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Holtz Communications + Technology

Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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Who should own internal social media?

I got a call from a Ragan reporter today. She’s writing about the debate evidently going on over at MyRagan, the communicator’s social network, over who should own internal social media.

Does this ring a bell for anyone? There’s still debate raging over who should own the intranet. (This is another topic of discussion I found at MyRagan, just to prove that it hasn’t been resolved yet.)

Specifically, this writer told me, there were three departments vying for control: Communications, Human Resources and IT.

My answer: The employees who use it own it.

That’s not the same answer that I give for intranet ownership, where a cross-functional governance model almost always produces the best results. For enterprise web 2.0, though, we’re not talking about a tool that will be used as a channel for traditional communications. We’re talking about employee social networks, employee blogs, wikis and other tools that allow employees to network among themselves.

Certainly, IT has a major role to play. HR needs to be involved from a policy standpoint, while communicators may have a good handle on how information moves through the organization, insight that would be helpful in putting together an effective suite of tools. All three departments had a hand in the introduction of social media to the intranet at Northwestern Mutual Insurance, with the communicator identifying the need. IT helped determine that an external hosting solution would be the best course, while HR ironed out issues with labor contracts and the like.

But once an enterprise web 2.0 solution is in place, it’s ideally the employees using it who will determine its evolution.

If you have social media behind the firewall at your company, who owns it?

Incidentally, I got a press release today touting a new Forrester study that claims spending on enterprise web 2.0 will grow 43% per year over the next several years, reaching $4.6 billion by 2013. The survey says 56 percent of North American and European enterprises consider Web 2.0 to be a priority this year.

04/21/08 | 5 Comments | Who should own internal social media?

Comments

  • 1.Great question- it certainly rings a bell over where we work. Employees should own it, but what if most of the employees who use it are IT folks anyway? The HR,Marketing,Communications employees are still struggling to embrace the concept, so it naturally falls in IT's lap. As for our internal wiki and blog, that's a whole new (and different) ball of wax...

    Tyson | April 2008

  • 2.We absolutely have this issue here. We have 5 business lines and, at times, different people supporting them. Travel agents will use it the most, however, there is significant uses for the insurance folks. We have IT, E-business (me), Marketing (where E-business resides), Travel Sales/Operations area all fighting for it.

    Trisha Jackson | April 2008 | Worthington Ohio

  • 3.Odd question.

    - Own as in who should start it? Anyone who has learnt what it is and thinks it's relevant, preferably someone in the internal communications team.
    - Own as in maintain it? If it works and grows, then you need to speak to HR and IT. Get some community facilitators on board to help nurture the community.
    - Own as in control the conversation/relationships? Shel, you say the employees that use it. That is, the community. Agreed.

    Social media internally or externally is not about ownership or the tools, but about the right culture of transparency and trust. Companies will adopt it if it is obvious there is a business benefit, and the learning curve is steep and quick - and should be cheap.

    Jasbinder | April 2008 | London

  • 4.No one can own social media. I agree that IT, Communications and HR all have interests in the company's intranet. I would actually add administration to that list. But as far as controlling social media, there's no way. When a company opens its door to social media, it must be willing to accept its friends, ?trust? and ?honesty?. Companies that don?t believe they can handle social media need to stay away. Shel, you are 100 percent correct, ?the employees own it.?

    After a semester long journey at Kent State, I have journeyed through "The Cluetrain Manifesto" by Rick Levin, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger, I am convinced, for now, that employees are the authentic voice of the company. They are the people who enable their business to be transparent. Many companies aren?t ready for social media. Those who are considering this new step should heed the words that Aunt May once told Peter Parker. ?With great power, comes great responsibility.? In CEO terms, companies who join the conversation must be willing to be accountable to their publics.

    Bill Burgess | April 2008 | Canton, Ohio

  • 5.Having employees blogging and corresponding directly with customers is a good idea. The positive feeling that this gives customers (that there are 'real people' at the company) is well worth it.

    George

    George Carr | July 2008

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