internal community to enhance its value propositions for current and future stakeholders? What if your organization could unleash its hidden talents and creativity through an open, engaging and collaborative environment that increases value and competitive advantage? 

Looking at 2012 and beyond, more organizations will start using social media as a way to optimize the power of consumer-based networks to increase productivity, communications and collaboration. We should see changes in four core areas:

• The “Social Workplace.”  The “social workplace” constitutes the next generation of organizational change, combining social technical tools, culture and physical design to enhance communications and create a structure that is flexible, collaborative and connected to the organization’s mission, values and goals. Geneca, an IT consultancy in Chicago, provides one example of how this can be done (see: Corporate Culture Meets the Digital Era).

• “Employer Branding.”  Employer branding connects the organization to the talent market by providing not only a realistic view of the culture, expectations and work-life within the organization, but also the social and community involvement aspects. Organizations will begin to heighten their focus on employer branding through LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to create a community of followers and attract the right talent.  Involvement will grow to extend beyond Human Resource roles to include front line leaders and employees in all functional areas.

(Editor’s note: for more on social media and recruiting, see Recruiting in the Digital Era: Updated Guidance for Employers, Recruiters, and Candidates).

• “Social Listening.”  Consumer review sites are replacing formal “Focus Groups” in providing continuous qualitative feedback. Social listening represents analysis of feedback from these sites and using it as a source of continuous improvement, innovation and a means to identify hidden opportunities to increase value.  As a result, the role of the “social analyst” will evolve to include not only technical and intuitive analytical skills, but also product, process and internal operational savvy in aggregating, organizing and communicating information in a way that is meaningful throughout the organization.

• Formalization of Social Media Policies. As use of social media grows internally, formalization of policies, etiquette and training will become more prevalent. In her blog post entitled, A Matter of Policy: Protecting Employees and Your Brand on Social Media, Jaya Koilpillai Bohlmann provides a practical, commonsense approach.

(Editor’s note: for more on social media policies, see Social Media Policies: Necessary but Not Sufficient).

The term “Value” has evolved to represent the total experience for consumers and employees alike. And creating value in today’s environment is a strategic imperative, requiring organizations to be continuously connected, engaging and transparent in ways that generate loyalty and a positive experience. Social media provides the means to establish the necessary formal and informal connections.

However, understanding how social media can change the way an enterprise does business and engages employees is a complex undertaking.  Leaders must fully understand their culture, mission and value system – and how their organization really works. Most importantly, they must select the right social media platforms to support and achieve their organization’s objectives.

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Gerald E. (Jerry) Carducci is the President of Carducci & Associate,; an organizational consultancy that helps small and mid-sized businesses energize their workplaces through a supportive culture and progressive people practices. He is a widely published author and guest editor for the Social Media in Organizations (SMinOrgs) S.M.A.R.T. Blog, where he explores the use of social media as a means to enhance internal communication, collaboration and processes. He is also a frequent guest on WGN Radio.

12 Hopes for 2012: Enhanced Adoption of Digital Technologies

As the Digital Era progresses, technological capabilities continue to outstrip our willingness and ability to address the opportunities and challenges they present. In this post from the Digital Era Thinkers Blog, I offer 12 hopes for 2012 that are rooted in the psychological challenges we face and are built on our willingness – both individually and collectively – to tackle them in thought, word, and deed. As always, I welcome input from others.

Click here to read the post.

via www.gcdel.org

The “End” of Email: Reflections from a Digital Era Thinker

A recent statement made by Thierry Breton, CEO of Atos, about the "elimination" of email at the company churned up quite a bit of controversy in cyberspace. Many of the pieces sharing the news included misinformation, and much of the commentary reflected misunderstanding. This post clarifies what Atos is actually doing, offers insights on why it’s the right move, reflects on some of the reasons for resistance, and highlights the importance of strong leadership in enabling organizations to move ahead in the Digital Era.

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Last week there were a number of articles and blog posts about “the end of email” after news of a statement by the CEO of Atos (a large French technology company) went viral. Almost all of these items generated a number of impassioned responses rejecting the use of “social” tools and defending the use of email for a variety of purposes.

Unfortunately, many of the pieces written about the announcement included sensationalistic headlines and/or misinformation, and many people took the news quite literally – which seemed to cause much of the harsh, knee-jerk reactions. So let’s start by clarifying what CEO Thierry Breton was really referring to:

• His decision was focused on internal email only.
• Atos will not be using a public platform like Facebook for internal communication. Rather, they will use similar tools that are designed for private social networking.
• Atos will not replace email with internal social networking and instant messaging exclusively. The idea is to leverage a variety of 2.0 tools to improve employees’ ability to communicate and collaborate.

Expanding on the third point, many of the comments I read seemed to reflect a poor understanding of the kinds of communication and collaboration tools that are now available for organizations of all types (not just large, high-tech firms). Social business platforms can certainly include social networking and real-time chat features, but those are just two of the many capabilities most of them offer (for more on social business technologies and their applications, check out slides 7-19 in this presentation). With respect to the replacement of email in particular, the key features to focus on include asynchronous chat streams (including status updates and microblogging), discussion forums, wikis, file sharing and editing, and the ability to create centralized group and project worksites.

It’s probably unfortunate that terms like social business, social enterprise, and social intranet have emerged to describe the application of 2.0 technologies inside organizations. Many people interpret words like “social” and “chat” to indicate frivolity, shallowness, time wasting and a lack of professionalism. Arguing about semantics can be such a distraction, but relabeling and reframing the tools may help skeptics get over their resistance and focus on their “work value.” We could, for example, refer to:

• Private Digital Networks r/t Internal Social Networks
• Quick Collaboration or Quick Exchange r/t Chat
• Announcements and Queries r/t Status Updates

 

Email’s Inefficiencies

In many respects, email can be considered the granddaddy of today’s social business tools – it certainly meets the basic definition of social media I shared in Part 1 of the Social Media Primer (updated here). But, relatively speaking, it’s fairly unsophisticated and clunky. And, more importantly, it’s often misused and abused.

Given its inefficiencies, the goal behind shifting away from email is a valid one. For example:

• Lots of exchanges (e.g., when/where do you want to meet?) don't need to be preserved, and each message in the back and forth gets saved, causing lots of unnecessary duplication. Having a centralized chat feature - which can be asynchronous - can eliminate that.
• For cases where the conversation should be preserved, a centralized discussion thread is probably more appropriate than dozens of email exchanges with duplicate – and often disconnected – content. Not only does a single discussion thread save resources and minimize confusion, it's also easily accessible to/by others for whom the discussion may be relevant.
• Exchanging documents via email is a colossal waste, and it can create a lot of confusion. Rather than passing a document around, it's better to put the document in a central, shared location and let people come to it. Doing so is not only more efficient, it also better enables people to know what the latest version is and can prevent two people from attempting to revise the document at the same time. History on the document can also be tracked.

Today's social business platforms offer both individuals and organizations more efficient and effective ways to get their work done. For me the key advantage of these platforms is that rather than having the work distributed to the workers, the work is centralized and the workers come to it. That reduces unnecessary duplication, confusion about what version of something is the most current or what the latest word/decision was on a particular issue/conversation, and many other benefits.

Email won’t go away, but that doesn’t mean we should continue to use it the way we do today. Instead, we should recognize where it has the most value and where another tool can be more effective. We should all be open to using new technologies to help us work smarter. And yet…

 

Email Attachments
(and I’m not Talking about Documents)

One of the most powerful realities of the world we live in today is that the capabilities of the communication and collaboration technologies available to us far outstrip our human ability to harness them. It's not that we can't use these tools – they are widely available, inexpensive, and relatively easy to implement and use – we simply don't. This list of reasons is long, and include

• Our tendencies to resist change, stay inside our comfort zones and take the path of least resistance
• Fear (of the unknown, of failure...)
• Our unwillingness to risk learning something new
• Our short-term focus and tendency to be in a hurry ("get it done now" rather than "do it right")

Another key element that is too often overlooked is the fact that we're still using Industrial Era models and modes of working, even though we're well into the Digital Era. For example, rather than collectively creating and refining a single repository of relevant knowledge/information using wiki technology (think barn raising), we prefer a more linear, assembly-line approach of passing around a document that we "manufacture."

There's also an ironic contradiction in how we function in our personal and professional lives. On a personal level, many of us are very comfortable working in a divergent, non-linear fashion – which I would argue is natural for our brains – but when it comes to work we kick into structured, Tayloresque factory mode. Why? Because this is what we’ve been taught throughout both our academic and work lives. The habits are deeply ingrained and tough to change.

So what’s a Digital Era worker to do?

 

It All Boils Down to Leadership

I commend Thierry Breton and other business leaders who recognize the value in leveraging new digital technologies to enable their employees to work more efficiently and effectively. As demonstrated by the reaction to his recent comments, however, this type of Digital Era leadership is still extremely rare. Most leaders do not understand the potential power and uses of new technologies – or how important it is to educate themselves about both their applications and implications (both external and internal). Those who do recognize they need to:

• Make the increased use of digital technologies a strategic and operational priority
• Support the creation/adoption of new tools and technologies
• Allocate necessary resources (both money and time) to enable employees to use these tools effectively

I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in 2012…

-  Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

Corporate Culture Meets the Digital Era

A case study about the role social media plays in maintaining and growing a powerful, engaging, and results-producing culture at a Chicago area custom software development firm, Geneca. Written by guest blogger Jerry Carducci.

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A few months ago, in his most recent SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. News Digest, Jerry Carducci shared ideas and examples of how social media can be used to build and reinforce organizational culture. As promised, he now follows up that post with a case study about the role social media plays in maintaining and growing a powerful, engaging, and results-producing culture in a Chicago area firm.

In addition to the take-aways Jerry shares below, I’ll offer my own observations about what this case study highlights:

• Social media can be used not only to reinforce an organization's cultural values, but also to promote employee engagement.
• When used effectively, digital interactions mirror in-person interactions. An organization’s “digital” culture shouldn’t be different from its “physical” culture.
• As noted in Part 4 of the Social Media Primer, organizational size is neither a barrier to nor a key determinant of the effective use of social media. 
• Social media can and should be fully integrated into an organization’s communication and collaboration efforts. It shouldn’t be viewed as a simple add-on to or substitute for other interaction activities. The keys are to focus on using the channels that offer the most efficient and effective means of achieving both individual and organizational goals and to ensure that “high tech” approaches are also “high touch.”

I always appreciate Jerry’s contributions to the S.M.A.R.T. Blog, and have enjoyed seeing him add to his collection of News Digests by creating and sharing a case study. If you would like to be a guest blogger and/or share a case study of your own, please email blog@sminorgs.net.

-  Courtney Hunt

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In an environment filled with economic uncertainty, restructuring and doing more with less, I think we all would agree that aligning employees and actively engaging them with corporate values and belief systems is an increasingly challenging task. 

Social media has found its way into many organizations, formally and informally, as a means of communicating and collaborating with and among employees, customers, and other key stakeholders. Since culture defines an organization and requires continual communication and reinforcement, I couldn’t help but think about whether social media could help connect the complexities of an organization and its culture. Can it serve as a platform to strengthen and reinforce an organization’s cultural value system, build community, and provide a method for inclusion and transparency – both internally and externally? And do best practice examples exist where an organization intentionally designs their social media strategy in a way that enriches their culture?    

The answer to these questions is “yes.” I had an exclusive opportunity to explore how Geneca, a Chicago area custom software development firm, uses social media to manage one of its most valuable intangible assets -- its culture.   

To the naked eye it would appear that each social application works independently. However, when you look deeper, one begins to see the strategic thought process underlying the individual approaches. I saw and heard firsthand how Geneca has designed its use of social media as a tool to protect, enrich and manage its culture and how it has become a source of differentiation and competitive advantage.

Click here to access the full case study: Geneca's Culture Goes Digital

Key points I drew from the discussions and observations are:

• From its beginnings in 1998, Geneca’s culture represents the strength of the organization and provides the foundation for all the organization does. It is based on three fundamentals; serving clients, honoring commitments, and serving employees. Culture is so important that Joel Basgall, CEO says, “If we have to choose between growth and culture, culture wins.  Without culture, the company goes nowhere.”
• Geneca’s culture is about inclusion and transparency. Absent are egos, personal and hidden agendas, and “sacred cows.”
• Protecting Geneca’s culture is a shared accountability throughout the organization and reflected in the way it sources for new talent and skills, connects with clients, and designs its workspaces.
• Geneca leverages social media, both internally and externally, to promote and extend its cultural values.

Internally Yammer serves as the company’s “water cooler,” providing a virtual platform for open discussion, innovative ideas and sharing interests. 

• It brings together on-boarding, special interest groups, employee development and knowledge transfer, corporate goals and innovation in a way that is engaging and creates buy-in.
• Employees actively engage in forming vision, mission and goals on initiatives along four strategic imperatives; Culture, Clients, Organizational Structure and Organizational Growth. By taking a role in their development, employees take ownership and accountability for results.
• Employees are able to post ideas on Yammer, which through collaborative exchanges develop and evolve into “great” ideas.

Externally Geneca extends its culture to continually build and strengthen relationships outside the organization. The message about Geneca’s culture and what it means to all stakeholders comes across loud and clear.

• Geneca uses its website (www.geneca.com), LinkedIn (Geneca and Geneca and Friends), Twitter (@genecapeople and @geneca) and its blog, Getting Predicable, to convey its cultural values in the form of shared practices and discussion.
• Through these media, prospective job candidates can get a firsthand look at what work life is like at Geneca, meet Genecians and see personal interests and philosophies.
• Geneca also uses these channels to share best practices with others in the industry.

Geneca uses social media in ways to reinforce, convey and extend its culture. It has successfully connected these media in a way that is cohesive, delivers a consistent message and creates a virtual community that generates value not only for its bottom line, but for employees, clients and the industry.   When everyone comes through the door, they are focused on one common objective: making software development predictable.

The results are impressive and have enabled Geneca to sustain its growth through the economic turmoil during the past four years. Geneca continues to be widely recognized for its progressive people practices and is among the Best Places to Work in the Chicago area and Illinois.

Social Media: Beyond Marketing and Throughout Your Career

This post links to a presentation deck on SlideShare that highlights how social media and other digital technologies are impacting organizational functioning beyond marketing. The presentation also highlights the implications of new technologies for job and career options, as well as career management for employees of all types.

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On November 11, 2011, I participated in Social Media Immersion Day at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. In addition to administering and debriefing the SMQ (Social Media Quotient) Quiz, I gave a presentation that highlighted:

• The applications and implications of social media and other digital technologies beyond external applications like marketing.
• The ways in which the marketing profession and related job opportunities have been – and will continue to be – transformed by new digital technologies.
• How new technologies will impact the employment experiences of all individuals throughout their careers.

I have made my presentation deck, which also includes many resources for further reading, available on the SMinOrgs SlideShare channel. You can view it below or directly on SlideShare.

 

Ross Social Media Immersion Day

View more presentations from Courtney Hunt

As always, I welcome your comments and questions.

- Courtney Hunt

PS – One of the other speakers was Geoff McHale, a Vice President at comScore. I have also uploaded a white paper he referred to – The Power of Like – to SlideShare. Click here to access it.

 

S.M.A.R.T. News: Social Media and Organizational Culture

This SMinOrgs News Digest focuses on how social media can be used to develop a supportive, engaging and community-oriented culture. Selected articles illustrate the importance of corporate culture and how it impacts results, as well as examples of how organizations have been effective in using social media in building and managing their culture.

Most of the discussions about social media and organizational culture seem to focus on the values and norms that must exist (e.g., egalitarianism, openness) before an organization can successfully leverage social media technologies internally to create/promote a 2.0 Enterprise. I've argued that rather than expecting cultural change to precede social media adoption, it makes more sense to begin with the culture as it is, and work toward change via the increasing use of new technologies (see, for example, this post). 

Jerry's latest News Digest reinforces my argument, by providing ideas and examples of how social media can be used to build and reinforce organizational culture. He plans to follow this post up with a piece in which he interviews the founders and employees of one Chicago area firm about the role social media plays in maintaining and growing their powerful, engaging, and results-producing culture. I'm looking forward to reading it!

– Courtney Hunt

Please feel free to share your thoughts on the items in this News digest directly via the blog, or join the dialogue on LinkedIn. We especially welcome other examples of the links between social media and organizational culture. We also appreciate your bringing items on other topics to our attention via LI, Twitter, or FB, or by emailing a link to news@sminorgs.net. Thanks!

Click here to learn more about the SMinOrgs News Digest feature and how you can leverage it to meet your goals and objectives.

If you'd like to receive a notice each time a new post is published, you can subscribe to the SMinOrgs S.M.A.R.T. Blog by clicking here or on the link on the right side of the website.

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Introduction

At one time or another in our careers, we have been part of an organization that can’t decide who it is, where it’s going and continually spins its wheels. Yet the company next door seems to excel with every challenge put in front of them.  How do they do it?  What’s their secret?  How can we copy it?

Well it doesn’t “just happen.” That high performance organization next door outperforms because there is an “energy” that permeates each individual. As I’ve asserted in prior posts, we are now in the “Talent Age,” where value is created through people and culture represents the fuel for employees to generate value.

Social media has brought about a dramatic shift in the way organizations communicate, reinforce and align employees with their values, mission and vision, and create an “internal brand” that conveys their culture and work-life expectations.

Corporate culture by definition represents shared values, traditions, philosophy and policies of an organization which project a professional atmosphere that influences behavior and performance. Corporate culture is the organization’s personality, its DNA, and represents the way it does business, how it conducts itself and employees' beliefs and expectations of work. To this end, social media provides the ability to continually communicate, share and reinforce this value system, assure consistency with the vision of the organization in a form that people are accustomed to using, and create a supportive and inclusive environment throughout the organization.

Culture is the most overlooked and misunderstood aspect of an organization and how it influences results.  A supportive, nurturing culture engages and energizes employees, “WOWs” customers and ultimately is reflected in bottom-line results.  Conversely, a negative culture permeates an organization like a cancer, destroying everything in its path. 

Social media has primarily focused externally in communicating an organization’s vision, mission and value system to customers – external branding.  But do employees know, understand and share in this system?  Do they feel included and live it daily? Is it reflected in their work products? 

If corporate culture is so important to an organization’s existence, then why don’t organizations spend more time cultivating and developing a positive environment?  And why aren’t organizations using all the resources available to build it?

This S.M.A.R.T. News Digest focuses on the importance of corporate culture and the role social media plays in creating a nurturing environment.    

• Jennifer Johnston Canfield discusses the influence of culture on employee behavior and productivity.
• Tee Dubbs discusses how social media has changed our business lives.
• Adam Clyde reflects on culture’s impact on the adoption of social media.
• Abby Gruen discusses how organizations such as Johnson and Johnson and Prudential Financial use social media to reach out and reinforce their core values and mission and create a culture of inclusion and transparency.

Categories: applications, best practices, challenges, enterprise 2.0, human resources, internal communication, leadership, opportunities, strategy

For additional articles that address related issues, click on terms of interest in the category cloud on our website.

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Title: Social Media & Corporate Culture: Strategic Tools for Change Management.

Source: Social Media Today

Author: Jennifer Johnston Canfield

Lead Paragraph:  Organizational culture reflects the vision of a company's founders and leaders. Strong cultures help companies operate efficiently and effectively because individual behaviors and interactions are aligned with organizational values. On the other hand, in firms with weak cultures and little alignment between organizational values and behaviors, culture is nothing more than a bureaucratic barrier to effectiveness.

Brief Commentary from Jerry Carducci:  Culture represents the heart and soul of an organization – the DNA that defines how a firm operates, serves internal and external customers and behaves. Communication is the critical component in managing and/or transforming culture. 

Social media provides the vehicle to communicate, listen and create community.  Again, we are in the “Talent Era” where people are the drivers of value. High performance organizations out-perform because the core values, beliefs and mission create an environment and energy that permeates each individual to their core and influences all aspects of their professional and personal lives.

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Title:  Social Media and Corporate Culture

Source: Tee Dubs BI Thoughts

Author: Tee Dubs

Lead Paragraph:  How do you think social media and social networking have changed us, as individuals? How has it changed our business lives? I explored this topic at AIIM last month, and want to reprise it here with a little more depth.

Brief Commentary from Jerry Carducci:  Social media enables an organization to create an environment of transparency, collaboration and rapid information sharing. From the perspective of organizational culture, social media therefore is the perfect tool in creating an open, entrepreneurial environment that encourages innovation and competitive advantage.

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Title:  The Impact of Corporate Culture on Social Media (IBM’s Case Study)

Source: Adam Christensen

Author:  Adam Clyde

Lead Paragraph:  I’ll be brief in this synopsis, since you can peruse through the slides yourself. But here’s the main point: That culture is, in my view, the most overlooked, underestimated factor determining whether social media succeeds or fails in a company. And when corporate culture and social media are pitted against each other, social media will always fail. Always.

Brief Commentary from Jerry Carducci:  Again, the impact of corporate culture on results is the most overlooked and misunderstood component of a firm’s business model. Like individuals, no two organizations are alike. That is why trying to emulate the success model of others generally results in failure.

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Title: Corporate Culture Adds Social Media to the Mix

Source:  The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)

Author: Abby Gruen

Lead Paragraph:  Corporate America’s executive suites have been infiltrated by the blogosphere.  The blogosphere, that chattering world of bloggers and social media networks that has become a generally accepted barometer of public opinion, has become a force that businesses cannot ignore. Now, even public companies, who traditionally limited access to their corporate information to credentialed journalists and research analysts, are realizing they need to embrace this new channel of information to their customers, investors and other stakeholders.

Brief Commentary from Jerry Carducci:  This article illustrates how organizations in different industries have embraced social media to extend the reach of their culture externally to convey and create a sense of community with customers and other stakeholders.

Can We be Friends? In Cyberspace, “No” May be the Right Answer

Beginning with a discussion of a recent Missouri law restricting communications between public school employees and students, this post offers a broader perspective on why both individuals and organizations should support limits on social networking interactions between adults and minors, as well as among other people whose primary connection is professional rather than personal. It also proposes an alternative approach to managing the inherent risks and creating new potential benefits: Private Digital Networks (PDNs).

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Recently there have been a number of news stories and blog posts about a new Missouri law that allegedly prohibits teachers and other public school staff from interacting with students on social networking sites. Here are some of the pieces I read, listed in chronological order:

• Missouri Bans Students and Teachers from being Facebook Friends
• New Law Says NO to Teachers Friending Students on Social Networks
• Missouri Outlaws Student-Teacher Facebook Friendship
• Social Media Between Students and Teachers Restricted in Missouri
• Should Teachers Be Allowed To 'Socialize' With Students After School?
• Why Missouri's Ban on Teacher-Student Facebook Friendships Is Doomed

Like many stories about social media and digital technology – especially those that appear to be connected to individual rights such as free speech and privacy – it seems that there was a selective focus and slant to the coverage that incited strong emotional reactions and passionate comments decrying governmental overreach, civil rights abridgement, and a litany of other “Big Brother” type evils. The titles of the first, second, third and sixth pieces above, for example, are patently false. The law does not “ban” or “outlaw” friendships between students and teachers. In fact, it doesn’t even come close to that. Similarly, some writers have claimed that the law requires communications between teachers and students to be completely transparent or public, which is also not true.

 

Focusing on the Facts

Proper management of cyber interactions between teachers and students – as well as those between other adults and minor children – is an important Digital Era issue that needs to be carefully considered and handled responsibly. But people can't engage in healthy debate of the issues unless they're well informed. I always find it helpful to go to the original sources rather than relying on second-hand information/interpretations. The site below includes a link to the final version of the bill that was signed into law.

Legislative Detail: MO Senate Bill 54 - 2011 Regular Session

Although many reports give the impression that the restrictions on digital communications between teachers and students is the primary crux of the law, it is a relatively small but critical component. The law is generally focused on child sexual abuse, with some emphasis on sexual misconduct by teachers and other public school staff. The section on student communications covers just over a single page of the 35-page bill. Here is the relevant text:

162.069. 1. Every school district shall, by January 1, 2012, promulgate a written policy concerning teacher-student communication and employee-student communication. Such policy shall contain at least the following elements:

(1) Appropriate oral and nonverbal personal communication, which may be combined with or included in any policy on sexual harassment; and

(2) Appropriate use of electronic media such as text messaging and internet sites for both instructional and personal purposes, with an element concerning use of social networking sites no less stringent than the provisions of subsections 2, 3, and 4 of this section.

2. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:

(1) "Exclusive access", the information on the website is available only to the owner (teacher) and user (student) by mutual explicit consent and where third parties have no access to the information on the website absent an explicit consent agreement with the owner (teacher);

(2) "Former student", any person who was at one time a student at the school at which the teacher is employed and who is eighteen years of age or less and who has not graduated;

(3) "Nonwork-related internet site", any internet website or web page used by a teacher primarily for personal purposes and not for educational purposes;

(4) "Work-related internet site", any internet website or web pages used by a teacher for educational purposes.

3. No teacher shall establish, maintain, or use a work-related internet site unless such site is available to school administrators and the child's legal custodian, physical custodian, or legal guardian.

4. No teacher shall establish, maintain, or use a nonwork-related internet site which allows exclusive access with a current or former student. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting a teacher from establishing a nonwork related internet site, provided the site is used in accordance with this section.

5. Every school district shall, by July 1, 2012, include in its teacher and employee training, a component that provides up-to-date and reliable information on identifying signs of sexual abuse in children and danger signals of potentially abusive relationships between children and adults. The training shall emphasize the importance of mandatory reporting of abuse under section 210.11540 including the obligation of mandated reporters to report suspected abuse by other mandated reporters, and how to establish an SCS SB 54 16 atmosphere of trust so that students feel their school has concerned adults with whom they feel comfortable discussing matters related to abuse.

My observations:

• The law requires school systems to create (or update) their communications policies; it does not directly prohibit or restrict interactions between adults and students via digital channels.
• The new/revised policies must address all forms of communication, not just digital communications. I suspect digital communications are highlighted because they're relatively new, and - more importantly - because they can escalate and intensify much more quickly than other means.
• The law defines a minimum standard for the policies, which allows the school systems to create more restrictive rules if they choose.
• The key term in the minimum standard seems to be "exclusive access," which is defined to be only between the student and the teacher (for example). If the communication is accessible by a parent, guardian, and/or administrator, it may be permissible (depending on the policies developed by each school system).

In my view, the policy standard set forth in this law is far less restrictive than the general interpretations that are being bandied about, and generally reasonable. It doesn’t preclude teachers from interacting with students on social networking sites, or even connecting with them directly (e.g., friending them on Facebook), as long as there is a degree of transparency to those interactions/connections. I don’t see why any parent, public school employee or student should have an issue with that.

 

Taking a Broader View

As noted above, the Missouri law is focused on child sexual abuse, with an emphasis on sexual misconduct by public school employees. But there are many other valid reasons for restricting – or even prohibiting – interactions between teachers/staff and students on social networking sites.  These restrictions could also be extended to interactions with parents and between supervisors and subordinates as well.

Furthermore, I would argue that similar restrictions should be considered in any organization that involves relationships and interactions between adults and minor children, including private schools, churches, sports teams, charities and other non-profit organizations, health care providers, and private social clubs. I would even recommend them for higher education institutions, especially those that have large undergraduate populations with traditional-aged students (i.e., under 21).

Related Resource: Social Media Policies: Necessary but not Sufficient

Some people have attempted to compare social networking interactions to phone calls and other digital interactions such as email and texting. But they’re hardly the same. Phone calls, emails, and texting are all forms of direct communication that are specifically focused. Social networking sites, however, are full of “indirect” communications (e.g., status updates, photos, videos), from both people to whom we are directly connected as well as those in related networks (e.g., friends of friends). Given that, the complexities and risks of connecting on social networks are far greater than in other channels.

Since Facebook is the largest social network currently, I’ll focus on that in offering my rationale for restricting relationships and interactions. I’ll further concentrate on teachers and students; however, similar arguments can be applied to other adult/minor relationships outside the context of family and friends, as well as relationships between adults whose relationships are primarily or exclusively professional.

Privacy and personal/professional boundaries. Mark Zuckerberg has famously said that privacy is no longer a ‘social norm,’ and many other social media advocates support the notion of blending our personal and professional lives. I don’t share their enthusiasm. We all assume different roles in our lives, and we act differently in these various roles and in different contexts. Boundaries are important in managing our different roles and maintaining a necessary sense of time and place.

For most people, Facebook is a space to interact personally, sharing details of their private lives as well as private thoughts and feelings with a network of family and friends. It is not a professional network. When teachers and students connect on Facebook, they almost instantly take their interactions outside the professional boundaries of their relationship by giving each other access to their private lives. In addition, they also give each other access to the other people in their private networks through the “friends of friends” connections.

Some people will make the argument that teachers should be able to interact with students on social networks like Facebook because they have to connect with them “where they live,” but I think that’s the wrong approach. Rather than indulging students by doing what’s easiest for them, teachers should help them understand the importance of creating and managing boundaries, as well as their digital identities and activities. Doing so could be considered an important civics lesson.

Risks. Most of the activity in which people engage on Facebook is widely shared with everyone in their networks. Although Facebook allows for selective sharing, the management tools are very cumbersome, and very few people take advantage of them. In addition, many people have not set up proper privacy controls to ensure that people to whom they’re not connected can’t access their information or activity.

The limitations in how people manage their Facebook activity increase the likelihood that a teacher or a student will see something they do not want to see or should not be exposed to. For example, teachers who friend their students may have access to conversations about illegal activity (e.g., underage drinking, drug use) and/or inappropriate behavior (e.g., bullying, harassment, violence), both directly and indirectly. Given their roles, they may have a duty to report that activity. They – and their school systems – could also be accused of negligence for not responding appropriately to information obtained via social networking activity.

Teachers are also vulnerable to negative consequences based on their own activity and that of their friends and family. In addition to the risks associated with displaying poor judgment (e.g., saying negative things about students, parents, and/or coworkers; sharing inappropriate photos), information can be taken out of context, jokes can be misunderstood, and their own past youthful indiscretions can come back to haunt them.

Simply put, the risks of crossing personal/professional boundaries by connecting on social networks far exceed the potential benefits.

Options for managing boundaries. It is possible for teachers and students to interact on Facebook without friending each other*, but the three main options each have their limits.

• Pages: Teachers can set up fan pages in which they share relevant information and interact with students, but the communications are limited in three key ways:
  • Teachers can’t compel students to like their pages.
  • All pages are public by definition, which can have a chilling effect on students. More importantly, they can create unnecessary risk and exposure for minor children.
  • Teachers cannot message students as a group.
• Groups: Teachers can establish groups for specific courses, and communicate with students through them.* Although groups can be set up to be semi-private (i.e., visible only to group members) and allow teachers to message all group members directly, they can still have a chilling effect on students. In addition, because they are unofficial and operate outside a school’s firewall and policies (possibly), they can still create risks for both teachers and students.
• Messaging: It is possible for teachers and students to message each other through Facebook, but both parties must have their profiles set up properly; access is not automatic. Alternatively, teachers may be able to email students via their Facebook email addresses using their own school email accounts, if they know the correct email address to use. As with groups, however, if these communications take place outside the school’s systems, that can create risks.

Some people have advocated setting up separate Facebook accounts for their professional interactions, but doing so is a violation of Facebook’s terms of service. In addition, although doing so may protect a teacher’s privacy, it doesn’t offer similar protections for students with whom those teachers connect.

*Facebook changed the groups feature this year, and it’s unclear whether an individual can add people to a group without being friends with them first. This brings up another important limitation of Facebook: the lack of control over its features, and the general inability to prepare for changes to those features. Being dependent on an unpredictable platform creates a whole new set of problems that can defeat the intent of using it.

 

A Better Alternative

Rather than trying to leverage public social networks, school systems (and other similar organizations, as noted above), should consider creating their own Private Digital Networks (PDNs). In addition to the risks articulated earlier, it is not in an organization’s best interests to permit private (organization-based) interactions to occur in what are effectively public spaces. Leaders need to start thinking about cyberspace and digital interactions in the same way they do physical spaces and traditional interactions (e.g., face-to-face). As I noted in 10 Digital Era Truths, digital technology is an integral part of the world in which we live, and we need to think more seriously about how we operate there. There are many best practice approaches for our non-digital activities that can and should be applied to cyberspace as well.

PDNs don’t have to be super costly or cumbersome, and even financially-strapped organizations can find a way to fund them if they’re a strategic priority. Managing risks is certainly a significant incentive, but there are many benefits as well. PDNs, for example:

• Enable organizations to create a digital community/space to correspond with their physical community/space. Rather than having relevant digital interactions spread out through a variety of channels, they can be contained in a shared space.
• Can be designed to allow all stakeholders to congregate and interact in the shared space. With respect to a school, for example, PDNs can include not just teachers/staff and students, but also parents and volunteers.
• Create and respect proper boundaries between personal and professional interactions, as well as specific interaction contexts.
• Allow organizationally-related interactions to occur in an official, sanctioned, private environment.
• Promotes better communication and collaboration all relevant stakeholders by enabling them to interact in various ways (e.g., wikis, blogs, chats, forums) in addition to direct messaging.
• Maximizes flexibility for both individuals and the organization, in addition to offering more control over the digital platform through which community members interact.

 

Conclusion

Although this post is primarily focused on digital interactions between adults and minors outside the context of family/friend relationships, the ideas can also be applied to interactions among adults whose relationships are primarily or exclusively professional.

I believe PDNs are the wave of the future for organizations of all types. In addition to better enabling organizations to manage the risks associated with cyber interactions, they can produce a host of benefits that increase efficiency and effectiveness. In a future post, I’ll offer a guide to getting started with Private Digital Networks.

In the meantime, as always, I welcome your comments and questions.

- Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

10 Digital Era Truths

This post reminds readers – especially technology hold outs – of Digital Era truths that individuals, organizations, and communities must accept and (eventually) embrace.

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Like many active technology users, I take its integration into my life for granted. But I’m often reminded that most people do not embrace it the same way I do. In particular, many people still love to disparage social media, especially social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. I regularly hear disdainful comments about what vast wastelands they are, full of vapid, narcissitic oversharing about what people had for lunch and other banalities. Like many prejudicial statements, the criticisms contain an element of truth, but that doesn’t mean they accurately reflect reality…

I recently wrote a blog post about the vital role new technologies played in the planning and execution of my summer vacation, a road trip in the American West. This post builds on that one by recasting my reflections in broader terms. The following Digital Era truths extend beyond tourism and are important not just for individuals and organizations, but also the communities in which they’re embedded.

TRUTH 1: Interacting via social media and other digital technologies is not a substitute for “real life” interactions. In the Digital Era, it IS real life.

TRUTH 2: Digital communication should not be viewed as an adjunct to other communication forms; rather, it should be fully integrated into the ways in which we connect with others.  We should rely on ALL forms of media – both traditional and new – to achieve our goals and enhance our experiences.  

TRUTH 3: Time spent in cyberspace is no more a waste than time spent on any other activity that brings people pleasure and enriches their lives. The value of the time spent should be determined based on a person’s own goals and objectives – and not the judgments of others.

TRUTH 4: At a fundamental level, digital technology doesn’t dramatically alter what we do, but it does give us “new tools for doing old things” (the SMinOrgs tagline). The idea isn’t to use the new tools just because they’re shinier and everyone else seems to love them. We should use them because they allow us to accomplish things in better ways by enabling us to access a wider range of (more current) information, minimizing bulk, reducing paper production, etc.

TRUTH 5: Digital technology can increase both efficiency and effectiveness. Most activities can be planned and executed via traditional means, but doing so can often take more time and limit flexibility. Traditional approaches can also inhibit the serendipity, immediacy and intimacy of our experiences.

TRUTH 6: Its benefits notwithstanding, we shouldn’t become overly reliant on digital technology and lose our ability to rely on more traditional media - sometimes you gotta kick it old school. Flexibility and adaptability may be better markers of a Digital Era sophisticate than someone who voraciously consumes new technologies.

TRUTH 7: The more we all engage with digital technologies, the more we all benefit. Technology isn't a cure-all and there are certainly challenges, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. In addition to pursuing opportunities, we must also address challenges. Costs and risks are inevitable, but they shouldn't be used as an excuse to avoid progress.

TRUTH 8: The over-reliance on the distinction between “digital natives” and “digital immigrants” is counter-productive. Fluency is a state of mind, not a factor of chronological age. Anyone can be as digitally sophisticated as they choose to be.

TRUTH 9: The idea that digital technology levels the playing field is not a myth. Individuals and organizations of all sizes and types can benefit from enhancing their digital profiles. The biggest barriers to entry are self imposed.

TRUTH 10: The ability to leverage new technologies both strategically and tactically is important for organizations of all types, not just for-profit or consumer-oriented enterprises. These technologies have powerful implications for economies and communities of all sizes throughout the world. In addition to direct beneficiaries (e.g., commercial enterprises), we have to remember the indirect beneficiaries (e.g., governments, citizens) as well. Leadership is critical, not just from individual organizations, but from Chambers of Commerce and government too. We need to remember the interconnectedness of our communities and look at opportunities from a holistic perspective.

What would you add to this list?

As always, I welcome your comments and questions.

-  Courtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

 

For more on Digital Era leadership, see:

Digital Era Leadership: The Role of Business Schools

Digital Era Leadership: Opportunities for Cities, States, and Regions