When Wipro started its internal social networking platform, MyWiproWorld, last year, it had about 40,000 users. Today, it has 1,11,940 registered users and 3,068 communities. Infosys has over 82,000 employees registered on its social network, InfyBubble, with 98,160 average page views a day. Indian IT/ITeS companies, which have been at the forefront of devising ways to keep their short-fused Gen Z workforce engaged and motivated, is increasingly seeing these informal ways of communication as an effective employee engagement tool.
The trend began when employees complained about not being able to access social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter at the workplace. Unwilling to compromise on network security, companies decided to introduce their own versions of these sites in-house. The result turned out to have more potential than initially imagined. Companies are now connecting in relaxed and flexible ways with their employees. The concept takes the ?fun at work? to another level as employees look to change the way people stay connected, offer flexibility to try newer technologies, find better ways of doing their own jobs, and a more cool and casual environment.
Experts point out that most top Indian IT companies have over a lakh employees, a number that warrants exploring and experimenting with innovative communication systems. ?Adoption of social networking or Web 2.0 tools creates a collaborative and participative environment within the organisation. Such tools enable larger engagement with the employees through the use of interactive channels, as opposed to one-way communications channels,? says Anurag Dua, managing consultant, PwC India.
Early this year, Infosys started an internal radio station across all its development centres in the country. InfyRadio, which runs for six hours a day, five days a week, is accessible via a link on the employees’ computer and, on an average, receives 10,000 hits a day. The radio station offers a mix of music both Hindi and English, content like campaigns on values and sustainability, leadership interviews, events for employees and interactive contests. It is complemented well by InfyBubble that aims at social and professional networking among its employees across time zones. Currently, there are 3,92,051 connections across the world. ?It?s amazing how I now know my colleagues better through InfyBubble. One of my team members in the US, Benjamin and I both share a passion for vintage cars. In fact, we have found several like-minded car enthusiasts who often end up having a heated discussion about which is the most desirable vintage car,? says 38-year-old Ramesh G, working as a principal technology solutions lead at Infosys. ?Platforms like these help to create a connect, in an organisation of over 1,40,000 employees. I don?t feel like a speck in the ocean.?
Headhunters feel social networking platforms within companies are not just an effective employee engagement tool, but also help in employee retention. ?It is a cost-effective medium with a huge outreach and a long-term recall, plus a great employer branding exercise. And because of its non-intrusive and informal nature and flexibility, the medium works very well compared to a newsletter,? says Sangeeta Lala, senior vice-president, TeamLease.
Keeping in mind the rapidly changing workforce and business environment, three years ago, Cognizant introduced Cognizant 2.0, a platform that connects the company with its clients, vendors, partners using Web 2.0 features like Facebook, Twitter, blog and chat. Currently, over 80,000 employees are connected to the network. ?This has helped us win deals, increase client stickiness, communicate widely on a common platform, and also help in improving employee retention,? says Sukumar Rajagopal, CIO and head, Innovation, Cognizant.
Rajagopal points out that according to a study last year, projects, which used Cognizant 2.0 platform, performed better than those that did not. ?There has been a 15% improvement in productivity in projects using C2.0 over the average value of productivity across projects, 8% improvement in the ability to deliver projects on time and 7% improvement in the ability to deliver on-budget,? he says. Leveraging social networking tools, employees can play a greater role in product innovation as well as decision making. Organisations are starting to use the discussion threads in blogs to identify, define and revise processes and policies.
Almost a decade ago, when Wipro launched its employee portal ChannelW, it was meant to be a hangout zone. But over the years, it has become one of the most effective employee communication platforms in the company. Today, it receives close to 3.5 crore hits a month. Currently, Wipro has integrated Twitter with its internal social network platform MyWiproWorld (MWW) and is planning to integrate Facebook soon. The social network also provides anonymous chat facility for employees where they can ask any question to their bosses.
?The impact of forums like ChannelW and MyWiproWorld on employee engagement is pronounced. It bonds and brings the employees across different locations under one umbrella. It also serves as a bridge between the employees and the top management ,? says Ramesh Nagarajan, chief information officer, Wipro Technologies. V Shivshankar, independent media consultant, feels for today’s Gen Y, environment of an organisation is very important. ?It is not just the work profile that they look for. How ‘cool’ the place is to work is also an important criteria,? he says. Today, social media communication is not just restricted to the IT-ITes companies; many corporates in other industries have also introduced these platforms. Companies like Timbre Media, which provide packaged, customised audio content to Infy radio and companies like United Breweries for internal branding and infotainment say there has been ?very good? feedback from the users of such services.