How social media can improve company culture

By: Philip Anderson 

The role of social media in the workplace is constantly changing, and so are the opinions of business leaders and executives. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have been eyed suspiciously for some time now. Some executives believe social media and the workplace are an uncomfortable mixture, and many employees are inclined to agree. A new survey from Deloitte indicates that opinions may now be shifting.

Reported via the Mashable website, the survey indicates that just under half (45 percent) of all executives believe that social networking sites can have a positive impact in the workplace. The survey was intended to gauge opinion on the factors that have the most influence on creating a positive workplace culture, so garnering a positive reaction from 45 percent of executives bodes well for the ongoing growth of such sites.

Executives that said social media had a positive impact on culture focused more on certain key areas.

• 38 percent believe that social media allow managers to be more transparent.
• 46 percent believe that social media help build and maintain relationships among colleagues.
• 37 percent believe that social media can help grow and maintain the connection between colleagues and the company's leadership.

The personal, collaborative nature of social media can help managers and leaders connect with their employees on a more intimate level. A blog, Twitter account or Facebook page can help executives communicate in a less corporate fashion, which helps them communicate messages widely in a style that suits them. Traditional internal communications channels can be very rigid and inflexible, and don't lend themselves well to different personal styles. A blog or Facebook page creates an ongoing dialogue, which, when updated regularly, helps leaders reach out in an entirely new way. Social media can make communicating a whole lot more fun.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, employees initially seem to have different views on what creates a good culture, but when you cut through the labels, they may not be quite so far apart. Employees believe that regular and candid communications are the top contributor to culture, with 50 percent citing this as a contributory factor. Forty-seven percent favor access to management and leadership and 49 percent want to see employee recognition. The reality is, of course, that social media can be a great way to improve all these areas. An executive's blog is a natural place to recognize the great things going on in the business, and provides access to management in a way that might previously have never been possible.

So, whichever way you decide to view the data, Deloitte's survey makes it very clear that social media look set to continue to have a growing workplace presence.