Collaborate Across Departmental Silos Using Social Networks

In an older post here on IT Business Edge, Ann All looked at knowledge sharing among Baby Boomers and Gen Y employees and how cubicles are creating departmental silos that kill collaboration. In response, companies like Cisco and Microsoft have created more open workspaces to encourage a mingling of the minds, if you will.

But another way to create a culture that is more focused on knowledge sharing is to introduce an enterprise social network (ESN) that can spread information across departments.

In his book, “Connecting Organizational Silos: Taking Knowledge Flow Management to the Next Level with Social Media,” Frank Leistner explains how an enterprise social network (ESN) can increase the flow of information across your organization.

You can find an excerpt from the book, Chapter 8, “Social Media Analytics,” here in the IT Downloads library. The excerpt looks at basic measures that are typically used to analyze ESN platforms and how more sophisticated social media analytics methods can be used to find value in the data.

Below are a few more tools from the IT Downloads library to help you build a culture of collaboration and get an enterprise social network up and running in your organization.

‘Dynamic Collaboration’ Excerpt: Collaboration is crucial for any kind of organization that wants to be productive, adaptable and creative. When people are collaborating, profits increase and things get done. When they’re not, your organization loses time and energy.

Job Description: Social Media Program Manager: The Social Media Program Manager is responsible for leading and further developing the social media strategy for the organization.

Social Analytics Business Plan: Social analytics, and social media in general, is a cross-departmental initiative. Having a central focus is crucial for these types of projects, and a formal business plan is key to establishing that focus.