SharePoint 2013: Enabling a Social Enterprise

Whether we like it or not, social platforms have become the hub of our communication. From small beginnings to massive giants that are Facebook and Twitter, it seems that this way of communicating is here to stay. The only way I envisage it changing is just by evolving or morphing into another platform with the same ideas. 

If your company sells a product or service which the major amount of us do, you should live for social media. It's a direct channel to your customers. However, many communication managers will state that there is a constant fear of what should be let loose in the public domain. Previously, you were in a safety net when it came to your business. News travelled by word of mouth or simply by the local papers. Now if you put something in the public domain, it could have a significant impact on the reputation of the very company you are trying to promote.

Fair enough, being in the public domain is dodgy territory, but what about internally? Have you ever thought about selling your company to your own colleagues and peers? Or have you ever thought about selling your department, your ideas and your visions? 

With many companies being so geographically dispersed, many of us may not know the people that we speak to or deal with every day. Physical communication has completely broken down in modern times. Email is still a heavy use tool but is it correct? When you have a thread of emails with several different colleagues over several weeks, would it have made more sense to have a phone conference and be done with the issue in an hour? Email is not an effective communication tool in today's society. But many rely on it and believe in it. Productivity is greatly impacted through use of email because once we send a mail, the general consensus is that you are finished with that now until they come back to you. 

SharePoint 2013 has finally nailed social. Not only is the interface pretty slick, it's also intuitive and extremely easy to use. With today's graduates expecting more advanced modern companies to work for, SharePoint MySites is bound to have their fingers tapping. 

Instead of sending an email around to all employees about your upcoming quarterly meeting and asking for feedback, imagine this:

Brian Lowe, CEO, Market Technologies #quarterreview need your feedback and suggestions for it please. Reply below 

Linda Brogan @Brian Lowe I'd like to speak at this one if there is a slot #quarterreview

So we have a simple but effective way of communicating. The buzz is out there instantly and one line replies come back. Or you could put a link to a SharePoint list. What this form of communication does is keep all of the threads about that particular hashtag together. Everyone also sees what's going on with it. This will not only increase communication and productivity but also drive motivation in your workforce. They will feel part of the company instead of being another number.

Everyone would have their own profile, much like Facebook. But never mention that word to the company. Facebook is not corporate, if you try to sell it internally that way, you could be fighting a losing battle. What you need here are champions to help you get others on board with this way of thinking. Google it and I'm sure you will see the stats and case studies on what social enterprise is doing for companies. You can't get left in the dark with this. If you haven't already planned, it's probably too late.   

Bring back effective communication to your workforce