Embracing the advantage of social networking technology

“By embracing social networking an organization can improve productivity and profitability”
-Fred Schmitthammer

Twitter, Facebook, and Text Messaging! We hear about these technologies every day in relation to almost every aspect of our lives. News anchors are tweeting, there are Facebook pages for products, and text messaging is not just used by teenagers anymore. Companies that do not embrace these technologies are really missing a big opportunity. Getting employees to communicate in an organization is a big task. If an organization uses what the employees are using to communicate to their friends and family, it will make an organization efficient and more profitable.

Social networking is defined on Wikipedia as "... a social structure made of individuals (or organizations) called "nodes," which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige." No mention here of the nightly news!!! It is amusing when you watch a news anchor give their Twitter id and then they tell viewers to "follow them" on Twitter. Do most "non-techie" people even know what Twitter is?  Do they know that it can be used to update "followers" with any small detail (up to 140 letters) about the "Tweeter"? At this point Twitter has become a phenomenon and nobody will really every know why. The same goes for Facebook with over 350 million users and is growing every day. Facebook now features pages for products, disease cures, and much more. In some cases even criminals on the run will update their Facebook page taunting the authorities!!! On the other hand there is text messaging which is now being used to communicate, gather survey results, get coupons, and select the next American Idol! The application of this "social media" may not really sound like it could be useful in business functions, but you might be surprised.

Businesses have been slow to adopt social networking technologies and many forbid the use of social networking technology while working. Social networking is obviously not an option when doing dangerous work, driving a vehicle, or work that demands one hundred percent of the employee's attention. However, now organizations are taking the time to analyze these technologies and finding how they fit into their organization's communication structure. In reality, embracing technology that employees use in their personal life and manipulating it for your benefit just makes sense. At the same time strict policies must be put into place to make sure that employees do not abuse this technology when working.

It's true, social networking while at work can take away from productive work related tasks. Any organization that uses social networking technologies in the workplace needs to make sure that the rules are clear on how, when, and where social networking can be used at work. There is no organization that wants social networking to take away from the tasks that the employee is being paid to do. Updating their Facebook page or Tweeting that they are bored at work needs to be discouraged. Used properly social networking technology can be a huge benefit to an organization, simply for data tracking, real time updates, and communication.

The early adopters of social networking technologies have been sales and marketing departments. In fact text messaging has been used for years to get non-scientific survey responses for product giveaways, gathering votes on reality television, and much more. Later sales and marketing gurus began using Facebook and Twitter to have one-way communication to people that wanted information from the businesses they frequent. One reason why is that there is no risk of annoying the customer, as they are in control of the relationship and can stop receiving any information at any time they desire. This type of marketing strategy is taking over fast and tends to be more acceptable than email marketing and other uninvited marketing communication. The next question is how to use this influx of information caused by social networking and how do we take advantage and make it work in day to day business activities.

So how are social networking technologies used in an organization to benefit the organization and not just for marketing?  Let's start with medical equipment companies, who have drivers in the field delivering wheelchairs, medical supplies, oxygen, and many other items. The call to deliver these items can come 24 hours a day and need to be delivered quickly and efficiently. The driver takes the fully stocked delivery van home and if a call comes in they can quickly deliver the required product. The only problem is keeping track of their time. The driver needs to have the ability to get paid for this on-call work. The found solution is simply sending a "Tweet" now the employee can instantly let their manager know that they were called out to deliver product. If the organization's time & attendance system had the ability to receive a "Tweet" then the manager would not need to be messaged and the time & attendance system would simply add to the employee's timesheet that they had an on call delivery. Our next example is a nursing agency where the employed nurses are visiting patients. When the nurse arrives at a patient's location the nurse sends a text message to their dispatch office and to tell them which patient they are visiting. When the nurse leaves the patient's location the nurse sends a text message stating that they are travelling again. If the organization's time & attendance system could receive text messages then the message could go directly to the employee's timesheet. But that's just the beginning. There are no limits to the application of social networking technology in the business environment.

Social networking technology should be used for more than marketing. Social networking technology can be a huge asset to an organization and should not be ignored. By embracing social networking an organization can improve productivity and profitability. In the lease the business can benefit by eliminating paper communication, using social networking technology to communicate with other business applications, and creating a workplace where the employee uses the technology that they enjoy in their personal life. In the new economy where resources are few and each employee needs to be more efficient, all technology must be considered to find new and unique ways to benefit business.

Fred Schmitthammer is the President and CEO of Inception Technologies. He is the chief architect of Inception's InfiniTime Labor Management System. Fred has used his extensive background in biometrics, application development, and database design to develop innovative business applications for the business community for 25 years.