The Social Media Engagement

‘The CEO of a Mumbai-based pharma company — let’s call him A — was recently in a fix. For some weeks now, a few of his younger colleagues have been urging him to open a Facebook account. The problem is, the only brush with social networking that A, who is in his late 40s, has had is what he reads in the newspapers. Faced with the prospect of some of the younger members on his team wanting to see him better networked, A did the next best thing: He got his young personal assistant to open a Facebook and Twitter account…



Bosses who previously banned or blocked social networking sites in office, are now realising that getting onto FB, Orkut, Twitter or even YouTube is actually a great way to connect with their younger, more wired colleagues. Not only is it helping them to ‘learn’ the language of the youth much faster, but the sites are also giving them a platform to get their ideas across to their teams — in a less formal way.


While some senior managers are using the sites to pass on better-management nuggets or give mini pep-talks to staff, others are broadcasting their business plans and goals, and seeking mass feedback from employees.


For some companies, social networking by the head honchos has become a full-fledged HR strategy to make the company Gen Next ready, at a time when the average working age in India Inc is falling rapidly…


"Empowerment is the new engagement. People want to stay connected with their friends and colleagues through their networks,” says Future Group business head (Private Brands), Devendra Chawla. “They want their voices to be heard, and ideas to play around with. Technology and social media have come together to give one various ways to express oneself.”…’ - Writankar Mukherjee- Head honchos get trained in using social networking sites

Social Media is in big way, no questions asked. Trying to keep employees away from the same or trying to 'police' the same was never a smart idea. Social Media which is seen as a threat by some companies can be converted to their advantage. Social Media can be used for  networking, communicating and engaging people better. Overall companies must realize that social media presents an excellent opportunity to build and strengthen their employer brands.