There’s a lot of talk and about how enterprise social networks appeal to the younger generation: “Generation Y,” the “Millennials.” Being a part of this younger cohort, I thought I’d weigh in on the topic.
We’re seen as the generation that “get’s” social media and “web 2.0”. Social media is where we plan our parties, become “friends” with the people we just met, and land our next job. Most of us use it more than email, especially for communication outside of the workplace.
When my brother was in high school, he didn’t have an email account, he just had Facebook to converse with friends and teachers alike. Social media sites have become our address book, our yearbook, our electronic mail account.
When you ask us if we foresee enterprise social being widely used in the workplace, the answer is yes. But, the real question is why?
Why Generation Y Adopts Social at Work:
- 1. We already know how to use it. You sign in and start following your colleagues and updates that matter to you.
- 2. Everything is in one place: contacts, conversations, content, groups and events.
- 3. We can communicate in a variety of ways: broadcast, instant chat, private messaging, group–your universal inbox.
But let’s dive a little deeper…
Vice President of Forrester Research, Rob Koplowitz explained it well in a webinar discussing the macro trends driving adoption of enterprise social. He explained how in the next few years, we have the largest cohort of workers in U.S. history retiring from the workforce, leaving a younger generation of professionals needing access to their knowledge.
Organizations are embracing internal social networking because it provides “open and transparent communication,” which enables frictionless knowledge transfer between generations.
When you’re young, or even just new to a large enterprise, you need the ability to find information easily, without a lot of training or learning tools. Enterprise social is intuitive to use. It connects you with the right employees and puts the answers right at your fingertips.
