Why Size Doesn’t Have to Matter to Your Internal Social Network

With any large organization, size often prevents employees and administrators from effectively collaborating. Getting workers to know people besides those whom they meet on a daily basis can be a challenge. This might not seem too important at first glance. But that quick conversation had in the hall yesterday (or via email, or over the phone, or even by the famed water cooler) could be the catalyst for a company-wide change in the future. A discussion in one location could be the answer to a vexing problem in another.

There’s no reason why any business should miss out on the wisdom of its employees, nor on the sense of community that occurs when the members of an organization can easily converse about their thoughts and needs. Just as social media applications are expanding to fit a greater range of purposes, so are business management tools. It’s taken a while to persuade many companies of the value of incorporating social media or even on-demand software into their business management procedures. But now that those options are available, how should businesses approach them? And why?

An article published last year in the Harvard Business Review wonders the same thing. Entitled, What’s Your Social Media Strategy, its authors consider how social media can help organizations fulfill both internal and external goals. It cites the IT services company EMC as an example. With more than 40,000 global employees, EMC out-scales many businesses, but serves well as an example of an institution so large, it’s difficult to pinpoint expertise within it. The company created a social media platform to help its employees “network and connect on projects” and “locate needed expertise within the company.” All of this paid off in reported savings of roughly $40 million.

Companies who use Vonigo can take advantage of its built-in networking elements to reach their own gains, too. In addition to its suite of business management tools, Vonigo is designed to proactively foster meaningful discussion between employees and company leaders. Every worker you have is also a thinker and a problem solver. They’re thinking about the processes they’re familiar with, their position, and how they fit into your company. More specifically, your workers are your collaborators, thinking about the requirements and idiosyncrasies of their unique role. With time and experience, they may well have a firmer grasp on their piece of the puzzle than anyone else.

Members of your Vonigo-equipped company will appear in your system as human beings, not just as names or numbers. Each employee can upload a personal picture, which will show up on their profile page. Through these profiles, users can interact with each other on discussion boards–where those strategic questions are there to be tackled.

Similarly, profile pages connect members of your organization by providing notes on skills, qualifications, and biographical information. Profile pages appear in an accessible directory within Vonigo. What’s more, users can choose to “follow” members whose contributions they value; the posts made by these individuals will then be collected on the dashboard as “Network Posts” for easy reference. As technology marches ahead and more employees become social media-savvy, so should businesses–both outdoors and indoors.

 

Learn more about how you can put Vonigo to work in your business.