This week I was on another conference call discussing the pros and cons of social media. This time it wasn’t whether the company agreed in their power or the fact their customer base utilized all the available channels but rather how to increase the interaction inside the enterprise.There are deliverables and emails and meetings and customer interaction and sales and planning. Who has time to develop an internal social network? Well, if you do any one of these activities, you already have one. But you can slowly create something more collaborative and focused.
There is no Time
Running a business is hectic work and a keen eye must remain fixated on revenue. To many, realizing personal potential becomes secondary to making the quarter. We spend more waking hours at work than at home. But we don't seem to spend much time, if any, finding how those relationships can positively affect the experience.
Schedule the Time
Perhaps to start, you find an hour a week where you and your team get together and have an open and honest talk about each other rather than a client emergency or project deadline. Skip one of those agonizing status meetings where you dissect every current project to the point of nausea and spend it on each other's development. Perhaps it’s too touchy feely for some people at work but this is not to suggest tears and hugs are requisite. But it can unearth monumental ideas for growth.
It's a Waste of Time
You and I have interacted with companies that have horrible internal customer service and ones where the people actually like being there. Focusing on the relationships within your company through clearer communication will create a stronger business whether that is through an internal social network or simply better communication among stakeholders.
Digital channels have proven we have the desire to connect and share with people all over the world. Are we doing the same within our organizations?
Kneale Mann
image credit: gettyimages
