Social collaboration is a hot button topic when it comes to intranets, although for many organizations it can be a tough sell. Here are a few points to consider when thinking about dipping the proverbial toe into the tidal wave of social and how you can potentially get buy-in from your decision makers.

First we’ll start with how social tools including our new Facebook-like message walls empower employees and benefits the intranet and your company:

1. Social tools gives employees easy to use and familiar tools that allows them to participate, contribute and connect with each other – and they need to be on the intranet to do so

2. You can expand the collective knowledge and intelligence of your company by offering tools that promote the concept of people helping people

There is a third benefit that lends power and influence in adopting social tools on your intranet:

3. Employee’s ability to raise the profile and significance of intranet content by sharing linksto documents, training courses, KB articles, blog posts, e-forms, and other intranet content on their walls

Next up is one idea for how social tools on your intranet can impact your decision makers. Imagine that the CEO has a top inner circle of executives and that is who they impart their message to. That inner circle communicates directives down to their own inner circle and the fountain of knowledge trickles its way throughout the company and employees – with 100 different ways for that message to be filtered.

The above scenario will still prevail. Social tools are not going to replace this but what if the CEO could cut to the chase and post select information onto their intranet message wall, effectively giving voice directly to the employees. And then receive feedback in the same manner.

Now envision how that messaging could impact the employees and the culture of your company, not to mention the visibility of your intranet. Someone untouchable, the CEO of the company, is now approachable and can connect and mentor at the level of each employee.

Simple but powerful.

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