It seems in today’s culture you can’t speak two words without it being tweeted, posted on facebook and then scrutinised by the amount of likes it has received however, the global social media takeover has thusfar failed to persuade Senior Managers to incorporate it into their business. A recent article in Call Centre Focus titled ‘Senior Managers Overlook Social Media’ highlighted the extent to which Senior Managers neglect the opportunities social media can bring to their company.
A recent study involving 500 Senior Managers conducted by Interactive Intelligence revealed that almost half (48%) of Senior Managers failed to recognise how comments on social media can increasingly define public perception of their company/brand. This not only highlights the vast disconnection Managers have with the latest generation of communication channels, but it also illustrates the lack of awareness Senior Managers have of the overall power social media has on the population. The survey continued to reveal that a mere 13% regard speaking to customers and prospective clients through online communities as ‘high priority’.
Incentive Magazine recently revealed the extent to which logging in and checking our notifications has become part of our daily routine. In the past year twitter has had a 250% increase in tweets per day reaching a whopping 95 million, the amount of linkedin users has increased by 100% reaching 100 million and Facebook’s rise in logins has reached 250 million per day!
The magazine revealed some refreshing ideas that could bring your companies reward and recognition schemes up to date. Instead of having ‘Employee of the Month’ they have suggested having ‘Employee of the Moment‘. Replace the framed employee of the month photo on the wall and why not upload the photo onto Facebook, tweet it, post it and like it. “It fosters a culture of everyday feedback that drives recognition of rhythm”. Their suggestions embrace the social shift, keeping company reward and recognition structures innovative and up to date. “If you can’t beat em, join em!”.
Despite the numerous social shockers a previous You Gov and Interactive Intelligence survey revealed that 41% of consumers in 2011 are influenced by both positive and negative comments about a company or brand on social media sites, and 89% of people look online before they make a purchase decision. Despite these statistics only 6% of Senior Managers felt that comments on social media sites were very influential.
Many Senior Managers view social media as an unstoppable force and fail to see the potential positive impact it can have on business, however Senior Managers are starting to realise and rectify their ways in order to integrate social media within their company’s strategy. A recent HR Review article revealed that over 41% of companies globally agree that the benefits of social media outweigh the drawbacks and 1 in 4 companies are planning to invest more in social media in 2011. Interactive Intelligence additionally reveals that 70% of Senior Managers surveyed are planning a strategy to monitor and respond to social media comments. So this begs the question, does your company make the most of its social media offering? The new generation of communication is here, whether you like it or not, so why not incorporate social media into your reward programme!
Sophia Tirelli
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