A Corporate Spring?

By Ed Faruolo

Recently, Forbes had a cover story called “Social Power and The Coming Corporate Revolution.” The article was about the advancements in social networking within the work force and how true winning companies are going to be those that embrace vs. battle this “new development.”

It is a great article and should give every business leader pause to reflect, a link is provided at the end of this blog for those who care to read more. If you think a cushy tower office and a well oiled HR machine is your answer, think again. Employers have an incredible opportunity to separate themselves from those companies that continue to rely on their employees being “thankful to have a job” due to the lousy economy.

But this “new development” of social networking isn’t new at all. It is only the technology that gives us employers the opportunity to see the truth in a manner that was never available to us.

Just a few short years ago I was heading up marketing for a well known global health benefits provider. I had just come out of a staff meeting with the CEO and immediately called my own staff meeting to provide all the answers to several outstanding issues. At the end of that meeting my head of research, MY HEAD OF RESEARCH… stood up and said, “I’m going outside to have a cigarette and find out what is really going on!”

At first I was really angered by that statement but then realized what he just told me… “people don’t believe any of these preplanned statements so we like to come up with our own truths…” I then wondered if more of us should take up smoking so we could go outside and find out what is really going on!! Those smoker’s hamlets were basically liberated water coolers, allowing employees to say what they want and weigh in on what is going on with minimal risk of being ratted out. Being caught by “the Man” was minimal since most in the C Suite had quit smoking by now, and the few that didn’t would never break the Smoker’s Code…

So what does this mean and what does it have to do with anything?

• Employees will talk and trust me, they will talk about you – so give them something good to talk about
• Employees want to feel like they are part of something great – your company allows that opportunity
• An employee’s decision to work for you is a reflection on them. Therefore, it would only stand to reason that they desire to say something good about their employer vs. negative – so again, give them something good to talk about

Given the above, the fact that so many employees are willing to bad mouth their employers demonstrates what a dismal job many companies have done to truly engage their employees. It is also curious as to why that is — after all, human capital is one of their biggest investments and the only one that can take your inner knowledge with them if they decide to work elsewhere.

So what do you do? How do you take advantage of this social networking in a way that builds employee engagement and is good for your bottom line? Well, there isn’t a playbook that is good for all. But there are a few things you can keep in mind… most of it sounds like good parental advice (they were probably the first to say to you, “Good For You!”):

• Listen… don’t spin. Like those smokers, inhale! Take it all in! It’s great to get accolades but listen closely to your biggest critics and greatest critiques. Your employees have incredible knowledge about your products, services, customers, and operations. They want to succeed meaning they want you to succeed.
• Pay closest attention to those employees who are the closest to your customers. Those who are in your customer service operations know your customers better than anyone. And they know your product better than anyone. They are the ones explaining when things go wrong and build the long term bonds that lead to a sustainable customer base. When they walk, they leave with all the secrets of your vulnerability. Best to keep them inside your tent.
• In most cases, your customers keep their business with you because of your employees. Leveraging that bond for continuous improvement will only help your business.

The technology today will enable you to harvest that great knowledge and insights that are ingrained in your employee base. As a result, you don’t have to take up cigarette smoking to find out what the truth is!!

Forbes Story: www.forbes.com/sites/techonomy/2011/09/07/social-power-and-the-coming-corporate-revolution/

Author: Ed Faruolo: Ed is the former marketing head of 3 Fortune 500 companies and now runs his own marketing advisory company, VitaLincs, LLC. Ed can be reached at vitalincs@me.com.