What support do your employees and partners need to effectively engage in social to represent your brand?
I’m a passionate believer that sharing knowledge & expertise is a key driver of effective social engagement and it is imperative when establishing personal & brand reputation. Our CEO Ginni Rometty, recently said it like this: “In a social enterprise, your value is established not by how much knowledge you amass, but by how much knowledge you impart on others.”
Over the past few months, I’ve been exploring how IBM’s Expertise Enablement System compares to other leading brands that are vested in supporting a social workforce. This exploration led me to define a set of common components any company will require to drive successful engagement through social. I thought I would share these components here to inspire others who are working on developing such a system for their workforce. If you have additional ideas please share them with me!
Must have common componentry of an effective social business employee enablement program, include:
- Organizational Alignment and Cultural Support from Senior Leadership: Executive commitment and open leadership is key to employee adoption. It is the leadership that sets the cultural tone for the organization. If the leaders embrace social and demonstrate that they practice it, not just talk about it, employees will adopt the company’s social business agenda and follow it’s organizing principles.
- Training: Publicly-facing employees require training to ensure a consistent level of interaction quality.
- Listening & Analytics: Social listening can enable activation, allowing employees to be responsive and even predictive with their actions. Deeper analytics provides employees and the company with an understanding of social engagement as compared to competitors and brand goals.
- Content: Employees who create quality user-generated content stimulate interaction and discussion within their networks. Those who maintain a sustained commitment to such engagements are more likely to be recognized as an authority & become influential around their area of expertise.
- Measurement & Reporting: Employee enablement KPI’s must be tied to business goals. Provided on regular basis, these analytics help employees understand their network engagement effectiveness and allow them to make informed decisions that improve future performance.
- Platform: Curation and selection of appropriate social networks & venues ensures employees are engaged where their constituencies are likely to be participating & seeking expertise.
- Governance: Ensures that each component of the Enablement system is on-point and in compliance with company standards & security requirements
What are the common components of social empowerment systems at your company? Please share them with me, so I can learn from you!
