The more things change,
the more they stay the same. As the internet, and in particular, social media
technologies become increasingly prevalent and pervasive, we have become
comfortable creating and sharing content in new and seemingly unpredictable ways.
For businesses seeking to thrive in this increasingly social environment,
adapting to technological and socio-cultural changes may seem to be a daunting
task. What appears to be at first complex becomes clearer, however, when we
realise that the human values which underpin our use of social media –
community, reciprocity, a desire for meaningful relationships – are fundamental
drivers of human behaviour.
IF HR professionals are
to maximise the human potential of employees, they must look to refine their business
model to embody these core values. These core human values of connectedness is
what is driving the underlying trend which has driven the rise of social
networking and Internet cultures, and it is one which HR professionals
must apply to the businesses they manage.
HR professionals are in
a position to influence both the structure and culture of their
organisations. Whether they believe this to be an operational or
strategic matter is up to the individual – but regardless of the approaches
taken, technology must be recognised as being primarily for the usage by
humans, and secondarily about wires and circuits.
The current hierarchical
models of business are built around principles from the previous centuries,
particularly those of the Industrial Revolution. Companies are structured and
their operational models are like machines, designed for efficiency to meet
specific objectives. Employees are divided up into silos or ‘black box’ units
which don’t communicate with one another, because according to traditional
economic philosophy this helps them function more efficiently. While these
rigid structures are efficient they don’t allow much flexibility. In an
increasingly dynamic business landscape, flexibility and agility is a
necessity, not an optional extra. Historical, rigid organisational structures
will not have the flexibility to thrive or even survive in the future.
Social
business; a new era
Instead, we should think
of how we can build social businesses, working cultures which can transform how
employees work and interact with each other to drive better business outcomes.
If we look at current technology trends and the core human values discussed
earlier, we can gain insight into how best to proceed. The success of social
media technologies like Facebook and Twitter suggest that humans crave
interpersonal connection; we want to be part of something larger, which is why
we use such technologies to share content, engage in dialogue, and develop new
relationships. Professional networking tools such as LinkedIn, and certain
usage of Facebook and Twitter such as in critical disaster events, provide
examples of how these activities are not simply frivolous – they can be
harnessed by the business world and reap great benefits for those involved.
A social business, then,
is a community rather than a factory or a machine. It brings employees together
in clusters rather than separating them into silos. By encouraging
collaboration and co-operation, it gives employees the freedom and means to
work in the manner and with the people best suited to them – not according to
the rigid procedures enforced in traditional top-down business models. While
this may seem a terrifying prospect to managers, they need to understand that
the most productive outcomes arise when employees know their actions matter,
not only to their personal performance ratings, but also to the broader
business community of which they’re a part.
In a social business,
information flows more freely. Having the wrong information or taking too long
to find it can not only dishearten the individuals who make up any business,
but also slow down overall operations or in some cases derail them entirely. It
may appear somewhat counterintuitive, but replacing linear bureaucratic
processes with loose networks of information sharing allows information to be
transferred between individuals much more efficiently. It means that the people
who need information can get in touch with the people who have it, faster and
more intuitively than before.
Finally, social businesses
dispel with the rigid hierarchies which characterised earlier models. In the
internet-mediated communities of today, everyone has an equal voice and an
equal chance to be heard. Value judgements about this aside, we are living in
an age where being able to speak up and be heard is considered one of our
inalienable rights – and if organisations are not going to embrace it, their
employees will find recourse in social media and online. This has implications
for everything from corporate image and branding to the hiring and procurement
processes: as the emphasis on transparent and flexible working environments
grows, it will become increasingly important for HR executives to be able to
demonstrate such attributes to potential employees and job-seekers.
Users
in control
Most of us already know
this at some level; but there is some apprehension when it comes to
restructuring. First of all, restructuring an organisation is an immense
task, one which can take up significant resources and time across the board. Continuous
attempts at restructuring are not only prone to failure, they can generate even
more inefficiencies due to policy discrepancies and general employee fatigue.
However, the problem with this model of restructuring is deeper than just time
and effort. In reference to the earlier analogy of a machine, restructuring is
like taking the machine apart to perform a different function, but finding
after the machine has been rebuilt that the requirements have shifted and
another restructure is required. If we are to build social businesses, we must
recognise that cohesive social networks and relationships are not instituted
from the top down. Rather, they are created by the users or employees
themselves.
What HR professionals
can do is open the internal communication channels for such networks. They can
work alongside IT executives to make available to the business the
technological tools and channels which are already changing how we relate to
our friends and families. They can also advise the C-Suite on the tangible
benefits – adaptability, productivity, employee retention – of social business,
and help fashion sustainable strategies to ensure the longevity of such
ventures. Finally, they can communicate directly with their employees to
ascertain what measures are in fact most likely to succeed.
We now understand
businesses to be less like machines than living organisms. It is the
connections between employees, the cells of the organisms, which determine
whether it thrives or perishes. If we give our employees the tools to develop
these channels of information and expertise, we stand the best chance of
success for the future.
Source: HRM Asia
