5 main benefits of internal social media
According to the current statistics, there are 4.65 billion social media users around the world which equals 58,4% of the global population. It can be assumed that most if not all employees use various social media sites daily. The functionalities these platforms offer became therefore part of their lives, improving communication with friends, keeping them up to date with events, enabling finding any information they need, and developing their knowledge and skills. These habits don’t leave employees during work hours, so organizations need to provide them with an internal substitute for social media offering similar functions to reap the benefits of these new skills.
Why should enterprises use internal social media?
Already ten years ago, McKinsey showed in its report that improved communication and collaboration through social technologies could raise the productivity of knowledge workers by 20 to 25 percent. Research has also shown that 82% of employees think that social media can improve work relationships and 60% believe social media support decision-making processes. Internal social media not only improve communication among employees but can also contribute significantly to community integration.
What benefits can an organization gain by implementing internal social media?
1. Streamlining the flow of information that improves the effectiveness of internal communication
With internal social media, your organization gains whole new channels for sharing information. They contribute to a huge increase in the efficiency of information flow. Not only is the transfer of information via internal social media faster, but it is also easier to verify the recipients’ reactions to the information, collect feedback or simply see who has read it. In the case of regular mailing, this may prove difficult.
What did the communication look like just a few years ago? It consisted mainly of organizing meetings and looking for each other in the office in case of urgent situations. Just booking a room to ensure the intimacy of conversations was a lot of trouble and took a lot of time. Now, thanks to internal social media features, you can replace meetings with group communication or a private message to a selected colleague, who will receive the notification and look at the message faster than it would take you to find him in an open space area.
2. Closer professional relationships
It’s hard to get to know everyone at your morning coffee when your company has more than 1,000 employees, some of whom work remotely or are non-desk. In this case, internal social media will work perfectly to introduce the profiles of all employees. Let them create their profiles, such as on Facebook or LinkedIn. These business cards will make your employees easier to remember.
Public discussions encourage the development of friendships, and by being able to see detailed information about the interlocutors and speak directly to them, you integrate your workforce even closer. The work system or distance is not a problem anymore. Everyone can communicate with each other freely.
3. Better employee engagement
Nothing builds commitment more than a sense of community. Social media are tools for building and developing communities. Interaction, free exchange of opinions, publications, and mutual inspiration – all this is conducive to building employees’ engagement. Employees jointly rejoice in successes and console each other in failures. There is always someone willing to share their experience or advice. Good solutions are found faster together – brainstorming stimulates creativity, and competition motivates to participate in various tasks.
Employee-generated content also plays an important role. Building the authenticity of the community contributes to an increase of interest in the areas of activity of individual employees. Some of them can also become internal influencers, serving as examples, and motivating others by boasting of their current achievements.
4. Better collaboration conditions
Internal social networking is a great tool for fostering collaboration. Until now, to work together effectively, it was necessary to book large rooms and arrange meetings that did not always fit everyone’s schedule. Often, the meetings were accompanied by noise or even chaos when the participants tried to speak up.
Thanks to internal social media features, employees can create private groups around projects to freely communicate and share files. It’s also a place where they can seek knowledge – post questions and ask for hints or share the experiences of others, including experts.
5. Increased productivity of employees
Faster access to current information and updates, instant communication with others, and numerous industry publications – all of these can help improve employee productivity. Their higher engagement also has an impact on its growth. Interactive social media are attractive to employees due to the variety of content. They are willingly used by employees due to their similarity to regular social media.
There are many benefits to internal social media. Not only do they provide a place for momentary relaxation at work to scroll through the news, but they can also be a vital source of information and collaboration. It’s important to try to maintain interaction and encourage the use of the tools to bring visible benefits to the entire organization.