How Social Media at Work Can Help You Build a Better Team

The use of social media at work often gets a bad rap. HR often focuses on ways to minimize employee time-wasting and how to prevent brand damage on social media. Although the company use of social media is considered acceptable, when used to connect with customers, it can also be used to help companies improve communication, reinforce the employer brands, and build a stronger sense of team. Here are three ways that social media can help you build more effective teams.

Build Your Employer Brand

As companies compete for top talent, having a strong employer brand is important. Top candidates will often research a company before accepting an offer to learn more about the company’s culture and what it’s like to work there. It is important that your messaging is consistent and available across different digital touchpoints, included employer branded social media accounts if they exist. Businesses can strategically use social media accounts to reinforce their employer brand and showcase the company culture. For example, have you recently added new jobs that you are recruiting for or content such as interviews with existing employees to your careers website? Promoting these on your social media accounts can help ensure that candidates see available opportunities and get the right messaging throughout the hiring process.

Embrace Collaboration Software Over Informal Social Media

You may wish to investigate a team-based collaboration option to facilitate better team communication in the workplace. Often, collaboration tools have features that are similar to social media such as chat or sharing status updates, yet they are private to the company and fall within your business’ security controls. There are a variety of different software solutions on the market that let teams and colleagues connect quickly. Individual users can choose to share bios and photos, make status updates, and use embedded tools for a variety of tasks. Users are able to instant message, video chat, make company-wide announcements, work on and share files, and much more. Companies capture the benefits of deeper connectivity, but create a limited internal network. This may help keep your team focused on their colleagues and limit possible brand damage.

Showcase Highlights and Accomplishments Online

Many businesses use social media to highlight company news. One way to use social media to foster better connections, improve morale, and showcase big events is recognizing your team online. Did a team member just have a big win or lead a successful project close? Consider recognizing their accomplishment on different social networks, but make sure to check with the employee first to make sure they are comfortable with the public announcement and comply with any pertinent privacy rules. Your customers may enjoy the chance to see behind the scenes, and it's a great way to reward employees for a job well-done.

Teambuilding and collaboration are at the heart of today's most successful companies. Social media and other digital tools can help dispersed teams to forge relationships and learn more about each other. HR leaders and business owners should be aware of the different potential risks and opportunities, and proactively find solutions that are right for their companies and teams.