Communicate in the workplace
The web 2.0 makes it easy to communicate with one another. Everybody is now familiar with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and most people have their own blog. People who are not tech savvy can also connect with friends, family and coworkers via these new web applications.
However, very few people use such tools at work. Why is there such a barrier between great tools at home and those you can use at work? Some business owners can see that there are advantages in using these tools, but they are still struggling with how to apply them in their environment. Of course, they want people to communicate. Everyone agrees that communication on a project is a key to success. But they do not want their employees to spend days chatting and blogging with one another.
This site is made for people who want to understand how to use web 2.0 in the workplace, and people who want to share their experience: successes and failures. The web 2.0 technologies can be compared to what Emails and the World Wide Web were before they became common in the workplace. There will be a lot of resistance to change, but they will be adopted by every company. And those who will miss this train might miss a great opportunity to increase productivity, sales and profits.
Blogs and Wikis
Blogs and Wikis are a great place for coworkers to share their knowledge.
Reasons to start a Blog or Wiki at Work
You do not need to invest a lot to start a blog for your workplace. There are tons of sites which let you create a blog for free. See the forum for specific tools and sites. You can also share your experience with creating a blog or wiki at your workplace on the forum. Now, what are the reasons for starting a blog for your company?
- communicate between silos of your organization
You need to admit it: most employees within your organization do not communicate with other teams. They talk to each other within their team only, eat with other members of their team for lunch and do not share what they are working on when they meet outside of work. Also, they might be in different buildings, cities or even countries. A blog can help them communicate and share their knowledge.
- communicate from top to bottom of your organization
If you want your blog to be successful, you will have to show ways of using it to your employees. Showing the way to do it is always a good idea. You can also use this tool to communicate to other executives of the company and the company in its totality. Posting good news on the company's blog will cheer up everyone.
- define the purpose of your blog or wiki
One key for success when using such tools is to clearly define upfront what the purpose of the tool is. If you tell all your employees: here is a blog where you can collaborate and share your knowledge, chances are that they will not participate for a long time or use the blog for something else. You need to group your blogs by categories. A category could be a specific activity for your organization: a specific project, client, product, team or brainstorming idea for examples.
So how would you choose between a blog and a wiki? You might want to use a Wiki to give you a better structured site and find easily information in one page or section. Blogs can sometime be overwhelming, although they facilitate communication by being very easy to use. Here are some additional advantages of Wikis.
- saving important information
Emails are great, but they are lost very easily. How often did you find yourself looking for an important email in archives or saved on a shared folder? With all the information saved on a wiki, people who need to access it will know where to access it.
- make important announcements
Like we said for a blog, a wiki can help you communicate important information to everyone in the company or a specific group of people. Sending a company-wide email also works, but your employees are often going to delete it and forget about it. A post on the company's blog or wiki will remind them each time they log in.
- storing important documents
If you want to have a comprehensive list of useful documents for a project, saving links on the wiki is a great way to make an inventory of all the documents that are needed to complete the project.
- take advantage of the search
Searching information on your wiki is as easy as searching information on Google. Launch a search to find what you need immediately.
SMS and Mobile
Mobile phones
Mobile phones are now like very small computers. The advantage is that wherever you are, you can stay connected with your workforce and customers. Most companies have understood the importance of mobility and have made their sites mobile-friendly.
SMS
SMS or Text Messages are a very useful way to get someone's attention without being too disruptive. If you are waiting for a colleague who is late for a meeting, sending a text message will be a discreet way to remind the coworker. There are a lot of different ways to use SMS to communicate with your employees and customer.
Phone, Chat and Emails
If you want to get someone's attention immediately, phone is the best way to do so. We have added other ways to communicate with someone: chat can also be an immediate way to communicate with someone, although you might not have their full attention. Emails are always a good way to communicate to a group of people who do not need to take immediate action, or if you want to keep a record of the communication.
Social networking
Social networking sites are a great to create a community and to share activities with others. Building an open community can help you find other customers and increase your sales. Using social networking within the company is always a struggle for most companies who have tried it. They can see the value of the tool, but do not know how to use the tool. The key for success is again to define the purpose of your networking site. For example, create a community of your sales force focused on the healthcare industry.
Join the site
If you are interested in joining this site and sharing your experience, go to join and become a member of the site. You can also participate in the forum to ask questions.
General Articles
Check out the articles section for usefull articles on web 2.0 technology
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Related sites
http://www.network-marketing-reference-guide.com Real Information for Network Marketing Entrepreneurs.
