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ZYNCRO 2013. All right reserved

BEST PRACTICE IN ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKING - 2013

BEST PRACTICES IN ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKING - 2013

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Table of contents - 1/ GUIDELINES FOR USING ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKS - P.02

2/ HOW AND WHEN TO USE ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKS - P .06

3/ WHO TO FOLLOW AND HOW TO CREATE WORK GROUPS - P.09

4/ HOW AND WHEN TO INTERVENE IN WORK GROUPS - P.12

5/ MANAGING EXCHANGES WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS

AND POSITIONS IN THE ORGANIZATION - P.14

6/ WHAT INTERNAL INFORMATION SHOULD BE SHARED - P.18

7/ OPTIMIZING CORPORATE PROFILES - P.21

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1/ - GUIDELINES FOR USING ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKS

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1/ GUIDELINES FOR USING ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKS

Using Web 2.0 or social software technologies in organizations to improve productivity, manage knowledge, share information and cooperate makes them internal social networks.

Like all social networks, there are key rules or guidelines that should be followed when using them:

» TRANSPARENCY. All organization employees need to have access to all the infor-mation required in order to participate in the decision-making that affects their area and to be able to fully understand and accept any decisions made. This is why transparency in the information shared with all members is essential.

» COMMUNICATION. Developing a non-hierarchical communication and exchange model is essential in any internal social network. The idea is that any employee can put for-ward ideas, suggestions   or   comments.   A   ‘bottom-up’   collaboration   and   communication  model should be sought as the general internal behavior, where information flows from bottom levels upwards and there is instant communication in real time.

» GLOBAL SCOPE. The golden rule for an internal platform is that are no limits in time or space. Members can provide their knowledge in a timeless fashion, so that any member of the organization, whether present or future, can benefit from that knowledge.

» OPEN TO THE OUTSIDE. Though we refer  to  ‘internal’  platforms,  you  shouldn’t  lose  sight of the external side. All organizations are focused on opening up, collaborating and communicating. You need to take advantage of potential wherever it is found, be it within or  beyond  the  company’s  limits.

Transparency

Collaboration

A culture of participation centered on employees

Innovation

Open to the outside

Global scope

Communication 2.0

Immediacy

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» INNOVATION. The Enterprise 2.0 is an enterprise focused on innovation, so it follows that its internal platform must be open to new challenges and must explore new ways of doing things. It should encourage a critical, pro-active spirit in employees, leading them to constantly suggest changes and improvements.

» IMMEDIACY. This is an essential rule in any internal platform in the Enterprise 2.0. If the purpose of these tools are to optimize time and resources, it goes without saying that an internal social network must provide immediate access to shared knowledge for all its members: innovation gives value, something that it can be used by all its members instantly.

» A CULTURE OF PARTICIPATION CENTERED ON EMPLOYEES The opera-tion of the Enterprise 2.0 largely depends on the types of processes and technology in-volved,  but  above  all,  on  the  employees’  approach.  Using  an  internal  social  network  should  empower members to develop to their full potential and enable this potential to be shared with others. As a general rule, its operation should give priority to developing human skills and qualities for knowledge exchange between employees, sharing authorship in the crea-tion of ideas, and commenting and discussing different points of view.

» COLLABORATION. As a key rule, the Enterprise 2.0 should make work teams become more collaborative and encourage external collaboration with surrounding companies and above all, with customers and providers.

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2/ - HOW AND WHEN TO USE ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKS

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2/ HOW AND WHEN TO USE ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKS

» Both concepts are closely linked with the guidelines mentioned previously about using Enterprise Social Networks.

» Since these networks are used for performing tasks on a daily basis, their use must become in-dispensable for the job, i.e. it must form part of the work being done in the organization at all times. This way, when an employee arrives at their workplace, they will automatically connect to their  Enterprise  Social  Network  and  stay  ‘connected’  throughout  the  day,  without  this  affecting  their productivity, rather it encourages them and guides them in their daily tasks.

» One of the purposes of these tools is to keep members of the organization informed of the latest events.  A  social  network  isn’t  much  use  for  instantly  sharing  information  if  users  only  connect  to  the network now and again. So, if asking when to use it, the answer is constantly.

» Although work profiles within the organization may take on different functions, the rules regard-ing sharing information and valuable common contents take precedence in all positions, as members of the Enterprise Social Network must be constantly connected in order to stay up-to-date on the latest events and at the same time, for the network to serve as a valuable, common medium for sharing information that can benefit the whole organization. Apart from being con-stantly connected as if it were an integral part of their work duties, members should participate in the instant that something happens which could be useful for the organization or one of the network’s  other  members.

» As already mentioned, one of the main rules that governs any social network is immediacy, speed. Often the success of the information lies in the speed with which it is transmitted.

» There may be profiles in the organization that are not as active in providing contents, however everyone, absolutely everyone in the company are passive subjects, as there is determined in-formation concerning the company that must be read by everyone. For this reason, all members must  connect  regularly  to  the  corporate  information  ‘feed’  to  stay  informed  of  the  latest  news  in  the organization.

» Regarding  the   ‘how’,   it   is   important  to  note  that, although  it’s  a  social  network,  the  enterprise  ‘description’  indicates  that  its  use  should  be  purely  professional, i.e. not personal.

» It  can’t  be  seen  as  a  personal  chat  room where every member tells their own personal experi-ences. Such details should only be included if they provide a benefit for the organization as a whole or for some of its members.

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ANYTHING PERSONAL IS OUT OF PLACE IN ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKING IF IT  DOESN’T  RELATE  TO THE ORGANIZATION’S  OPERATION OR CONTRIBUTE TO THE ORGANIZATION AS WHOLE.

HOW AND WHEN TO USE ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORKS?

» As a channel for constantly receiving information; » As a channel for giving information, provided that it brings value to the network or some of its members. » Be sensible and think before posting; comments may have repercussions and the opinions posted there

should always treat other points of view with respect and be constructive. » Be coherent with the company, its style and with yourself. » Provide relevant, interesting content and value for everyone and anyone in the organization. » Read  others’  contributions  to  keep  up  to  date  with  the  latest  events. » Be respectful. » Participate. » All the above should be done with immediacy and a spirit to share and enrich the organization.

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2/ - COMMENT ET QUAND UTILISER LES RESEAUX SOCIAUX INTERNES

3/ - WHO TO FOLLOW AND HOW TO CREATE WORK GROUPS

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3/ HOW TO FOLLOW AND HOW TO CREATE WORK GROUPS

» Just like any other social network, you need to use coherent criteria in managing contacts. Since the network takes place within the business environment, you need to create a net-work of followers associated with your professional development.

» The most important aspect when choosing which people to follow and creating work groups is to analyze what you really want to share with others.

» You may need to follow certain people in the organization because they are the sources of the corporate news, like for example, the CEO, chairman or the head of the organization or specific departments,  to  stay   informed,  but  that  doesn’t  mean  you  need  to   include  them  in  your work groups. It just means that they are people whose activity and personal newsfeed you need to follow.

» First, analyze the concept of interaction as a key factor in following someone.

IF YOU START TO FOLLOW SOMEONE YOU  DON’T  PLAN  ON  INTERACTING WITH, YOU’RE  DOING  AN  INEFFICIENT TASK IN MANAGING YOUR FOLLOWERS.

» Always have clear, objective reasons for following someone: to receive corporate information, share experiences on a specific area of the organization, share direct working activity with that person... Any professional reasons are valid motives for following someone.

» Once  you’ve  determined  the  reason  for  following  a  person,  you  need  to  analyze  whether  the mo-tives for following someone are the same for other people. This is the principle for creating work groups: groups for communicating and exchanging information with members of the organization with whom you share common interests. In a work group, information shared reaches all members of the group any time anyone shares anything with the rest.

» It is a wise principle in managing time and resources efficiently, as well as in avoiding saturating your followers with information or messages that do not affect them, as you can send an exclusive message to a determined group of people, rather than to all your followers.

» What you achieve is that the information flows to those who are really interested in receiving it and you strengthen your professional relationship with members of the group.

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» What you achieve is that the information flows to those who are really interested in receiving it and you strengthen your professional relationship with members of the group.

» What’s  more,   if   you   decide   to   share   certain   information in document format, the sensible thing would be to share it with the network users that are really involved in it and ensure that this infor-mation is not published to all followers, only to those that need to know it.

» Immediacy, collaboration, knowledge sharing.... all are key criteria that should be applied when cre-ating specific work groups.

» Hence, communication becomes the fundamental connection binding group members, as the dif-ferent contributions from the members will enable important synergies to be generated within that group, which in turn will enable better efficiency and professional growth, qualities that will also enable members to acquire skills that can be transmitted to other work groups or to all followers.

» In short, there are two fundamental factors when following someone and creating work groups:

» Reasons for interacting with a follower (even it is just to read). » Common, relevant interests among group members, creating

and strengthening the working relationship.

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4/ - HOW AND WHEN TO GROUP INTERVENE IN WORK GROUPS

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4/ HOW AND WHEN TO INTERVENE IN WORK GROUPS

» Once you have decided on which people to include in your work groups in the Enterprise Social Network, you need to respond to the question of how and when to interact with them.

» Remember that the reasoning behind creating a group lies with one or more objective motives for belonging  to  such  a  group,  meaning  that  when  there’s  some  news  or  something  happens  related  to  your group or topic, it needs to be shared, resulting in a reason for interacting with the group.

A WORK GROUP IS DESIGNED FOR SHARING KNOWLEDGE AMONG ITS MEMBERS, MEANING THAT ANYTHING THAT AFFECTS A SPECIFIC GROUP SHOULD BE MADE COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO ALL.

» What’s  more,  you  need  to  remember  that groups are made up of people; in other words, its internal operation needs social and human behavior.

» Regarding how to interact in work groups, priority should be given to work groups:

» As a channel for informing others and passing on information; » As a channel for sharing the documents needed for the tasks assigned to the group; » As a channel for brainstorming and forming opinions, encouraging critical thinking and looking for differ-

ent points of view to achieve better results and decisions.

» Teamwork, generating talent and continuous improvement are the main goals in group interaction.

» The social element must be present through:

» Politeness in dealing with people, greetings (where appropriate); » Creating the right working environment; » Respecting  others’  opinions…

» Regarding when to  interact  in  work  groups,  you  need  to  associate  this  concept  with  the  ‘how’.

» Interaction  is  required  when  some  information,  news  or  new  contribution  on  the  group’s  topic  aris-es. Groups are created so that the speed in transmitting the information is such that, when some-thing happens, the right thing is to share it with the group as quickly as possible.

» There are three circumstances that give rise to both how and when to interact:

» Any information or contribution that could affect the organization in general, but that should only be transmitted to the members of the group;

» Any  concrete  or  direct  information  or  contribution  on/to  the  group’s  topic; » Any personal information on group members or other people that could af-

fect the operation of the organization and/or group.

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5/ - MANAGING EXCHANGES WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND POSITIONS IN THE ORGANIZATION

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5/ MANAGING EXCHANGES WITH OTHER

DEPARTMENTS AND POSITIONS IN THE ORGANIZATION

» The best way to learn how to use Enterprise Social Networks and create dynamic exchanges is by watching the behavior of the most pro-active employees and imitate their best practices.

BOTH MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES SHOULD INTERVENE WITHOUT FEAR OR EMBARRASSMENT; ALL MEMBERS OF THE NETWORK CAN LEARN FROM OTHERS AND PROVIDE USEFUL CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE REST.

» Otherwise, their inability or lack of knowledge could leave them exposed at any time.

» It is important for senior management at   the   top  of   the  organization’s  hierarchy   to  communicate  the goals sought in implementing the network first and to regularly share the steps made and mile-stones achieved. These individuals need to set the example. They need to change their paradigms and learn that Enterprise Social Networking encourages a more open and enriching style of com-munication and simplifies information exchange.

» An Enterprise Social Network promotes and helps to improve relations and communication ex-change between colleagues, even between people from different areas or departments.

» With relations between colleagues from different areas or departments, closer relationships are encouraged, enabling some personal topics to be touched on and shared with less formality (mar-riages, births, etc.), welcoming new colleagues that have just joined the organization or presenting new employees to other department members, etc.

» Before  trying  to  create  a  ‘relationship’  with  colleagues  from  other  departments,  it  may  help  to  read  their corporate profile to discover a little more about them.

» Within the network, you need to detect who are the opinion leaders, those individuals that can in-fluence and create movement regardless of their position, and to interact with as many as them as possible by making contributions and even, participating in brainstorming.

» If two or more departments share projects or customers, it might be a good idea to create work groups for common positions that do not involve the rest of the department, so that they can work as a single team.

» If you need to comment or provide confidential information on customers, suppliers or partners, you first need to analyze who will read that information (not all the network members need to have access to confidential information) and assess whether that information should be made public, whether it should be shared in work groups only, or even, whether it should only be sent to a few people in a private message.

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» When posting contents that are directed towards department managers or senior positions, you should make sure that you are not wasting anybody’s   time,  publishing  only   the  contents   that  are  relevant and helping reading by writing direct, concise messages, indicating whether they are facts or opinions and providing the appropriate sources. In Enterprise Social Networking, senior manage-ment and positions  of  responsibility  need  to  forget  the  usual  ‘lack  of  time’  excuse  and  spend  a  little  time each day following everything posted.

» For Enterprise Social Networks, those positions that have a secretary or that have delegated com-munication aspects to third parties need to manage their participation, responses, comments and messages themselves; everyone must be themselves on the network, regardless of the position they hold.

» According to the position...

» As leader of the department or organization: promote new initiatives that help and train the rest of the team.

» As a member of the team: put forward your initiatives to others » As a member of the organization: ask for, provide and receive feedback

on any relevant aspects, be they inter- or intra-departmental.

» Sharing information with other departments helps to correct faults, reduce errors and enables us to learn from our mistakes.

» Regarding  organizations’  technology departments, they have much that they can contribute to all members and can provide valuable assistance. Effort should be made to involve them as much as possible and make them another member in the network, not just a department for technical trou-bleshooting.

AN ENTERPRISE SOCIAL NETWORK IS A VIRTUAL SPACE THAT ENABLES ALL MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION, REGARDLESS OF THEIR HIERARCHICAL POSITION, SPECIALTY AND EXPERIENCE, TO PROVIDE THEIR OPINIONS, IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS, FEEDBACK, ETC. ENCOURAGING PRO-ACTIVENESS AND WHERE EVERYONE LISTENS TO EVERYONE ELSE, OPERATING AS A SINGLE TEAM.

» Summarizing this point, in an Enterprise Social Network, you should:

» Communicate the goals sought in implementing the network; » Act without fear or embarrassment; » Identify members of any department that are experts in their field; » Identify yourself as an expert in the area where you can contribute; » Encourage members to get to know each other and provide information on their

corporate profile; » Detect opinion leaders; » Create inter-departmental work groups; » Analyze and assess with whom you want to share confidential information; » Post relevant contents; » Spend a little time each day in keeping up-to-date with everything happening; » Manage your own communication and participation in the network;

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» Promote and put forward initiatives; » Ask, provide and receive feedback; » Use the network to detect and correct faults and learn from the mistakes made; » Involve technology departments.

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6/ - WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE SHARED

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6/ WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE SHARED

» In Enterprise Social Networking, one of the main goals is to slow down the loss of expertise in the organization and speed up access to that know-how.

» Inter-company social tools enable fluid communication of corporate knowledge, sharing, keeping and making it easier to recover and access this knowledge for the whole organization.

» The information processed and shared in an internal social network is:

» Ideas. All members of the organization with access to the social network can share new ideas, opinions, and suggestions regarding the organization, its products and services etc. with all members.

» Projects. A common place for sharing both new and on-going projects and any results of those projects completed.

» Achievements and successes. Any successful experience deserves to be shared with the rest of the company. Those achievements shared by the person responsible help others to achieve their own goals, as they act as a reference.

» External information. Links to articles and news items, studies, blog posts, speeches and any other public information associated with the organi-zation, its products and services, the competition, references from other are-as...

» Internal documentation. All  the  organization’s  documentation.  Both  documents used to resolve situations and those that help in decision-making or that provide other members with more in-depth knowledge.

» Useful information. Both internal technical information and any other information that can be used to help a customer or a supplier through one of the  network’s  members.

» Difficulties. If you share the difficulties you come across, you will not only find others in the same situation, but you will find those individuals who have the knowledge and skills to help you with your problem and will create a val-uable reference for similar situations in the future.

» Corporate newsfeed and changes in the organization. Organ-izational changes can be communicated to all members through the network, and even feedback be obtained, as well as news on the company.

» Internal meetings. You can organize and invite participants to these events as well as provide information on what is happening and what was discussed after they are over.

» Critical moments or situations. These  show  the  organization’s  willing-ness for transparency towards all members of the network and the company.

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» Additions. In  Enterprise  Social  Networking,  when  you  read  someone  else’s  contributions and you have information that could enrich their contribution, you should add it.

» Training. Information that we have to hand or find and training material or documents can help everyone or some of the members in the network.

» Recognitions. Recognize or congratulate someone in the organization for having achieved their goal or doing a job well done.

» What’s  more,  as  far  as  possible,  you  should  use  Web  2.0  syntax  and  protocols  when  sharing infor-mation. These protocols involve correct writing, avoid using uppercase or SMS spelling, abstain from using offensive language, transmit the message directly, simply and efficiently, accompanying each message with relevant links to the associated information and topics or keywords that charac-terize the content and serve to identify it or recover it later, if desired, using the # symbol (hash tag model or prototype tag in the Twitter social network.)

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7/ - OPTIMIZING CORPORATE PROFILES

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7/ OPTIMIZING CORPORATE PROFILES

» Your professional profile is the first thing your colleagues, superiors, senior management in your company (whether they know you or not), recruitment managers (internal or external), partners, customers, etc. will read about you, so you need to have a good corporate profile and spend the time required so that it captures the attention of the people reading it.

» It must be a summary of your expertise, skills and professional career. It acts as your own personal showcase within the company and for customers and other external contacts.

» Your  profile  on  an  Enterprise  Social  Network  will  serve,  among  others,  to  work  out  ‘who  is  who’  in  the  organization.  What’s  more,   it  will  provide  visibility  about  each  employee’s  experience  and ex-pertise in order to encourage and promote their professional history where necessary.

» The profile should highlight the skills, competences, abilities, achievements and training you have received. To optimize it, you should:

» Forget about creating a mini CV. It’s  not  a  CV  that  you  are  showing,  rather  a  summary of your working life, which should convey the main facts about your experience, as well as what you can contribute.

» Use inverse chronological order, both in the training received and in your profes-sional background. Indicate your most recent experiences going back to the old-est, but with concise, specific information.

» Always use clear, short and precise sentences. You should indicate everything you want to communicate in a single paragraph and use definitions that every-one can understand.

» Use keywords. Words that help to identify you, those words that a possible re-cruiter, superior or potential client would use to find someone like you.

» Don’t  confuse  professionalism  with  being  boring. You can give it a touch of hu-mor or originality as appropriate.

» Be honest. If you sell skills, experience and abilities that are better than the ones you possess, when you have to prove yourself and are unable to demonstrate them,  you’ll  lose  all  credibility.

» Position yourself. When talking about your specialties, you have the chance to show yourself in the way you want others to see you. You need to prioritize what you want them to see in you, choose the attribute you want them to notice and highlight it.

» Keep your profile up-to-the-minute and complete. Your profile must be always recent and complete. Each time your situation undergoes a professional change or you gain new experience, you should update your profile.

» Always be you. It is important to present yourself in your profile in the same way if you were presenting yourself face-to-face to the person.

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» Be easily identifiable. Use both your given name and the name by which every-one  knows  you  in  work,  even  if  it’s  a  nickname.

» Upload a photo. You should include a photo that is as recent as possible, avoiding group  photos  or  those  where  your  face  isn’t  clearly  seen.

» Indicate your skills and strengths. All those qualities that you can contribute as a value, for example: pro-activeness, mobility, good team-worker, goal-orientated, etc.

» Summarize your professional achievements. Those that go with your work posi-tion and that you could contribute within the organization.

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