Relationships and Going Social

This is another post in the NoFearHR project between Mike Vandervort and myself.


Mike,

I think we've done a good job thus far in differentiating how the initial approach to social media can take place in different size organizations and departments. The work you've done at  your company is nothing short of phenomenal. I can only imagine having that much success with our initiatives.

The eight steps you outlined in your last post clearly lay out a macro-level view of the steps necessary to get the buy in at the top before a social media initiative kicks off. Today I'd like to go a little deeper and discuss the internal behind-the-scenes reality of even beginning to discuss the steps you laid out. How does the HR practitioner begin the conversation about the value of social media to an executive team that still uses the term twittering?

I believe one of the most important land mines that must be avoided is to not inadvertently insult the senior leaders simply because they are not current with these tools. Executives have achieved their level of success because they have pushed the envelope, taken risks, and tried new approaches to move their organizations forward.

However, social media is so new, many of them simply have not had time to educate themselves about the new opportunity this represents. You've identifed education as an important first step, so obviously charging ahead with that group and simply implying that they are so far behind could backfire very quickly.

What do you think Mike? I'm so focused on the power of relationships in the workplace, that I think this piece needs some discussion before we take implementation any further.



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