Knowledge Workers

Blink:

I surfed my way through Winter Storm Jonas this past weekend.  Plenty of good material online.  One article that piqued my interest was written by Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite.  He advocated the need for companies to acknowledge social media literacy, a topic I have always been passionate about.     

Read On:

Back in 2013 I wrote Social Enterprise Smarts = Profitability Plu$.  I detailed the four steps companies needed to take to evolve into a powerful social enterprise.  The first step is to develop a company of Knowledge Workers – employees that exhibit “social smarts” thanks to their ability to embrace the proliferation of social technologies.  Consequently, your employees will improve their overall communication and collaborative skills, as well as being better informed.  I indicated this first step would take training and resources which was the spine of Ryan’s article.  He indicated that companies are just beginning to invest in on-the-job training programs to improve their employees’ social media skills.  Research company Altimeter revealed that almost half of the companies they surveyed are investing in corporate training which is on a serious upswing, rising 15% in the U.S. to $70 billion this past year.

Are you the leader of an organization that is ready to get on the bandwagon of social enterprise?  I would like to make two suggestions:

 

·        Be patient, be realistic.  You will not be able to flip on the light switch and expect your people to be Knowledge Workers overnight.  It takes time and experimentation to better understand the collaborative world of Web 2.0.

·        Plan, plan, plan.  Social media has evolved beyond the domain of one individual or department.  Social tools are now being utilized by Customer Care, Sales, HR, etc.  In a social enterprise, every employee should be a spokesperson (the voice) for your organization.  Plan accordingly and share the plan so everyone clearly understands their role in your social enterprise.  More importantly, empower your people.    

Are you prepared to invest in your people to build a team of Knowledge Workers?

Discussion Welcomed!