Company culture has gone digital. Your workplace culture is no longer determined by the attitude in the office on any given today. Rather, your company culture is more likely influenced by the conversations taking place on social networking sites and the messages that are being shared about your employer brand online. Given this fact, it’s more important than ever for human resources professionals to know how to leverage social media in order to improve company culture. And it turns out that social media and company culture can be great friends.
Understand the Impact of Social Media on Your Organization’s Reputation
Social media exponentially increases your reach as a company — both internally and externally. A frustrated employee who had a rough day might vent about their experiences on Facebook, leaving all their friends with a negative impression of your company culture. At the same time, an employee who feels appreciated might also share that experience on social media. According to Forbes, your company’s culture is now going to be impacted by the impression and opinions of others who may not have previously had access to this type of information.
Monitor Your Employer Brand on the Top Social Networking Sites
In order to fully take advantage of the scope and reach of social media, Monster notes that you need to know where your company culture and employer brand stands on the top networking sites, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Instagram. The goal is to understand the perception of the company on social media, and to then create a social media strategy that allows you to improve your company culture online.
Encourage Company Leaders to Be Active on Social Media
When company leaders are active on social media, they are more accessible to lower level employees. Not everyone can get a meeting with the top executive in their corner office, but they might feel more connected to the company if they can reach out to their leaders in an easy and convenient way.
Create a Social Media Plan and Company Policy
Some feel that by restricting social media usage they would improve productivity and prevent their top talent from being recruited by competitors, but Monster notes that this is not always the best social media plan. Instead, implement a social media policy that encourages employees to interact on company networking sites, as this can help improve workplace culture as well as the image of the company as a whole.
Create a Social Platform Specifically for Employees
Social media is a familiar form of communication for most, so take advantage of that by creating an in-house social networking site or forming a private group on Facebook (employees can create professional accounts so that they don’t have to mix their personal and professional networks). This allows employees to connect with company leaders, offer tips and advice for improvement, and create professional conversations with one another.
By engaging with your employees on a social level and empowering them to share their company experiences, you will easily begin to create a strong digital company culture. The trick to navigating the social media scene is using data to your advantage, monitoring the situation, and encouraging your employees to keep an open line of communication with the company. Today’s workforce wants to feel connected to their employer — they want to believe in the purpose and goal of their company. By leveraging social media to improve company culture, you will help employees stay connected to your company in a familiar, comfortable way.