How Social Business is revolutionizing the way we interact at work!

Here’s a summary table I put together to show how we can work more effectively using social tools for common work tasks.

 Thanking Colleagues

Common Approach	Results
Send thank you e-mail	Copy everyone on e-mail Forward to team and manager (lots of e-mails) Eventually e-mail gets lost or deleted

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Write on colleagues Internal Company Profile Board Micro blog about it Update your Status to thank them Connect with them online using social platforms	Their manager and network can see the thank you e-mail not required Highlights expertise of person Builds their reputation online within the company

Creating Presentations

Common Approach	Results
Create draft presentation and e-mail team, get feedback from team	e-mail as attachment Spend lots of time integrating feedback Stuck in mail jail from multiple attachment versions

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Upload file to Company file sharing system (e.g. IBM Connections) Share with team directly from Files through notifications Update with comments from team	Upload new versions without having to e-mail everyone Automatic notifications to team Transparent feedback and comments Share with new team members easily Others within the company can discover your presentation

 

Brainstorming With Team Members

Common Approach	Results
Meet with team member Take notes Send rest of team notes Receive feedback	e-mail’s going back and forth between team members Eventually e-mails get lost and deleted

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Blog about brainstorming session in Team Community Ask for team feedback Integrate team comments into blog	Team members can easily add ideas, the whole team views all new ideas and comments No e-mails required Content stays in community for new team members to view and contribute

 

Assigning a task to a team member

Common Approach	Results
Send team member e-mail with task assignment	e-mail’s go back and forth on due date and task completion

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Create an Activity within the company Assign team members to the Activity Assign tasks and todos with due dates Re-use Activity Template from other similar projects	Team member updates activity when task is complete Activities transparent for the team Easily reused for next similar project Share Activity with other groups in the company

Connecting with new clients and sharing content

Common Approach	Results
e-mail and/or call client, setup time and date to meet	e-mail’s / phone calls back and forth deciding on time and agenda Too much time spent on logistics Many file versions exchanged through e-mail

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Create a private community space to share information about your upcoming meeting. Share agenda and files with clients, make updates and build content for future meetings.	Private space to share content with clients. Fewer e-mails required Created content stays in a central location to share

Building Relationship with conference/event attendees

Common Approach	Results
Get business cards from attendees.	Follow up with e-mails and phone calls

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Connect on social platforms like LinkedIn when you meet (using mobile device or from your computer in the evening) Follow conference conversation on mirco blogging channels (e.g. Twitter) Find out which are the best speakers, which sessions to attend, what are the questions and takeaways that are coming up during the conference Join Tweetups and meet attendees in person	Benefit from the conference livestream and twitter stream either at the conference or if you are not able to attend from home Connect with new colleagues right at the conference Tag colleagues in the social platforms you use so you can remember how you met and easily follow up in the future

Communicating with your team

Common Approach	Results
Send e-mail and copy everyone on team	Team members read, reply and delete e-mail

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Create a community for your team Blog about your communication for team	Team members can comment on blog When new members join, they can easily view previous communication No e-mails required Tag content to easily organize communication

Finding Experts

Common Approach	Results
Send your contacts a request for help and if they know an expert	e-mails back and forth, you may or may not find expert

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Search IBM Connections or Company social space through tags or keywords to find expert.	Find expert in other parts of company Find their shared blogs, papers, and files Learn from their shared content Reach them for further questions.

Creating a Collaborative Paper

Common Approach	Results
Send e-mail with draft attachment, requesting input from colleagues	e-mails go back and further Multiple versions of files Extra of time spent integrating paper.

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Upload your draft to Company Files sharing system (e.g. IBM Connections Files) Notify colleagues of draft Make colleagues editors, they can go in and update sections as required	Complete the paper faster No e-mails going back and forth Versions available and contributions without one person being the bottle neck.

Sharing Insight within your Company

Common Approach	Results
Send e-mail to colleagues about interesting insight/news	colleagues read e-mail, forward to others, delete

New Social Tool Approach	Results
Update your status on company micro blog with interesting insight and news Blog about your thought leadership Bookmark important links	Your whole network is aware of new insight and news Your network is able to share with their network Grow your network to include others in your company Easily refer to your shared content at a later time

What are some tasks that you do differently using social tools? 

Please comment and share them.  Looking forward to hearing how you work differently using social tools both inside and outside of the company.