For the third time, Evolve investigated at what stage Dutch organizations currently are with the use of internal social media. Once again, the aim of this study was to provide a broad, comparative picture of the current state of affairs regarding internal communities.
In 2014, we investigated for the first time how far Dutch organizations are with the use of internal social media. Then we concluded that many organizations had started working with internal communities with enthusiasm and in full conviction of the added value. nevertheless, it also became clear that the field was still in its infancy and there was a lot of room for professionalization.
This space seemed to be partly used in 2016: more organizations set goals for the deployment of the social platform and the responsibilities for content, activation and moderation were more often formally invested. At the same time, the goals set were not always translated into KPIs or targets, which makes the measurability of concrete results difficult. Internal social media also proved to be too little part of the work processes.
Are internal social media more professional?
139 organizations participated in this edition of the Study, 106 of which use an internal social platform. As in the previous studies, the participating organizations were compared based on the maturity model for internal social media developed by Evolve. This model does not look at success, but at the extent to which the factors to achieve success – adoption, efficiency, organization and integration – are filled in.
More in line with organizational goals…
In 2018, internal communities are increasingly aligned with the organizational goals. Increasingly, internal communities are included in policy plans, goals are more often set for the use of the platform, and these goals are more often related to supporting and primary processes of the organization.
Perhaps this will also lead to better consideration of adoption and the rendering of the platform: more organizations offer instructional material that is not only focused on the functional operation of the social platform, but also on its practical application. Employees with an exemplary function, such as ambassadors and management, are more accurately selected and guided in the use of internal social media.
… but still too much a means of communication
From the way internal social media is organized, the image remains that the internal platform is not yet deeply rooted enough in the organization. It is mainly a communication tool and less a business tool. Internal communities are still poorly integrated into the primary processes of the organization and the final responsibility in almost all cases lies (partly) with the communication department. Compared to the studies from 2014 and 2016, Community Management is less often formally invested. At more than a third of the organizations, no one is even responsible for moderation.
In addition, set goals are often not operationalized. If the results of the platform are not measurable, how do you show how accountable it is? “What does it actually yield?”, will sound out of the boardroom sooner or later. Internal social media only have a future if we can demonstrate that added value. The next step for many organizations is now to get a clear picture of the concrete contribution, and to set up the organizational side accordingly.
Want to know more about this topic? Please contact Peter at peter@evolve.eu
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