Social Business is About Efficiency & Productivity

In a March 1st post on Harvard Business Review entitled “Our Economy is Obsessed with Efficiency and Terrible at Everything Else,” Umair Haque concludes that our challenge is, “not merely to settle for apps which make our lives a little easier….but to create the earth-shaking breakthroughs which make lives truly better — and give others the chance to do so as well.”

In the same vein as technology, social business is about both efficiency and productivity. It is perhaps more important to think about helping to create and do as it is to ensure speed and expediency.

Definitions (Dictionary.com)

• Efficiency: accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.
• Productivity: the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services.

Statistics

• Failing to implement social technology makes high-skilled employees and management 20-25% less productive. (McKinsey Global Institute)
• 97% of businesses using collaboration software have reported being able to service more clients, more efficiently. (ICE3)
• Firms using social collaboration software see productivity enhancements of an average of 12.5%. (Forbes)

“Social media is the ultimate equalizer.

It gives a voice and a platform to anyone willing to engage.”  

Amy Jo Martin 

Take Aways

1. Provide Your Employees with Training to Assist Them in Growing Their Personal Influence. Employees understand that social media is here to stay. Employ training resources to assist employees to optimize their social profiles, grow and deepen their networks, become original content creators and begin to engage in communications that expand from online to offline behaviors.
2. Assist the Executive Team to Lead by Example. The trepidation felt by many employees can be overcome by seeing the executive team embracing social business and demonstrating their successes and challenges. In fact, executives have many of the same concerns about activation of their social identities as employees. Through transparent communication and storytelling about what has worked and where the bumps in the road have been for executives, the forward momentum needed to activate employees social brands will be influenced.
3. A good content marketing strategy should rely more heavily on quality production than process efficiency. Marketers insistence on volume is causing failed quality execution. To earn trust, reputation and authority, it is imperative that organizations generate content that their audience values. 

_______________________________________________________

Socially Savvy helps organizations utilize social media to drive business results and is a premier partner in the activation, measurement and leadership of social business programs. 

Contact us directly at info@sociallysavvy.com if you are interested in learning more about our employee social business activation program.

Arrange a Conversation