{"id":1090,"date":"2012-04-17T09:39:38","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T13:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterprisestrategies.com\/?p=1090"},"modified":"2015-07-27T04:47:59","modified_gmt":"2015-07-27T04:47:59","slug":"3-critical-characteristics-of-an-enterprise-social-media-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterprisestrategies.com\/2012\/04\/17\/3-critical-characteristics-of-an-enterprise-social-media-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Critical Characteristics of an Enterprise Social Media Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can\u2019t throw enterprise social tools at any company and expect them to stick. Certain critical pieces have to be in place in order for the technology and the tactics to boost employee engagement, recruit and retain employees, break down knowledge silos and more<\/a> for a business. At the top of that list is the right culture. Mark Schaefer<\/a> offers up five signs your company culture may be getting in the way of your social progress. His list<\/a> covers obstacles such as corporate culture mis-match and lack of executive sponsorship. In this post, I\u2019m offering up a vision of where your culture needs to be to make enterprise social media successful for you. First step: Management must have a vision already in place or being set. Management must communicate clear, upfront reasons why you\u2019re considering a social strategy and what its goals will be.<\/em> Cultures ripe for enterprise social media historically have the following characteristics: <\/strong> 1. They encourage Collaboration<\/strong> Collaborative cultures promote information sharing and expect it all levels, from entry level to C level. In collaborative environments, people are rewarded for contributing to the team instead of just for their individual achievements. Work is treated as a team sport where working together is tied to better business results. Companies with a collaborative culture understand that collaboration is not exclusive to extroverts who tend to more vocally make their contributions. As Susan Cain<\/a> expounds on during a great TED talk<\/a>, introverts have just as much \u2014 or more \u2014 to offer a department, team or company as their more outspoken counterparts. <\/object> 2. They share Knowledge<\/strong> Open, transparent networks are vital to enterprise social media. Without a knowledge-sharing culture, the real value of social tools is lost. When people are transparent about what they\u2019re doing and what they\u2019re working on, knowledge is not only shared in a surface-level, straightforward manner, but it also bubbles up out of the discussions and interpretations that knowledge-sharing enables. 3. They support Innovation<\/strong> When a company rewards its employees for stepping back and questioning things and coming up with different solutions, that\u2019s innovation. Outside consultants or experts aren\u2019t always the best sources for finding new ways to improve processes, products, services or systems. Enterprise social media can support improvements and change in the workplace through its ability to connect people and ideas. A company\u2019s values are a major part of its culture. For enterprise social media to live up to its potential, a certain set of values needs to be in place. In a nutshell:<\/strong><\/p>\n