For a company to excel in innovation, it must allow employees a convenient and affordable medium of communication for free exchange of ideas. Social media fits these requirements perfectly, for not only are it cheap, it operates real-time and the communication is virtually instantaneous. In most organizations (except those in high-end IT business) not all employees can be expected to have the talent or inclination to contribute toward innovation. In this scenario, the said potential of social media could be made available to select departments within the organization, like, say, the Research & Development department. As an expert in this field notes,
“Social media are helping to fulfill the demand for cheap, instant communication between researchers fueled by the growth of collaborative and interdisciplinary research. This is where the real breakthroughs are occurring, helping to make employees part of a global research community. These new tools make research sharing easier and a more natural part of one’s daily life.” (Brydon, 2010)
The success of Twitter in aiding professional development:
The use of Twitter for professional enhancement is well established now. While Twitter is primarily used to reach out to personal social circles, in recent years, managements have successfully built Professional Learning Network (PLN) through this medium. Through a PLN, employees follow other employees who have similar interests. Or they subscribe to set categories of tweets sorted via hash tags. For example, a company in the agricultural sector can identify and separate relevant tweets for its employees by setting appropriate hash tag filters. This is a great way to build profession specific knowledge and exchange of opinion. To illustrate,
“In an effort to assist other agricultural educators, the creation of #AgEduChat surfaced. #AgEduChat is a weekly discussion that occurs on Twitter and/or Facebook. The purpose of #AgEduChat is for agricultural educators and supporters to come together and discuss current events or issues that surround the profession. #AgEduChat has been successful in providing a network for teachers and managers to interact and share ideas, opinions, and information that we can use to enhance our skills and profession.” (Bender & Genson, 2012)
Statistical & empirical evidence in support of greater social media integration:
To give an illustration of the pace in which social media and other IT enabled technologies are helping employees, let us consider the following statistics. For example, a comprehensive survey of 1,600 multinational companies across the globe was conducted by California based Palo Alto Networks. The survey found a 300 percent hike in social networking activity among employees in 2011 alone. This included such knowledge sharing activities a browser-based file sharing in company intranets. Another study by the American Society for Training and Development further validate these trends. This study was even more comprehensive, in that, it enrolled 3,800 participant companies spanning the globe. The results show that four in five managers are keen on consolidating these trends and have “planned to increase their use of social media for employee learning during the next three years.” (Zielinski, 2012) Moreover, these managers understand that providing the social media technological infrastructure is only a part of the task. Without a culture “that encourages knowledge sharing and staff dedicated to managing and promoting these initiatives, organizations can quickly lose traction as busy employees find little time or reason to use the tools amid the demands of daily work.” (Zielinski, 2012)