Creating Org 2.0: Making Optimal Use of Social Tools
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Today's post comes from our guest blogger and friend, Jeff Wilfong. Jeff has helped a number of large organizations, including ConocoPhillips, the City of Sacramento, and a multinational corporation based in India, implement Web 2.0 and business strategies. Jeff is currently pursuing a PhD in Organizational Development with a focus on Web 2.0 management. You can find more information on his website, E2.0 Pros.
The old adage, "If you build it, they will come," doesn't seem to work as a strategy for introducing social media tools into businesses. The vast majority of users will simply continue working as before. There are case studies describing successful implementations where technology is the primary focus (see Bill Ives' consulting engagement with Booz Allen), but most data shows that many technology-driven efforts are in vain. Simply put, many managers complain that employees don't use the tools once they've been developed.
One study shows that IT projects worldwide regularly fail, wasting a record $6.2 trillion. Several other studies indicate that only about 40 to 50% of projects are successful. This data on IT project failure rates isn't new, and consultants at McKinsey have found that this rate has remained constant over the past one to two decades. Many reasons are cited for the widespread failure of technology. In this article, I would like to focus on two reasons for the failure of enterprise solutions: the lack of a culture of collaboration and the neglect of end users.
Designing a wiki requires people to be willing to collaborate. People won't collaborate if the company culture doesn't reward it. In their book "Collaboration 2.0," David Coleman and Stewart Levine convincingly argue that any collaborative culture must strike a balance between 1) technology, 2) people, and 3) processes. Often, the IT department develops a tool without successfully aligning with business users. Frequently, these business users then either don't use the tool or circumvent it by using a third-party product. In a collaborative culture, the IT department would work hand in hand with business users, gathering all necessary data and developing the tools with the end users in mind. This means collaborating with people. Next, a change management process would need to be designed to encourage users to adopt and use the tool. One method would be to work with champions to encourage key individuals within the organization to collaborate. This could start with them simply using the tools and adding content to the wiki or blog. Another method would be for managers to change their reward structures and begin exploring ways to assess collaboration for employee performance reviews. This is a focus on the process.
People and processes are often neglected. I am convinced that social media tools have limited potential if companies don't cultivate, promote, and reward a culture of collaboration. Either employees won't use them, or they won't fully utilize their potential. The strength of 2.0 technology, which includes social media, lies in the effects of social networks. We learn more when we connect with others, and we can achieve great things when we work together. After all, we create organizations because the power of "many" is far greater than the power of "one."
Just because new tools are made available doesn't mean that people will
- Want to use these tools
- Have the time to use them
- Know how to use them
- Develop expertise or gain new knowledge from the tools if the culture isn't geared towards collaboration.
The success of any Enterprise 2.0 initiative ultimately hinges on a fundamental shift in organizational culture, not just technological deployment. When employees fail to adopt new collaborative tools, the failure lies in the neglecting of people and processes. The solution demands managers actively cultivate, promote, and reward collaboration through formal recognition and performance assessment. For organizations utilizing a robust HR platform like IceHrm, this means using the system's Performance and Appraisal modules to integrate collaboration metrics directly into employee reviews. By aligning reward structures with cooperative behavior, companies can foster the necessary culture, enabling employees to fully leverage social networks and realize the profound power of "many" over the power of "one."
