Social Networking for Company Intranets - Graduates Don't Just Want It, they Expect It

M2 Presswire

Earlier on, this blog features 2 articles that make reference to the growing importance of social networking in company Intranets. In this article we see that a UK survey enforces this notion and in fact comes up with findings that Intranet social networking may be more of a necessity than a nice-to-have. For more information please refer to Intranets as Social Networks & World's Best Intranets Give High Regard to Social Networking and Collaboration.

More than half of UK employers are seeing a growing trend of new employees and graduates wanting and expecting to use social networking at work, according to a survey conducted by Open Text's Web Solutions Group.

The recent customer survey found that when it came to recruiting new staff, only 11% of respondents said they didn't see a trend and 32% said they weren't seeing it currently, but expected to see an increase in demand for web 2.0 technologies in the near future.

Andy Bellinger, Country Manager for Open Text's Web Solutions Group in the UK, said: "The above figures reflect the change in culture we have been seeing for the past two to three years. Students grew up using Facebook and now as they move into the workplace they want to be able to communicate using the tools that they have become accustomed to. This growing demand for the likes of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other web 2.0 technologies is a direct reflection of how people have changed the way they communicate."

Further findings have shown that although many see Facebook as a hindrance to business, 61% of respondents felt that web 2.0 tools could realistically be used to benefit the enterprise. When asked whether or not they were allowed to use Facebook at work 46% said they were, 31% stated they could, but only at certain times and a surprisingly low amount of 23% said they couldn't use the application at all.

Bellinger concluded: "What the above figures have shown is that organizations are starting to realise the benefits of Web 2.0 and how they can use the likes of Facebook to benefit their business and help employees communicate better within the organization and to their customers. As the web generation grows up and moves into the workforce, businesses need to be ready to offer the communication tools they expect. The days of the company newsletter are gone, the company Facebook is in."

Reference:
"Graduates Don't Just Want To Use Social Networking In The Work Place They Expect It." M2 Presswire. 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2009