3 Steps to #NoFear

This is another post in the continuing #NoFearHR dialogue between Mike VanDervort and me discussing social media and it's impact in the workplace.


Mike,

I really liked your last post and the five questions you offered to help leaders engage in meaningful dialogue with their Executive teams about social media. I think our colleagues will be able to start using them right away. That's good stuff.

I'd like to take a little detour to address an important question that I feel must be answered before we can go any further. How do our HR colleagues get the credibility to even have those conversations in the first place? Not every HR leader out there has a strong working relationship with their respective Marketing Departments which is a shame. Marketing is often the first place where going social is accepted, even if it's only from an awareness perspective. A solo leader trying to demonstrate social media's value can feel very lonely without internal support.

Tools, Relationships, and Questions
I recommend that the HR leader take three important steps before posing the questions you've suggested Mike:

Step 1 - Make sure you understand and use the social tools you're going to be asking the questions about. This may sound simple, but I've recently had the experience of candidates telling me they are "experts" in social media but didn't have a twitter account. Unbelievable!

Step 2 - Build the internal relationships necessary to demonstrate that you are not a rogue leader jumping on the newest bandwagon. As the relationships grow stronger internally it will be much easier to build the business case necessary to execute on a social media strategy.

Step 3 - Now ask those questions from a position of strength => big difference as compared to going it alone!

What About Others Experiences?

Despite the fact that social tools are being discussed constantly Mike, you and I still see many organizations that are struggling with how to get their formal social programs off the ground.

I wonder how we might meet the needs of those leaders who need more support than just testing the tools and hoping for the best?



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