We hear a lot of discussion about social networking and how it can be used to strengthen customer loyalty, but are companies using it enough within their own organizations to increase employee loyalty?
Social networking allows organizations to build their own virtual communities for the sharing of knowledge and opinion. Large retail chains face the difficult task of managing a geographically dispersed and demographically diverse workforce and customer base. A store in a Chinese neighborhood may carry a completely different assortment (or should) and have different work customs than one in a Russian neighborhood. For smaller demographic groups it is even harder for central management to address local needs. Social networking might allow these employees to affiliate with similar members within the organization to make recommendations to management.
Differences in physical characteristics also present a major challenge to chains. The multistory retail location in Manhattan that receives deliveries overnight through the basement has different demands than the dropped trailer store in the suburbs. The individual techniques employees learn that enable them to deal more efficiently with their environment can be easily shared using social networks. Even situations that occur infrequently can benefit because the cost of communication is practically nil.
A social network also lets the retail management provide a consistent message across the organization and solicit input from employees. This type of "participatory management" may be more appealing in today's environment and reinforces the employer's role in directing employee activity.
Including suppliers in the retailer's network can improve communication between brand manufacturers and store employees. It may be necessary to restrict some types of communication, but by having the suppliers onboard it can make them part of the retailer's team.
Retailers would no doubt want to keep their social networks private, which is a built-in advantage with enterprise solutions. These applications provide features similar to those found on popular public social media sites. It is also possible to set up different groups within an organization, so that management can have restricted interaction with other members of the management team, while also making non-management groups available, assuming they can work out the ground rules.