GL CONSULTING/ETHOS TECHNOLOGIES (THE LATER ACQUIRED BY SYMBIO OY)

2011

The Use of social networking and

collaborative platforms

in HR departments in

Finnish companies Report from survey conducted in May 2011

Author: Magdalena Pawlowicz

G L C O N S U L T I N G / E T H O S T E C H N O L O G I E S , H E N R Y R Y A N D L I N N A P U O M I C O N S U L T I N G

2

About the Survey

GL Consulting/Ethos Technologies (the later acquired by Symbio Oy), in consultation with HENRY ry and

Linnapuomi Consulting, is proud to present the results of the survey conducted among HR professionals in

Finnish organizations and businesses on their use of social networking and collaborative platforms.

The survey was made independent of any vendor or company and was conducted among members of HENRY

ry using a web-based tool. One hundred and two HR professionals from Finnish organizations and businesses

participated in it during last week of May 2011.

Survey demographics can be found in Appendix A.

About the Author:

GL Consulting is a small Helsinki based consultancy specialized in helping organizations in their implementation

of social and collaborative technologies. Ethos Technologies (acquired by Symbio Oy in May 2011) is a leader in

social software, collaboration platforms and cloud computing.

Summary:

The outcome of the survey indicates that most HR departments in Finnish organizations are not well prepared

for the future; hence, they are not fully familiar with social networking and on how collaborative tools can

enable building high performers within the new context of networked organizations. The key competencies in

HR that drive business results today are familiarity with integrated talent management, understanding of

workforce planning, and comfort with social networking and collaborative HR technology1.

In addition to these competencies, HR departments also have to relate to new organizational models such as

increased number of employees working remotely or from home. They interact with peers and customers

through several channels: phone, social networking sites, instant messaging etc, and the result of this is a

highly networked organization in which HR must create alignment between business and people management,

enable collaboration and at the same time increase efficiency of each euro spent on training, learning and

employee development. When we combine the networked nature of today’s organizations with the need to

more rapidly develop such “high-performing” professionals, the survey indicates that today’s HR departments

are caught in a squeeze.

The solution might lie in redefining talent management. The traditional approach of creating employee performance plans, goals, succession plans, assessments will naturally remain, but it must build into the more agile and networked nature of organizations and provide e.g.:

• possibilities for managers to evaluate, rank and develop a team of people who interact with each other in a networked organization, and

• processes and tools so that managers are able to quickly understand the new competencies needed in a networked organization and able to co-create development plans with employees to foster success.

In a report created by EVA in 2011, it is stated that Generation Y’ers in Finland have entangled their professional lives with their private lives and will use external social networks such as Facebook to conduct all their social interactions. Therefore, they are expecting their employers to provide similar easy to use and social connector tools in their work environment. With the current level of use of collaboration tools and social networking, it might be a challenge for Finnish organizations to attract the best and the brightest talent.

1 Bersin & Associates, McKinsey Quarterly: Question for your HR chief: Are we using our ‘people data’ to create value?

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Key Findings and Recommendations:

Key Findings:

22% of the respondents have implemented social networking and collaboration technology in their

performance management,

16% has HR software which allows for employees to join communities, collaborate, share information,

discuss topics in business context, follow peers and subscribe to relevant information in their subject

area

12% have integrated their social and collaboration platform with their legacy systems

55% do not use social networks in which employees and managers work together to locate logical

successors

54% of the respondents in the survey answered that they are unable to indentify pools of employees

with similar levels of expertise

22% of responding companies are using social networking to connect experts with new employees to

speed up the employee development process

53% are not using social networking to enable new employees to share their internal competencies,

profile, or areas of interest.

Recommendations:

When it comes to finding ways to create better linkages between employees in different departments or

locations, the HR organization is at the link. Even though the study indicates that majority of people in HR roles

seems to be in shortage of profound expertise around social networking and collaboration technologies, they

still need to be in the forefront of discovering and understanding the changing nature psychology of employees

as they interact in this ’new mode’. One of the first steps for HR could be to re-connect with people in their

organizations who use social networking and collaborative tools to understand the issues and the opportunities

for HR that are emerging out of the rise in the use of social and collaborative tools by employees.

Or initiate reverse monitoring, like in General Electric, when the CEO realized that he and his management

team needed to learn about internet and technology applications. He required that he and his top executives

would find younger mentors inside the company who were knowledgeable about the internet. Most of the

mentors were in their 20′s and 30′s. Younger employees are likely to be more comfortable in using these new

social and collaborative technologies, and can pass on their knowledge to the ‘more experienced’ staff. This, of

course, is also an opportunity for the experienced staff to mentor the new and younger employees.

1. The role of social networking in Companies’ Human Resources Practices

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Seven questions in the survey were dedicated the role of social networking in the Human Resources practices.

The questions were bundled around the use of social networking for the following HR processes: on-boarding,

workforce planning and tool support for analyses of groups at risk, employee self-on-boarding and informal

learning through participation in Communities of Practices, and open networks for enterprise wide

communication enabled by social and collaborative technology.

1.1 On-boarding:

60% of the respondents answered that they are connecting new employees with peers or coaches to assimilate

into the organization. However, 53% of the respondents answered that they are not using social networking to

enable new employees to share their internal competencies, profile, or areas of interest, which is indicating

that connecting with peers is done via traditional tools and processes. A study made on IMD in Lausanne shows

that overall workforce performance and time-to-productivity is improved by getting new hires on-boarded and

connected faster, significantly reducing costs associated with learning on the job.

22% of responding companies are using social networking to connect experts with new employees to speed up

the development process, whereas 71% does not and of which 20% are planning to do so in the future.

1.2. Workforce planning:

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Internal competencies

Own profile Areas of interest

None of the above

Other

in %

Fig 1. Are you using social networking tools to making new

employees feel connected through sharing:

22%

51%

20%

7%

Fig 2. Are you using social and collaborative networking to connect new employees to experts during training to

support their development process in the first few months on the job?

Yes

No

Not yet, but we are planning to

Do not know

5

A recent benchmark survey2 done amongst 720 global organizations indicate that conducting workforce planning, including enterprise forecasting and skills-gap scenario planning, is one of the greatest drivers of business results. For example, companies which excel in workforce planning drive four times the value of those who focus on the consolidation of HR technology systems. 54% of the respondents in our Finnish survey answered that they are unable to indentify pools of employees with similar levels of expertise, competencies or experience in their workforce planning though with 21% being able to do so based on competencies.

80% of the respondents in the survey answered that they are unable to prepare real-time analyses of groups at risk e.g. retirement skills gap due to the lack of technology enablers, with 29% of the respondents planning to implement such enablers.

.

1.3. Communities of Practices and Open Networks: The two last questions in the paragraph concentrated on creation of communities of practice and open networks to support various HR processes. International studies indicate that network creation (e.g., introductions) and communities-of-interest or practice can accelerate new hire on-boarding3 and that access to experts, communities of practice by others in similar roles support 80% or more of learning on the job. In the survey, 30% has created Communities of Practices, with 5% not knowing if such CoPs have been created inside

2 Bersin & Associates

3 U.S. and U.K. employees cost businesses an estimated $37 billion every year because they do not fully understand their

jobs, according to IDC.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

i

n

%

Fig 3. In your workforce planning, do you have collaborative tools that enable you to identify pools

of employees with similar levels of:

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Yes

No

Not yet, but it is in our plans

Do not know

Fig 4. Do you have tools to support rapid analyses of groups at risk (e.g. retirement, skills gaps) based on

demographics and skills information that are updated in

real time by employees and managers themselves?

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their own organization, and with 38% not having created and with 27% planning too. This might be an indication of that HR departments are not fully familiar with social networking and its possibilities to improve employee engagement, and increase the company’s productivity.

In the Finnish survey, 34% were unaware of having created open networks to support various forms of enterprise-wide communication and employee engagement. This might be an indication that it is difficult for HR practitioners in Finland to stay current with new HR practices. Having said that, 46% of the respondents

have created open networks, which are supported by social tools for employee communication.

2. The role of social networking and collaboration in learning: Connecting employees with the knowledge they need to have to carry out their work can increase productivity and drive innovation. Using social collaboration to reinforce traditional classroom learning in an informal setting allows business to turn learning into an ongoing process and not only a one-time event. 38% answered that the company encourages employees to create learning content themselves and push it to one another, with 54% answering no, of which 15% have this in their plans. 8% said they did not know.

30%

38%

27%

5%

Fig 5. Has your organization created communities of practices

that are easy to find and join, based on employee's role,

organization and skills?

Yes

No

Not yet, but we are planning to

Do not know

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Employee communication

Executive-level discussions

Creation of open enterprise-wide

lines of communications

Improving employee

engagement

Do not know Other

Fig 6. Has you organization created open networks enabled by collaborative tools for:

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Most respondents, 43%, mentioned the company blog as being in use in their company for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing, followed by 27% having online internal knowledge market places as an enabler. 29% answered that they do not have any collaborative technologies in place to support peer-to-peer learning.

3. The role of Collaboration in Career and Succession Planning processes:

Social networking can play an important role in succession planning e.g. in identifying networks of people who work together to locate logical successors in critical roles, or connecting people in networks which enables them to look at their current job and other positions to understand how they can move up in the enterprise and what it takes to get there. In the survey, 55% respondents answered no to use of networks to locate logical successors, with an additional 11% who have not yet implemented but are planning to. 27% answered yes to this question.

On the question if employees have the possibility to view the actual career paths that others have taken who have similar skills, preferences, 90% said no (of which 16% is planning to). Only 8% said yes.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Fig 7. Which of the following technologies are available to support peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing?

LinkedIn type of profiling directory (look up another peer who has knowledge or experience)

Wall (for posting questions and getting collaborative responses from many)

Communities of practice

Company blog

Company wiki

Online internal knowledge market place where employees can search for information and solution to problems

We do not yet have any social and collaborative technologies in place to support peer-to-peer learning or knowledge sharing

Other

27%

55%

11%7%

Fig 8. For succession planning, are there identified 'groups'

and 'networks' of people who work together to locate logical successors in critical roles?

Yes

No

Not yet, but we are planning to

Do not know

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4. The role of social and collaborative technology in Human Resources: According to a recent global survey, a strategic approach and ownership of knowledge-sharing, collaboration and social networking in HR drives greater business impact than traditional HR strategies. Companies that focus on social networking, knowledge sharing and collaboration tools for empowerment are delivering twice the business improvement of those that focus on traditional HR strategies such as pay-for-performance or new HR information management systems4

.

In the Finnish survey, 72% answered that their HR software does not include social networking feature such as rich employee profile features. When asked if their HR software allows for employees to join communities, collaborate, share information, discuss topics in business context, follow peers and subscribe to relevant information in their subject area, 80% respondents answered no, 16% yes with an additional 2% using other type of software for that purpose.

Collaboration and social networking technology has emerged in the area of performance evaluation focusing on communication and shared interests, encourage employee involvement and provide a means for employees to connect and provide feedback to one another, all of which work to improve individual employee results and productivity. According to a report published by Aberdeen Group in 2009, one third of organizations achieving Aberdeen ‘best in class’ status, were using or were in the process of implementing web 2.0 tools and social networking in performance management. In our survey, 22% have already implemented, 46% had not implemented, and 25% are planning to.

4 Bersin & Associates 2011

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Fig 9. Does your HR software include rich employee profile features which enable HR and the employees themselves

to extend the following information to others:

Training path

Succession planning

Expert directory

Career progression

Employee interest

None of the above

Other

Yes22%

No46%

Not yet, but we are planning to

25%

Do not know5%

Other2%

Fig 10. Does your HR system enable managers and employees to

collaborate, share information and keep track of employee performance through collaboration - and store this information in

the performance management system?

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When asked if employee data are captured and mined from various channels and sources in the companies, 70% said no, 11% that they are planning to and 7% answered yes. When asking why, 49% mentioned lack of technology as the key barrier, 35% that there is no process in place for that, and 30% that it is not in focus of HR. Among other which constituted 8%, legal constraints in some countries were mentioned as a key barrier.

In the survey, companies were asked to check off technologies that are in use for collaboration and knowledge sharing as connecting employees with the knowledge they need when they need it has proven to increase productivity and innovation5

. In a white paper conducted by Cisco in 2009, amongst 97 companies located in 20 countries, many interviewees attested to the need for web 2.0 tools and platforms to integrate seamlessly with an organization’s existing business applications and infrastructure. Our survey shows that Finnish companies are using a variety of technologies but only 12% have integrated those with their legacy systems. This would indicate that Finnish companies are in the initial stages of experimenting with social and collaborative technologies.

5 Several company references including Shell, Chevron, Cisco, IBM and more.

7%

70%

11%

11% 1%

Fig 11. Do you allow employee data to be captured and mined on everything from demographics and behaviors to

communication or email patterns, to determine

customized training offerings and career plans?

Yes

No

Not yet, but we are planning to

Do not know

Other

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5. The role of social and collaborative technology and HR in the Extended Enterprise:

Organizations can leverage existing investments in collaborative learning, social networking and training technologies by extending these technologies to partners and customers. Such technologies can drive revenue, productivity and loyalty by: Offering training to customers so they can learn how to use the products better and find answers to questions which increases engagement and loyalty and brings down support costs. For partners, social networking and collaborative training mean supply chain optimization, and setting thereby a company apart from its competition. In our survey, 17% of the responding Finnish companies said they are leveraging their investments in social and collaborative technologies to their partners (customers and vendors). 63% answered no, and only 3% are planning to. On the question of linking people and talent management with CRM/customer intimacies, 20% answered yes, 59% answered no, 10% are planning to and 11% not knowing.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Fig 12. Which of the following processes or tools are in place in our organization to enable knowledge sharing and collaboration?

Stand alone Social and collaboration platform

Social and collaboration platform integrated with legacy systems

Communities of Practice for general knowledge sharing

Communities of Practice are formalized in a specific business context, e.g. sales process, idea generation

Collaboration and knowledge sharing is acknowledged through reward and recognition processes

Social and collaborative CRM solution integrated with expertise search solution/Talent Management solution

Collaboration tools integrated with expertise search and self service systems

None of the above

Other

Yes17%

No63%

Not yet, but it is in our plans

3%

Do not know17%

Fig 13. Does your company leverage existing investments in

social and collaborative training and learning technologies to these enterprise partners?

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APPENDIX – Survey demographics.

10

12

16

1421

29

Size of Company

0-10 employees

11-100 employees

101-500 employees

501-1000 employees

1001-5000 employees

over 5001 employees

7%18%

13%

1%

15%

1%

9%

3%

5%

5%3%

14%

3% 0%

5%

Industry ClassificationGovernment/Public services

Professional and legal services

Service Company

Pharmaceutical & Chemicals

Manufacturing, Engineering and Construction

Healthcare

Distribution and Retail

Transportation

Education

Utilities, Telecoms, Oil & Gas

Banking, Finance and Insurance

IT

Media and Publishing

Marketing

Other

13%

48%

28%

11%

Respondents Age

18-30

31-43

44-56

57-70

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Glossary/Definitions:

1. The term "talent management" means different things to different organizations. To some it is about the management of high-performing individuals or "the talented" whilst to others it is about how talent is managed generally. In this report, we refer to talent management as all people have talent which just should be identified and liberated

2. A “high-potential employee” is an employee who has been identified as having the potential, ability and aspiration for successive leadership positions within the company.

3. “Integrated Talent management” is a set of integrated organizational processes supported by technologies which are integrated with company legacy systems and which are designed to attract, manage, develop, motivate and retain people.

4. A “community of practice” (or “CoP”) is often defined as a group of people who share an interest or concern about a common topic, and who deepen their knowledge in this area through ongoing interaction and relationship-building within their group. While communities often come into being spontaneously, they nonetheless require nurturing if they are to become valuable to the members and businesses and to remain viable over the course of their evolution. In many organizations, Communities of Practice have become an integral part of the organization structure. These communities take on knowledge stewarding tasks that were formerly covered by more formal organizational structures.

5. A collaboration platform is a category of business software that adds broad social networking capabilities to work processes. The goal of a collaboration platform is to foster innovation by incorporating knowledge management into business processes so employees can share information and solve business problems more efficiently.

6. Social networking is a phenomenon that has recently taken over the web, allowing more connectivity and interaction between web users. Social networking-new means of communicating and sharing information and knowledge between two or more individuals on an online community whether internally in an enterprise or externally.