This post started as a comment on my friend, Lee Hopkins’ post, The state of comms in corporate Australia. Then I thought I had enough to say that it needed to be here. So here it is.
Corporate and public sector Australia, it’s time to wake up! The benefits of using social media in a business setting are many and well researched, yet you seem not to have realised. You are falling behind your overseas counterparts and you are experiencing a brain drain the likes of which you have never seen before.
As evangelists like me and Lee encounter resistance to these ideas, sometimes it certainly feels like were smacking our foreheads against a brick wall.
With a small effort of investigation, we gather and can see the benefits to communication through the use corporate social media, we can identify and highlight the research, we can talk to what seem to be the decision makers. Yet nothing happens.
Yes there are isolated highlights where corporate social media is proving a success for Australian companies. But that’s the very point, isn’t it? It’s isolated. It’s yet to approach the left-side upswing on the bell curve in terms of penetration. Example after example and study after study highlight the benefits to communication, knowledge sharing, attraction, retention, motivation and engagement. You’d think this ought to be bleeding obvious.
There are so many things that can be done simply and with very low risk, kept inside the wall. Here are a few quick examples:
- allow a couple of projects to try project blogging inside the wall as a way to keep track and publicise how the project is going. Let everyone who might be interested know so they can take part too;
- use a wiki as a knowledge and planning repository for a project (either hosted or installed - hosted is easy and secure if you choose well). Let other projects know so they can watch and see whether this might work for them;
- try some inside the wall corporate blogging. It doesn’t matter who or what it’s about, it just matters that they blog. Marketers, techies, sales, the cafeteria, whoever;
- get brave and use GetSatisfaction for some (or all) or your customer service online. With responsive and timely action, you will build significant social capital by opening up your suport channel to scrutiny.
These are small, low-barrier-to-entry steps that you could try before really getting your feet wet on a major social media strategy for your organisation.
My friend, Matthew Hodgson, who I regard as a serious expert on KM and social media, posted this week discussing the public sector’s failings around communication. His thoughts are worth reading.
Taken from a strategic viewpoint, I can only conclude that management in Australian business and the public sector fails to see communication as a key issue and consequently fails to treat communications issues with the seriousness they deserve. The fact is, communication is everything. Without communication, your staff have no idea what they should be doing. They have no context for their work, and are thus disengaged. Your ability to attract, motivate and retain good people is limited. And, possibly worst of all, your ability to connect with, engage and motivate your community - whether they be clients, customers, stakeholders or the public - is severely limited.
Australia, it’s time to drastically revise your corporate communications strategy and delivery.
Amen to that, brother!
Thanks for the wake-up call Steve. Now what we need to do is get management to read your blog.
I have to admit that I got too frustrated with intrapreneurship. I’ve pretty much decided that if I want to work in a company that values communication and enterprise 2.0 tools then I’ve got to start it myself. Obviously not an option if you work in government. I’ve got http://www.cloudaccounting.com on hold until I’ve got the money/balls to start it.