Page 97 - Harvard Business Review (November-December, 2017)

FEATURE WHAT MANAGERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOCIAL TOOLS

communication and behavior around you in which memos to the staff), it thwarts the kind of informa-
you are not directly involved. You can do this in a cou- tion exchange and knowledge flow you want to see
ple of ways. First, make clear to everyone that man- on social tools.
agement sees the value of friendly interaction—even However, it’s critical to address the other two
when it has nothing to do with work. And then let it concerns—respecting confidentiality and adher-
happen. That’s how people make unexpected fruitful ing to regulations. This involves managing visibil-
connections across the organization. If you see some ity. Not all social communications should be made
public. Leaders must be clear about which types of
information and data cannot be shared broadly—cli-
ent account numbers and revenue projections, for
FORMALITY MAY BE APPROPRIATE instance—and which can.
Lead by example. Finally, people take their be-
FOR OTHER CHANNELS, BUT IT havioral cues from above. If leaders aren’t present on
internal social tools, employees won’t be either. And
if leaders post mostly formal announcements about
THWARTS THE INFORMATION changes in policy or personnel (which happens often),
employees will view the tools as just another vehicle
EXCHANGE AND KNOWLEDGE FLOW for management to broadcast information, rather than
as a way for them to communicate with one another.
The organization will fail to achieve its purpose for
YOU WANT ON SOCIAL TOOLS. implementing social tools.
As with any initiative that requires cultural change,
leaders must model the behavior they would like to
see. When they notice a good idea streaming on their
company’s social tool, they should publicly engage
the person who posted it. And when employees share
information that’s not related to work, leaders should
chime in with interest.
chattiness online and start to worry about lost pro-
ductivity, quash the urge to limit exchanges to “work BRINGING SOCIAL TOOLS into a company may look sim-
only” topics. Encourage people to befriend and follow ple. Most of them are cloud-based applications, so
new coworkers—preferably in other departments or they require virtually no investment in infrastructure.
divisions—instead of solely paying attention to those What’s more, today’s employees have experience using
they already talk to off-line. They’ll develop a richer social media in their personal lives, making the learn-
sense of who knows what and whom. Second, oc- ing curve easy for most people. But belying this appar-
casionally remind employees that it’s productive to ent simplicity is a much more complicated reality: To
absorb seemingly unimportant or uninteresting de- achieve the benefits of a social enterprise, companies
tails about their colleagues. Noticing that someone must work hard to avoid the common traps we’ve de-
is working on closing a deal with a wireless antenna scribed—traps that can ensnare even the most adven-
company may not seem immediately relevant to an turous enterprise. Some of the organizations we’ve
employee. But it’s still important to file that sort of de- studied have succeeded by using the strategies in this
tail away—it may become useful later. And every piece article. As a result, their employees are more engaged
of information contributes to a full, vibrant picture of with their global companies, do a better job of com-
the organization. municating and sharing skills and knowledge, and
Spell out rules of conduct. Companies often collaborate and innovate more effectively.
have three concerns about employee behavior on in- HBR Reprint R1706J
ternal social tools: that it is too informal, that people
can share confidential information, and that people PAUL LEONARDI is the Duca Family Professor of Technology
might inadvertently violate externally mandated reg- Management at UC Santa Barbara and consults
ulatory policies. The first concern is misplaced. The with companies about how to use social media and other
emerging norm is casual, brief communication, and technologies more effectively. Twitter: @pleonardi1.
TSEDAL NEELEY is an associate professor at Harvard Business
for good reason: Though formality may be appropriate School and the founder of the consulting firm Global
for other channels (such as e-mails to superiors or Matters. Twitter: @tsedal.

126 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2017