Championing corporate social media

As CIOs look to implement social media within the business organization, the assessment of the social media application must be framed within the organizational priorities. The consideration of social media adoption should involve the thoughtful process no different from any initiative consideration, if in fact a clear vision and informed expectations of the IT-enabled enterprise are in place.

First, the business environment must be assessed, and all stakeholder interests must be considered. Will the social media implementation offer a competitive advantage in the market place; or is the market within which your organization functions trending towards the adoption of social media, leaving you at a competitive disadvantage?  Your stakeholders; managers, users, customers, partners, suppliers, and senior leadership; will need to realize the benefit of social media applications, and you must consider how this implementation will affect each, and what value and benefit will be realized. Will suppliers be able to more cost-effectively source goods to your organization? Will sales and marketing be able to collaborate more closely and effortlessly? Will customers realize a greater level of satisfaction through interfacing with your organization via the application medium?

Second, engage closely with your executive colleagues on the proposition, and solicit advice and suggestions on known best-practices, or feedback on whether you should reconsider the proposition. “Identify the key business needs, strategies, drivers… and articulate the IT guidelines (maxims) necessary to address those needs.” (Broadbent & Kitzis, 2005) Is there a consensus on the potential value-realized with the social media application? Should data points be collected and assessed to gain insight on the environment and whether an opportunity is near or upon to address social media as a viable solution? Can the social media applications be implemented as an integrated component within a newly accepted system, to capture effective adoption while hearts and minds will be already be open?

Once you have obtained necessary buy-in from executive colleagues, you must effectively communicate the value proposition and expected benefits to all stakeholders, and with specific messaging relevance. You must address the adoption within the scope of business and IT strategy directly related to each stakeholder, and provide a clear line-of-sight on the link between the new applications and current business processes, be able to clearly understand the question they will invariably pose; “Why are we doing this?”, and avoid the derailing “Just-another-management-initiative” conundrum.  (Newberry, 2008)

As a final point here, the CIO must be personally engaged throughout the organization, championing this effort for the staff providing the roll-out and training, and fielding questions and concerns. Look for opportune times to walk around, speak with key managers, team leads and users within the organization, convey your focus and the reasons for the consideration, and solicit their input on how various segments will respond, adopt usage, and reasons for embracing/rejecting the proposed application. Here you look to influence through ownership from the executive level, and thus you will more effectively communicate the strategic significance and positive impact the implementation will have.

Through all of this, be aware of your approach, as here is the opportunity to be a leader. If the social media considered will truly align with the business and IT strategies, and if a solid maxim can be made for the introduction into the infrastructure, then it is incumbent on you to effectively communicate this across the stakeholders; obtain buy-in and support from your executive colleagues, obtain acceptance with the key personnel by engaging along their respective terms, solicit input from customers and suppliers externally for prospective buy-in, and always clearly interweave the relationship between the social media, the IT environment and the strategic objectives, initiatives and goals of the organization.

Broadbent, M., & Kitzis, E. S. (2005). The New CIO Leader: Setting the Agenda and Delivering Results. Gartner, Inc.

Newberry, S. (2008, November 10). Values-Based Leadership with Steve Newberry. Retrieved May 21, 2009, from University of California Television: http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=15398&subject=bus

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