The knowledge economy demands that today's organisations become living systems that evolve, respond and adapt to the needs of an ever-changing environment. The call for a collaborative or inclusive organisational culture has challenged leaders to adopt strategies which make them more accessible, visible and approachable to their followers.
The rise of social media has, to a large extent, contributed to this with numerous leaders adopting social media in an attempt to communicate with their followers.
However, the question begs to be asked whether social media is the answer to building this collaborative and inclusive culture that the new world of work demands.
Consider the following reasons why social media might be right or wrong for the organisation:
Right reason: As a tool that supports communication within the organisation
Social media is a tool, not a strategy, and as such needs to be defined in terms of an overall objective that needs to be achieved. Therefore, the question needs to be asked: “Is social media the best tool to solve this business challenge?” Social media can be utilised effectively to drive internal communication, but cannot be the only manner in which the organisation communicates.
Wrong reason: Leaders are unapproachable and should be “talking” to employees more
Social media is a powerful tool in the leaders' toolbox, but should be utilised with a level of maturity and authenticity which guide “what we say (message), how we say it (medium) and when is the right time to say that” to employees.
Right reason: To obtain input and feedback from stakeholders pertaining to a specific business challenge
IBM, with its innovative JAM sessions, has illustrated that if social media is applied in a focused manner, the impact can be really effective for the organisation. The secret of its success is matching the proposed outcome with the right tool - only using social media for problems that can be solved through a collaborative approach and stipulating a designated time, place and duration within which the organisation can contribute.
Wrong reason: To drive a culture of collaboration within the organisation
Social media can play an enabling role in the strategy of collaboration, but should not be the only vehicle to get there.
To summarise, social media is relevant in the modern organisation if organisations use it as a mechanism within a defined strategy, to achieve a stipulated objective. However, organisations should not expect it to be the silver lining that will take them into the future.
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