Social Media In the Workplace — a complicated tale

Success stories of companies implementing internal social media networks are the exception not the rule. These efforts can be particularly challenging given, for example, traditionally hierarchical organizational structures, inertia, and the risk of inappropriate conduct. Still interested?

The upsides, however, are significant and include: the potential for greater collaboration across offices and functions; increased customer visibility and engagement; increased employee engagement; improved recruiting efforts; and improved organizational transparency.

One internal social media platform with mixed reviews and growing adoption rates is Slack. I have played around with Slack a bit, and would be interested in seeing something like this in my future workplace. My personal view is that the opportunities far outweigh the costs for many industries, but should always be evaluated on a case-by-case analysis.