Blog

Social Media Inside the Large Enterprise

With Enterprise Social Networks being one of the biggest things to happen in internal communications today; we were keen to be at the simply-communicate SMILE (Social Media Inside the Large Enterprise) Event in London on 1st October 2012.

The event promised to provide an overview of how large multinationals are harnessing the benefits of social media to build engagement, foster collaboration and work smarter.

Pre event, delegates were encouraged to join the Yammer network providing the opportunity to make introductions and share insight.

On the day delegates came from a wide range of companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, Deloitte, Shell, BP, Deutsche bank and Coca-Cola Enterprises. It soon became clear that whilst some companies are just starting on their internal social networking journey; others are well on their way.

Many delegates were puzzled by the different platforms available. 

Therefore a presentation from some of the major employee social network providers was well received.  Yammer, Snapcomms, Social Cast and Newsgator all contributed. Each provider signalled that in the future a user’s ability to communicate whilst on the go or from remote locations was paramount. Also that people’s expectations within the workforce are changing. They can instantly connect to others on their personal devices at home, so why can’t they do the same and see similar benefits at work?

A quote from one platform provider summed up the day “I believe what we are doing is fundamentally changing the way organisations communicate in the future.” A bold statement and whilst this is certainly true it was interesting to note that whilst all delegates agreed, they still appreciated being able to turn to the person next to them to discuss!