Execs Find New Ways To Skive At Work

An article extracted from My Paper, 27th July 2011, Page 2 - How social media & free apps have changed work environment.

How do you develop an innovation culture in an organisation

Some time back, I ponder on this question.

"Innovation culture" - I define as an environment which interesting and creative ideas will be present and flowing continuous.

Then how do we develop an Innovation Culture in an organisation? Having working in both SME and MNC environment, I have this perfect "culture" in mind. Many of us love to log on to Facebook and other social networking website - either to kill boredom at work, to relax your mind, or to simply connect with friends and colleagues.

I have read an article commenting how much time is wasted by employees while browsing social media sites (unfortunately I'm unable to retrieve the file). As an management executive, I would agree totally and definitely would not like to see my staff doing that.

However as the marketer's side and coming from an employee communication channel, I find that rather an intriguing idea to use social media to connect with corporate staff, and not forgetting the corporate leaders and management too. Privacy may be one issue that we are not going this direction. Many of my Facebook friends are still concerned letting their bosses know that they are on Facebook. What about WhatsApp and eBuddy on our iPhone and Blackberry? I'm sure they know whether you have been messaging during office hours by just checking when you are "online".

There are also various articles which show that playing with online social media can improve our memories and decision-making process. Read "Video games lead to faster decisions that are no less accurate" and "The Right Decision".

How can we have an innovating organizational culture when the users are not embracing the new era of new media. I seriously think for HR and employee communications to take on this step. It does not apply to marketing communications. But as a way for us to "gel" in a different dimension.

Worry about the system being abuse? I'm sure employees will exercise self-discipline provided the companies have laid down the terms & conditions. Many companies have security system. Though it may not be a true reflection, it definitely tells us which site you "have been to".

Marketing gurus have also shared the same sentiment in using new media to advocate communications. It is not surpised to see our Minister exercising this move since he started blogging.

Also read:

• http://www.innovationfactory.eu/blog/2010/04/14/how-do-you-get-people-to-share-their-knowledge/
• http://www.innovationfactory.eu/blog/2010/04/07/roi-of-internal-communities/
• http://www.innovationfactory.eu/blog/tag/culture/
• http://rapidbi.com/management/creating-an-organisational-wide-innovation-culture/

Facebook Group vs Facebook Fan Page

The question always pop up whether you should setup a Group or Fan page account on FB since it is getting popularity.

Here's a quick overview:

• Pages are generally better for a long-term relationships with your fans, readers or customers;
• Groups are generally better for hosting a (quick) active discussion and attracting quick attention.

I have maintained two FB Group accounts and I don't find "Group Page" function suitable for my needs. One of which: AHRC5, I haven't been able to create content which I really want, and basically uploading info (which serves similar info as a blog). I DO need to create a "featured writing" over an "event" tab. Maybe, it's time for me to start looking out for a FB fan page.. should there be sufficient content to create one?

Also read:

• http://www.searchenginejournal.com/facebook-group-vs-facebook-fan-page-whats-better/7761/
• http://mashable.com/2009/05/27/facebook-page-vs-group/
• http://www.squidoo.com/facebookpage

Understand potential threats from social media

Social media is the "In" thing now and many companies have began to embrace it, be it for business or for communications.

Experts have identified 3 key threats to this trend: technology, content and behaviour.

Fear of being attacked by malware and computer virus; inappropriate content dissemination; and lastly, attitude. The need for IT Security, HR and Management personnel to look into these aspects and improve integrity. Can you build a pseudo-persona online and manage the content? And where you going to get the content when in reality, the "fake" you doesn't exist, there is "no experience point" for you.

As a staff, I see social media as a useful tool to connect, either in business or personal level, especially during office hours. However, on the stand of management, I felt that it was more on the loss of employees' productivity. Traditional companies will hold their ground against these new media platforms but what about the newer generations of companies, and especially those who are into IT-savvy stuff?

To connect within the social media landscape, I strongly believe in a true identity, not persona. Privacy issue is still a concern, though many social sites have customised option for privacy setting. You never know who is tracking you, especially you are becoming a "hot favorite" on the cyberspace. And "hot favorite" is what you want to get, if you want exposure. What's "next" after social new media?

Also read:

• Next big thing for businesses
• Social networks to meld with enterprise apps