Work and Networks

Since many organizations have adopted or are considering adopting technologies to facilitate internal employee social networking, naturally research is beginning to surface as to the success of these internal networking projects, and that is also aimed at understanding the enablers and barriers in the technology adoption.

This week I came across an excellent study titled 'Motivations for Social Networking at Work' (PDF link) from IBM Research that discusses the internal IBM social network called Beehive. Thousands of IBM employees participate in the network that is meant to facilitate connection, sharing of interests, and very importantly in a large organization, expanding one's network beyond the immediate work group to colleagues that were previously 'invisible'.Flickr - e.phelt

The IBM Research group undertook an extensive study of participation and usage patterns to better understand the true impact of Beehive in the company, and while there are many interesting findings (I really recommend reading the entire study), I thought it very interesting to focus on a key question; Why do employees share information on the network?

The research revealed three main motivations for employees to participate in the social network that they termed, Caring, Climbing, and Campaigning.

Caring - Connecting with co-workers on a personal level was found to be the most commonly cited benefit to participating in the network.  Particularly in a large, global, distributed organization like IBM, where the opportunity for face-to-face contact with many colleagues is limited, this 'caring' element was critical. Connecting on a more personal level helps engenders affinity, which in turn leads to an increase in collaborative interactions.

Climbing - The researchers used the term 'climbing' to describe individual's motivation to participate in the network to further their career development and aspirations to 'climb' the corporate ladder. By active participation in specific technical topics, people could be seen as 'thought leaders' and could potentially leverage that position to land better assignments, more high-profile projects, and further their careers. In addition, similar to external social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn, simply making connections and building out one's network was seen as a benefit, and in fact necessary to long-term career growth.  In a large company it can be easy to get 'lost', but by actively participating and connecting in the internal social network some employees felt that this was a way to make a name for themselves.

Campaigning - Gathering support for projects and ideas, driving traffic to personal profiles, and project web pages was termed 'Campaigning' by the researchers.  Employees interested in using the social network for this purpose emphasized the ability to get their ideas more visibility with senior managers as an important factor and a major motivator to participate in Beehive. Most notably, the ability to connect with a wide range of influencers and potential supporters outside of the traditional, hierarchical structures was seen as an essential element of Beehive. Users could build coalitions of support for their ideas and projects in ways frankly impossible in the 'old' manner.

What does this all mean to organizations that are considering launching similar projects to give their internal networking projects the best chance for success?

Make it personal - The internal network can't be all business, all the time.  People (most anyway) want to share some personal information with their colleagues. The ability to connect personally has consistently been shown to be an important aspect of ongoing and productive workplace collaboration. Let folks post their favorite about their favorite sports teams, swap recipes, and upload personal profile pictures.  Don't feel like every post, comment, or contribution has to have the 'official' stamp of approval.

Individual value - Employees will only continue to participate and contribute if they see a direct personal and individual benefit. Whether it is easier access to information and expertise to help them solve their problems, or a way to build their reputations as leaders.  Employees will give of themselves and of their knowledge, but they have to see the benefits back to them as well.  Make sure that you build ways for employees to see how participation will truly help them in their current jobs, as well as in their career goals.

The Big Boys have to play - Many technology projects stall, or even fail due to lack of executive support.  Internal social networking projects are no different.  But in addition to the vague concept of 'support', these projects may also require active participation.  When employees see executives and directors as active participants and contributors on the network it can have a dramatic effect on overall enthusiasm and participation.  Just like the company holiday party where everyone wants a little face time with the boss, connecting with leaders and executives on the network can be a really important driver of the overall success of the project.

Definitely take a look at the entire piece from IBM Research, there are lots of excellent insights as to the motivations behind internal network participation.  We are getting past the point of wondering about the right technology to choose for these projects, and arriving at the much harder place of figuring how to make them work.

I would love to hear from you on what motivates or curtails participation in your organization's communities?

Six Million versus Eighteen Thousand

According the the US Small Business Administration in 2006 (the last full year data is available) in the United States:

Number of firms with more than 500 employees: 18,000

Number of firms with less than 500 employees: 6,000,000

Think about it, there over 300 times as many small businesses in the US as large ones.

In the HR Technology space at times the news and commentary tends to be dominated by the vendors that cater the the top end of the market, those 18,000 or so big firms that have the most employees, the biggest budgets, and (typically) the most hierarchical and elaborate structures and decision processes.  I get that, it makes sense for vendors, consultants, analysts, and pundits to chase that market, heck, that is where all the money is. I have spent most of my professional career in that space as well, either working for giant companies, or working for myself and consulting at giant companies.

But I think today the small market is really the place to be.

To me, inside the six million small companies is where the the most exciting innovations are going to happen. Flickr - The Geekery

And the technologies and vendors that are most interesting to me are the ones that are accessible, lightweight, and inexpensive enough to be in the reach of say a 150 person company with one or two HR professionals on staff.

Solutions like Rypple, The Resumator, Socialcast, EffortlessHR, PbWorks, Shareflow, Kindling, and Brainpark to me are incredibly interesting and dynamic. These solutions (and scores of others) can be brought to bear by the average HR professional in the average small organization and can make an almost immediate and important impact.

I care about what is going on with the Oracle, SAP, and Workday.  I'd like to see Oracle Fusion delivered sometime before I retire. When and if the entrenched ERP vendors fully embrace SaaS and produce solutions that are more flexible, easier to manage, and are less reviled by their giant corporate customers are very important issues for the overall HR Technology industry. I get that.

But to me the real fun is watching what the new breed of HR Technology vendors are bringing to the table, and how the small business can exploit these tools to maybe one day rise from the ranks of the six million to the eighteen thousand. Personally, I enjoy connecting with and trying to assist HR pros at these smaller organizations.  Ironically, while there are scores of technology solutions out there that cater to the small organization, there are very few independent sources for unbiased advice and assistance with small business focused HR Technology.

What do you think?

Is it more fun to be one of six million, with a real chance to make an impact, or to be one cog in the wheel at a giant organization, but with at least a chance to be a star on the big stage?

Nowhere to hide from technology

Two weeks ago while driving through the countryside of Central Pennsylvania, USA  I happened to pull off the highway for a dinner stop in a sort of run-of-the-mill little town, the kind of little town that anyone that drives the major interstate highways in the US has seen hundreds of times.

A gas station, a couple of fast food restaurants, and a hint that if I carried on just a bit further down the access road maybe some small houses or trailers, and beyond that I'd bet farms and the sort of vast nothingness typical of large sections of middle America. 

Definitely the kind of place to stop, refuel, maybe grab a bite to eat, and put in the rearview and instantly forget.

When I walked in to the McDonald's for the mandatory road tip junk food dinner, I ran smack into this:

The only way for job seekers to apply for a job in this little McDonalds in the middle of nowhere was via this online kiosk system. Now it could be that this particular McDonalds has the pulse of the local candidate pool, and is well aware that their target applicant is tech savvy, and will have no problems navigating the online process so moving to an online method is an intelligent strategy.

Or more likely the regional or corporate office has decided that an online process is more efficient, less expensive, and results in more actionable intelligence for those in McDonalds management.

But to the job seeker who walks into that McDonalds in hopes of landing a job, the motivations behind the decision to go to an automated process don't really matter.  They are forced to accept this, and either comply with the process if they want to be considered, or head on down the road to the Arby's and try their luck there. 

And for (mostly) part-time jobs filled by teenagers and students this is probably perfectly acceptable. The staff on duty when I walked in did not have much to say about the online application kiosk, I am sure they thought is was strange that someone was even asking about it.

To me the lesson that I take from the online job application kiosk for a tiny McDonalds in a tiny town in Nowhereville, USA is this one:

You can't hide anymore from technology if you want to particpate in the modern economy.  This has many levels:

The job seeker in this McDonalds had better know how to type on a keyboard, and follow basic computer commands.

The college grad trying to break in to finance, marketing, IT, or HR had better have a solid LinkedIn profile, familiarity and skills searching for jobs online, and the ability to demonstrate technical acumen once they join the workforce.

The HR professional trying to find ways to reduce costs and improve administrative processes better be very familiar with the capabilities of their HRIS (if they have one) or with the latest developments in the HR Technology marketplace (if they don't).

The recruiter that needs to find, engage, and ultimately hire the best talent for their positions better know how to source, and engage potential candidates with increasingly sophisticated multi-media tools, better be on social networks and adept on how to best leverage them to meet their recruiting objectives.

And the HR leader in the position of having to continually justify expenditure and prove return on HR programs had better have access to and understand analytical tools to effectively measure the business outcomes of their efforts.

These are just a few examples, I am sure there are many more, but the key point is, no matter where you find yourself on the scale, from entry level job-seeker in rural Pennsylvania, to VP of HR at a Fortune 500 firm, you can't get away from the technology.

Heck, even your Mom is on Facebook.