Empowering social employees in France

Word of mouth and social media events remain vibrant in Paris on the run up to Christmas. Recently I had the pleasure of participating in one of two panels organized by L’Atelier (@AtelierNetwork, a BNP Paribas subsidiary). The aim was to stay aware of disruptive innovations in business and technology and how to stimulate conversation around them – a perfect fit for 1000heads.

In the first panel, the speakers included myself; Antoine Sire, Global Head of Communications at BNP Paribas; Nicolas Bordas, President at TBWA France and author of “L’idée qui tue” (a book on disruptive ideas); Philippe Gérard, Inter-Enterprise Training Product Manager at Cegos; and Pierre Chappaz, Founder at Wikio & Kelkoo

Me with the contributors on the first panel – photo credit @Fadhi’Live

The second panel featured Fadhila Brahimi, Personal Branding Expert; Emmanuel Vivier, Chief Strategy Officer & Founder at Vanksen Group; Olivier Maurel, Community Architect at Danone; Pierre-Michel Durand, Orchestra Director at Prométhée; and Pierre-Michel Menger, Research Director at CNRS.

The place (and the use) of social media within business was, predictably, heavily discussed. Most of the largest French companies still block access to social networks, highlighting the importance of getting focused on a cultural and behavioral acceptance first. At the end of the day, when done well, spending time on social networks is a long term investment in gaining knowledge and competitive advantage, building connections, and even shifting sales.

Two main concerns emerged for the companies attending : the issue of brands ‘losing control’ of their reputation and image, and the need to put an authentic (and human) touch on each interaction.

A few obvious lessions have been learned when it comes to guiding employees in their social interactions without limiting them. Once it has set clear goals, a company need to have have flexible and evolving guidelines. Although there needs to be a strong ethical consensus, employees need to be empowered to learn, adapt and yes, even make mistakes as they progress.

Unscripted messages, spontaneity in communication style and trust are important components to succeed.

This test and learn approach was widely agreed to be the best. Iterating and feeding collective knowledge capital is vital for an active learning organization, so everyone must share their discoveries of what works and what doesn’t on an ongoing basis.

Nicolas Bordas of TBWA shared the story of a company splitting their employees into two content-creating teams : proactive and reactive. This is in fact an approach we have used for years at 1000heads – not by splitting teams but by helping clients clearly define their social content and engagement as proactive or reactive to ensure an even mix of the two.

Another important point is that personal branding shouldn’t exclude the less visible employees, if they have the inclination to participate. The challenge is to be both inclusive and strategic; to create an internal consensus about external engagement.

As Tom’s post about BMW last week suggested, everyone needs to own this.

Brought into the world on Monday, December 6th, 2010 and filed under Events, Global.