Business leaders are evolving beyond e-mail and phones as primary communication vehicles to using social networks as a new path for direct engagement in order to drive collaboration and innovation.
This is according to a new IBM study of more than 1 700 CEOs from 64 countries and 18 industries worldwide.
While only 16% of CEOs are using social business platforms to connect with customers, according to IBM, this number is poised to spike to 57% within the next three to five years.
The tech giant claims that while social media is the least utilised of all customer interaction methods today, it stands to become the number two organisational engagement method within the next five years, a close second to face-to-face interactions.
Lesley-Anne Wilkinson, head of IBM MEA Global Business Services, IBM Institute for Business Value, explains: “Previously, companies were nervous about breaking into the mould of the connected culture; however, we are seeing this change.
“Seven out of 10 CEOs told us that they are making significant investments in social network technologies that help them connect with their customers, employees and partners.”
According to IBM, companies that outperform their peers are 30% more likely to identify openness via social media as an enabler of collaboration and innovation.
“CEOs need to make sure they are empowering their organisations and that there is transparency and openness,” notes Wilkinson.
“The out-performers who are getting this right are embracing new business models where the organisation still has control of its data, but can also analyse data coming from social media and respond very quickly.”
Wilkinson emphasises that it is crucial for organisations to not only have the right technology, but to also have the right skills.
She points out that the new models of working can leverage the internal and external intelligence of an organisation, and increase innovation as well as company growth.
However, creating an open environment does not come without risks. IBM warns that openness increases vulnerability, and that CEOs should equip employees with a set of guiding principles they can use to empower everyday decision-making.
According to IBM, CEOs regard interpersonal skills of collaboration (75%), communication (67%), creativity (61%) and flexibility (61%) as key drivers of employee success to operate in a more complex, interconnected environment.
The IBM study also found that a majority (71%) of global CEOs regard technology as the number one factor to impact an organisation's future over the next three years - considered to be a bigger change agent than shifting economic and market conditions.
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