Social media experts acknowledge that social media tools can unleash forces that are difficult to control. Giving everyone a voice can challenge the worldview of people who are used to calling the shots.
“People who have grown up in a hierarchical business model may have some fear of the contact sport element of it,” said Kathryn Yates, director of communications consulting at Willis Towers Watson. “Successful leaders realize that that feedback is going on anyway, and you’re better off being part of the conversation.”
Here are some guidelines to your social media future:
Be authentic
Social media have made it glaringly apparent to employees when they are being lied to or when information is being withheld. For leaders to be trusted, they have to actually mean what they say.
Start at the top
Workers watch their managers closely to see how committed they are to an open conversation. That means that managers need to be active on social media and set the tone. “You have to demonstrably give permission,” says James Gardner, chief strategy officer at Planview Spigit, an innovation management software firm. “You have to have senior leaders who communicate that it’s OK to use social media and that if you do, you won’t get fired.”
Stay above the fray
Online, it is easy for a productive conversation to gallop off on a tangent or turn nasty and personal. While leaders feel the need to intervene, it’s remarkable what can happen if they don’t.
“If you stand back and let the conversation run its course, the employees will start to manage the conversation themselves,” Yates says. The crowd often reinforces the corporate culture, marginalizes the catcalls, and seeks the best solution to a problem.
Adopt clear guidelines
Most companies with successful social intranets also have clear, published guidelines about what sort of comments and behavior are allowed. Most don’t allow employees to post comments anonymously.
Respond quickly
In the old days, when a company found itself in crisis, managers knew they had a few days to formulate a response to employees. But now, leaders need to accustom themselves to responding immediately or risk seeming deceitful or as if they’re stonewalling. “It’s not that we ever had control,” Yates says. “Maybe we just thought we did.”
Adapted from an original article by David Ferris in the Workforce magazine. David Ferris is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C.
Kim J. Harrison has authored, edited, coordinated, produced and published the material in the articles and ebooks on this website. He brings his experience in professional communication and business management to provide helpful insights to readers around the world. His wide-ranging career includes roles as a corporate affairs manager, consultant, author, lecturer and business manager. Kim has received several international media relations awards and a website award. He has been quoted in The New York Times and various other news media, and has held elected positions with his State and National PR Institutes.
