Talent Management - January 2009 - (Page 21)

How HR Can Own Social Networking Michael Wilson Social networking presents signiﬁcant opportunities for forward-thinking talent leaders. It can augment talent initiatives and position the HR executives who implement them as progressive business leaders driving greater success in recruiting, mentoring, learning and cross-ofﬁce collaboration. Talent managers champion all manner of workforce communications, from town-hall meetings to employee newsletters and company webcasts. Social networking is a powerful tool to connect key constituencies, including employees, providing them a forum to exchange opinions, insight and information. Social networking also can enable global knowledge sharing, exposing the professional habits of an organization’s best and brightest to the entire network, thus allowing all employees to learn from the highest performers. Learning and collaboration can take place at all levels, across multiple departments and geographically dispersed ofﬁces. When a social network is available, interaction between executives and employees becomes more frequent and less formal. Rather than executives talking at employees during recurring company meetings or through scripted webcasts, for example, executives can talk with employees, facilitating a greater understanding of different points of view. Social networking also can create a greater sense of community and a stronger bond with the company, two factors that build employee satisfaction and job performance. The ﬁrst and perhaps most important step to implement a successful social network is the selection of an experienced, proven provider of social media software and community-building expertise. Successful online communities often are the result of a real partnership between social media provider and client. However, vibrant, growing communities are less about the bells and whistles of social media software and more about community management. Skilled community managers should work with talent managers to plan, launch and grow a social network. Some of the most important considerations a community manager should help work through to ensure success include: Community planning: Identify the key value social networking will provide employees. Design the network around the key beneﬁts to better enable selection of the most appropriate social media applications. Then determine the user behaviors critical to accomplishing company goals. Community building: Design the features and functionality needed to generate results without overwhelming users. Choose modular, scalable social media software. Talent managers can implement only the community features that will provide an immediate business beneﬁt and easily add functionality as needed. Then identify initiatives to grow internal adoption and participation. For example, in the early stages of its community implementation, one organization sent staffers biweekly “Did you know?” e-mails, highlighting the growing number of community participants and compelling conversations, and identifying executives who had become active in the community. Community management: Effectively monitor the network to ensure vibrancy. Highlight particularly relevant or compelling user contributions to encourage others to participate and return often. Quickly develop and deploy new features to match functionality demand. An active community will become comfortable with the initial tools offered and be ready to incorporate new capabilities that facilitate greater levels of collaboration and communication. Relevancy: Understand content is king. Employees won’t use a solution just because it’s there; the content must be meaningful. For example, a corporate social network with a purpose of connecting subject matter experts scattered around the world might include proﬁles that allow people to easily view all community members that share a job title. Demographics: Ensure all employees have an opportunity to participate. Staffers in their 20s likely are already sophisticated users of social media. Make sure to allocate time and budget to make the case for adoption and training for other groups to use the solution. Prepare the C-suite: Set expectations and prepare for contingencies. Work proactively with executives to establish policies for openness and how inappropriate content will be handled. Communicate those policies up-front, but let them evolve with member input. Increasingly, HR departments in the private and nonproﬁt sectors are realizing the beneﬁts of social networking, helping employees easily connect with peers, subject matter experts and management. Consider the advantages social networking makes possible. Perform due diligence. Then, carefully select an established provider of social media software and community-building expertise, one with the skill to collaborate on planning, launching and growing a vibrant online community. Michael Wilson is founder and CEO of Small World Labs, an enterprise social networking service provider. He can be reached at editor@talentmgt.com. talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com 21 http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - January 2009

Talent Management - January 2009 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Integrate Web 2.0 Into the On-Boarding Experience Show ’Em the Money: Compensation Trends 2009 Transition at the Top How Hollywood Manages Talent and What You Can Learn Get the Most Bang With Limited Training Bucks Life After Layoffs Attract Specific Talent Groups Performance Management: Its Time Is Now Helping the Helpers Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - January 2009

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