1. Forget Technology:
The Real Business Value of Enterprise
Social Networks
Lexie Mendelson
Strategic Development Director
www.webjam.com
@webjamdotcom
@lexielexie2
bizdev@webjam.com

2. Webjam: Working Together to Achieve
More

3. What Is An Enterprise
Social Network?

4. Enterprise Social Networks
Defined
A set of technologies that create business value by
connecting the members of an organisation through
profiles, updates, and notifications. Source: Altimeter Group
• But ESN’s are not simply Facebook behind a firewall
• Every enterprise has distinct needs and nuances that
require a reframing of a social network
Altimeter found that there are six elements of a social
network that are similar — and yet different — between
public and enterprise social networks

5. Public Social Network
Enterprise Social Network
similar to public networks but also
who you are, where you went to
People Profiles
lists work-related associations &
school, interests
expertise (teams, projects, skills).
business objects (client accounts,
places and brands also have
Object Profiles
documents, expense reports) also have
identities and activity streams
associated activity streams
created by the person; can also similar, created by people interacting
Updates &
include chats, video, group with each other, as well as business
Activity Streams
messaging and event planning
objects and enterprise systems
some updates may be required
people can completely control
Notifications
because of work associations, updates
from whom they get updates
from the CEO
similar, but relationships may be
two-way relationships as well as
predetermined because of work
Relationships
one-way follow/subscribe, always
associations (departments, team,
controlled by the person
project, location)
employees understand that all updates
the nature of relationships dictate
can be seen by their employer, hence
permissions; greater care must be
Permissions & privacy becomes less of an issue;
taken to ensure private
Privacy
permissions become a greater concern
information stays within the right
in terms of who has permission to see
circles
what information

6. What Is The True Value of
Enterprise Social Networks?
Four Ways ESN’s Drive Business Value:
• Encourage Sharing
• Capture Knowledge
• Enable Action
• Empower people
“It’s about relationships, not technology.”

7. Encourage Sharing
• Creates two-way dialogue
• Makes business personal
• Reduces power distance to leaders
• Connects globally, person by person
• Forms private groups

8. Capture Knowledge
• Identify expertise
• Avoid duplication
and have better co-ordination
• Transfer/Retain knowledge
• Improve best practices

9. Enable Action
• Solve problems faster and better
• Bring outsiders in
• Streamline processes
• Shorten customer feedback

10. Empower People
• Give employees a voice
• Make meaningful contributions and
innovations
• Increase engagement, satisfaction and
retention

11. Top Three Implementation
Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Pain Point #1:
Lack of Metrics Means Business Impact Goes Unmeasured
Pain Point #2:
Rapidly Developing Technology Platforms Create a Myriad of
Confusing Options
Pain Point #3:
Integration Into Existing Platforms, Workflow, and Access
Remain a Barrier

12. Pain Point #1: Lack of Metrics Means
Business Impact Goes Unmeasured
• Organisations admitted they generally do NOT measure ESN’s well
and would like to see a great deal of improvements
• Only a third believe they measure ESN’s “somewhat well” while
none felt they measured it “very well”.
• In fact, a quarter admitted that they did not use any metrics at all to
gauge success of their ESN’s.
• With no concrete metrics in place with which to benchmark the
ESN, companies found they had few ways to connect ESN
behavior to business impact and value.
• With no concrete metrics in place with which to benchmark the
ESN, companies found they had few ways to connect ESN
behavior to business impact and value.

13. Top Metrics Measure Engagement
Not Progress against Business
Goals

14. Most Organisations Admit
They Measure ESN’s Poorly

15. Pain Point #2: Rapidly Developing
Technology Platforms Create a
Myriad of Confusing Options
• From a technology viewpoint, the ESN
space is still in its nascent stages
• Technology offerings tend to fall into three
scenarios
• Technology is rapidly evolving

16. Pain Point #3: Integration Into Existing
Platforms, Workflow, and Access
Remain a Barrier
• Managing platform proliferation: “Oh no,
not another one!”
• Integrating into existing workflows
• Providing access to all employees

17. Creating an Enterprise Social
Network Action Plan For Your
Business
1. Objectives
• Identify and prioritise the gaps that relationships
can fill.
• Design your long-term goals for the ESN with
purpose.
• Paint the path in gold.

18. Creating an Enterprise Social
Network Action Plan For Your
Business
2. Metrics
• Measure gap-closing, not engagement.
• Track relationships, not conversations.

19. Creating an Enterprise Social
Network Action Plan For Your
Business
3. Relationship Management
• Budget, staff, and resource appropriately.
• Get executives involved.
• Foster transparency to create an open culture.
• Create incentives and rewards for participation.
Especially powerful when the recognition comes from
someone unexpected - like an executive - and is
widespread throughout the organisation.

20. Creating an Enterprise Social
Network Action Plan For Your
Business
4. Technology
• Choose your technology based on the relationships you
want to build - not features.
• Prioritise technology options based on your objectives.
• Have simple guidelines in place.
• Deploy in partnership and in one department first.

21. How To Calculate Your Own
Social Return On Investment
 Web (Retention, users, PVs,
conversions)
 Social (Engagement,
segmentation, activity index)
 Brand (Keyword analysis,
reputation, sentiment, ranking)

22. ROI of Employee Collaboration
Employees start new initiatives
• Assume that with improved collaboration you get new R&D teams
• 10% of the R&D projects generate a value of £500,000
• Thanks to the collaboration solution 10% of the new teams will generate new
value
• Assume 20 new projects are created that wouldn’t exist otherwise
• 2 of them will create added value
• £1,000,000 added value is being created
Employees can find information easier
• Average employee spends 20 minutes a day looking for info
• Average salary is £55,000
• Cost to company of 2,000 employees * £55,000 / 221 working days / (480/20)
per day = £20,739 per day
• Thanks to the collaboration solution employees need 8 minutes less to find
information.
• This would lead to a total cost reduction of £8,296 per day or £1,8 million per
year

23. ROI of Employee Collaboration
Managers will send less emails
• Average manager spends 30 minutes a day answering
emails to his team members
• Average salary is £70,000 per year
• Total cost to company with 300 managers: 300*£70,000 /
221 working days / (480/30) = £5,939 per day
• Thanks to the collaboration solution managers need 10
minutes less to answer emails
• This would lead to a total cost reduction of £1,980 per
day or £437,500 per year

24. Enterprise Social Networks
Help Companies To Be
…More Efficient
Create new communication channels through
self-managed groups to optimise information flows for
knowledge sharing and talent finding
…More Innovative
Surface employee ideas and innovation:
transform your employees into your own market
research team identifying talent, new projects and
ideas, develop a collaborative environment
…More Open
Give employees a voice and let them speak, listen
and engage as a community by creating a more
open and transparent environment. Successful
engagement often results in external brand
advocacy

25. For
your
free
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subscrip2on,
visit:
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26. Website:
www.webjam.com
Email:
bizdev@webjam.com
Phone:
0208
390
8899
TwiIer:
@webjamdotcom

27. Appendix

28. Public Social Network
Enterprise Social Network
similar to public networks but also
who you are, where you went to
People Profiles
lists work-related associations &
school, interests
expertise (teams, projects, skills).
business objects (client accounts,
places and brands also have
Object Profiles
documents, expense reports) also have
identities and activity streams
associated activity streams
created by the person; can also similar, created by people interacting
Updates &
include chats, video, group with each other, as well as business
Activity Streams
messaging and event planning
objects and enterprise systems
some updates may be required
people can completely control
Notifications
because of work associations, updates
from whom they get updates
from the CEO
similar, but relationships may be
two-way relationships as well as
predetermined because of work
Relationships
one-way follow/subscribe, always
associations (departments, team,
controlled by the person
project, location)
employees understand that all updates
the nature of relationships dictate
can be seen by their employer, hence
permissions; greater care must be
Permissions & privacy becomes less of an issue;
taken to ensure private
Privacy
permissions become a greater concern
information stays within the right
in terms of who has permission to see
circles
what information

29. Scenario
Why Pursue This Path
Standalone Solution
-can exist independently
-can also be integrated into It’s fast, easy and cheap
enterprise apps
Most are developing integration APIs
Collaboration
Collaboration platforms are already
-tends to be one major
social and in-house. ESN is a feature
platform in each
that is easily ‘turned on.’
organisation
Enterprise Application
Add-On While not inherently a collaboration
-integration into critical platform, it can turn on or layer on
enterprise apps social technology to make them an ESN