No Facebook? No young workers
Aside from an entertaining observation that “French hotel clerks and young American women learn non-verbal communication at the same place,” Mike Schaffner’s recent article in Forbes.com, “Why Companies Need Web 2.0,” provides a brief but helpful overview of Web 2.0 technology and quick thoughts on how to utilize it. Schaffner, who directs IT for the Valve and Measurement Group of Cameron, suggests applications such as:
- Have employees use a MySpace- or Facebook-type site to introduce themselves to the company. These can also be a resource to help employees find a potential car-pool mate, someone with a background in product design or specific experience on a product you are thinking about launching.
· Mashups can bring together production and operations data from a variety of sources, allowing a production manager to get a good overview of her operations.
· YouTube-style videos can be used for training or distributing important messages, such as the CEO announcing a new product launch or Joe, the IT help desk guy, receiving an award.
More significant than the “how” of Web 2.0, however, is Schaffner’s observation about the “why”:
The point in all this is that there is a new generation of potential employees and customers that are accustomed to a variety of technologies being available, and they expect to see and use them in the corporate world. Whether and how we deploy these technologies likely will have an impact on our ability to attract new talent to our companies and to find and retain customers.
Give me Facebook or give me a new job
His observation about the expectations of a new generation to have access to this technology is strongly reflected in Prescient Digital Media’s intranet consulting services. Executives, right up the CEO level, are showing increased interest in bringing Web 2.0 technology into their environment in order to meet demands from younger employees.
A recent survey of a 1,000 European office workers reveals that this concern is well founded. Conducted by IT services firm Telindus, the survey found that:
- 39 per cent of 18 to 24 year-olds would consider leaving if they were not allowed to access applications like Facebook and YouTube.
- A further 21 per cent indicated that they would feel ‘annoyed’ by such a ban.
- The problem is less acute with 25 to 65 year-olds, of whom just 16 per cent would consider leaving and 13 per cent would be annoyed
While the varying adoption rate of Web 2.0 technology between consumers and corporations is well documented, the Telindus survey reveals that this delta is becoming a business challenge that organizations must start to take seriously.
If you need to get started on your adoption, ideas from Schaffner and others will assist in planning your strategy, as will Prescient’s Social Media Adoption Checklist .
