Three Ways to Transform Business with Social BPM

Have you been living under a rock?

Of course not! So you know the World Cup is in full swing. I've never been much of a fan, but I find myself going through a strong case of "World Cup Fever" after some exciting opening round matches.

The tournament has a serious presence on social media. Go check your Twitter - I'll bet half the trending topics are about the latest tournament news making headlines. Quickly log on to Facebook - guarantee you have friends posting their excitement about their team's big win or heartbreak.

Events with the global magnitude of the World Cup create tremendous opportunities for social media technology. Yes, consumer platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are what's "cool" and provide us access to the lives of sports stars and celebrities, but they yield a larger purpose. Social media keeps us informed. It gives us access to information through clear and concise channels, tailored to our desires. Social technology is the means for efficient and modern collaboration behind a cause or shared experience.

For those organizations looking for a competitive edge, the opportunities seized with Social technology should be applied in the work world.

I know, there is still a huge "work" problem and ugly stereotypes with Social: Productivity is the prime suspect. The common belief is that time spent on social media takes us away from something that adds value. Organizations that are hesitant to bring social collaboration into the workforce fear that it is just a platform for "social," and that real work cannot be done through unstructured communications.

But, it is proven that better collaboration yields huge business value in terms of increased innovation, better decision-making, and faster actions across the organization!

Here are three practices to consider as you think about developing a Social strategy within your organization.

• • Adapt your Style of Play: Re-cast Expectations; Understand Social for Business -Today's World Cup is not what it was 20 years ago. The perennial powerhouses such as Brazil, Italy, and Argentina recognize the game's changes and adapt their style of play to ensure continued success. When first developing a Social strategy, it's important to think of it strictly as a business tool. Don't focus on the schemas you have in place with media platforms that drain productivity. Examine what Social capabilities can do for the business. A centralized, intuitive means of communication provides users awareness, resulting in more meaningful business conversions. It's important to deliver the ease of use people expect from Social, but focus the context on business data and business events. Recasting Social allows employees to break from the limitations of email-based communication and have quicker access to critical data and conversations to drive faster business results.

• • Installing theGame Plan: Use a Platform that can Enable your Social Vision -This separates the contenders from the pretenders. The elite teams of the tournament have a tremendous foundation that is essential to staying ahead of the fierce competition. Once you've determined your business is ready for Social, adopt the right platform to best drive collaboration. Align Social ideology with a platform that is rooted in data, process across the organization, and natively mobile to ensure that ease of use. Reliable, easy access to data may be the most essential component of a well-designed Social strategy. The ability to access, analyze, and collaborate around data is what enables work to be accomplished better through Social.

• • PENALTY! Don't create "Social Silos" -If you break the rules of the game, you'll be penalized. The same holds true in selecting your Social platform. The use of a Social platform must be consistent and easily accessed. Resist the urge to build multiple applications for collaboration. This creates a more disperse and limited form of communication that delays user connection to data and process. Use a modern work platform approach to deliver the real value of Social across the entire business. A modern work platform provides users with access to all the data and processes needed in one social interface, where collaboration takes place from behind the desk or on-the-go via mobile.

Follow this blueprint for a Social strategy, and before you know it you'll be a winner in the global game called business. GOAL!!!

Mike Ingrisano