How can HR professionals use social media technologies to create a more collaborative culture?

1. Social Networking:
A Human Resources Tool to Foster a More Collaborative Workforce
It is given that employees are a companyʼs most valuable asset. But how do we tap into
our employeesʼ collective intelligence in a way that maximizes productivity and fosters a
sense of shared purpose? How do you ensure that intellectual capital and hard-won
experience doesnʼt walk out the door when someone leaves?
Todayʼs knowledge worker values a collaborative environment that allows him or her to
reach their full potential. How do you keep them engaged and willing to bring to your
organization the full power of their talent, relationships, and creativity?
Todayʼs HR challenges include:
•Capturing and sharing institutional knowledge
•Overcoming barriers to productivity
•Building a culture that celebrates collaboration
In many work places, employees lack a simple and
effective way to find out who in their organization has the
information, skills, contacts that can help them.
These are huge challenges! But todayʼs HR professional is working at a time when
sweeping changes have transformed how people communicate with each other and the
outside world. This has changed the HR landscape at the same time it has provided
new tools to reach and impact employees.
Social Networking offers a relatively inexpensive way to provide tools that are easy to
implement and use.
Most people are familiar with Facebook, LinkedIn and other networking sites. They
each have their own target audience but they share the goal of lowering barriers to
communication and fostering community. How, then, might this technology be used to
do the same at your organization?
Letʼs look at some of the main features and components of a social networking tool and
see what business goals they support.

2. Forum or “Bulletin Board”
As the name suggests, this is a place for employees to post observations, suggestions,
and reviews (for example, of vendors or products.) This is also where key HR
documents can be posted, such as a list of holidays, codes of conduct and open
positions. Of course, this can be used for less formal reasons; for example to wish a
colleague Happy Birthday or congratulations on a sales win.
Participant Profiles
This is one of the core elements of
any network. This is the place for
your employees to detail their
areas of expertise, special skills,
areas of interest, and prior work
history.
If your firm is bidding on some
Some Network Sites and Technologies work with a certain company,
wouldnʼt be great to know if one of
your employees used to work for
that firm? In responding to a RFP or assigning team members to a project, profiles
provide insight into which employee possess a certain skill set or could contribute
insight. As with the Forum section, profiles allow employees to share a little more about
themselves and likewise learn more about their fellow employees. This is especially
helpful in maintaining a cohesive culture across geographically separated offices.
Discussion Groups
Discussion groups are intended to give a subset of your employee population an area to
collaborate, share ideas and provide expertise of interest to a particular job category
(e.g. Sales, Finance) or a specific project (e.g. software migration, acquisition). A group
of engineers may want to start a discussion around current events, such as the Stimulus
Bill or an upcoming sales opportunity. More informally, some employees may want to
start a jogging club, or a book club.
Calendar of Events
This is where upcoming industry events, trade shows, legislation, company gatherings
can be posted. This reduces the need for countless emails and (or missed meetings)
File Sharing
Client and prospect presentations can be posted here as finished documents or as
works in progress, inviting comments or edits. RFPs or vendor submissions are also
good candidates for this area. Documents can be presented for viewing only, online
editing and allow for downloading. The key objectives are to share best practices,
reinforce the company brand and eliminate redundancy.

3. The above is just a partial listing. Other media include web logs (or Blogs) and
messaging services such as Twitter.
Further, the above discussion focused on ways an organization can communicate more
effectively internally. Opportunities also abound in the use of the above tools to let the
outside world know more about your organization, its services and its people. Many
companies are using these new media to foster greater client engagement, enrich
partner relationships, and recruit talent from a broader and techno-savvy audience.
So, how do you get started? Some companies jump in with both feet, others prefer to
wade in, implementing only one or two of the tools mentioned. Fortunately, many of the
new technologies allow you to add functionality as you go and as your employees gain
a level familiarity.
Companies have a range of choices in terms of the technology platform they use and
the level of sophistication and integration (with email, for instance) supported. A
customized collaboration solution can be developed using Microsoft Sharepoint or one
of the many open source alternatives. There are also many online platforms available
that can be deployed very quickly. Some of these are free but feature advertising on the
site (advertising can be removed for a fee.) To make these sites look and feel like your
own site, your companyʼs logo and color scheme can be used.
In summary, since employees are your organizationʼs most important asset, it makes
sense to explore new ways to fully engage your employees skills, ambitions, and
networks. As employees come and go, finding ways to hold onto and benefit from the
richness of their contributions is essential. Social Networking tools are one way to
move your company toward a place that fully capitalizes on the talent and contributions
of all of its employees.
Tim Oshima, CEBS
Managing Principal
Simplera Benefits
tim@simplerabenefits.com
Simplera Benefits is a powerful collaboration of dedicated and experienced professionals from the fields
of insurance, corporate benefits, wellness, compensation, and retirement planning. We come together to
provide integrated and innovative solutions that provide optimal alignment and maximum value to our
clients. If you need help with your employee benefits or in embracing Social Networking or other
emerging communications platforms, you can find us on: www.simplerabenefits.com.