The impact of social media cannot be denied. The 2009 word of the year was “tweet,” and the word of the decade was “google,” according to the American Dialect Society. Social media such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, and YouTube–which are defined by their user-generated content–have wiggled their way into most people’s working hours, and thus onto many workplace computers.

One of the biggest issues caused by social media during an employee tenure is the simple theft of working time. There are also matters of privacy, nondisclosure, taboo topics and hostile work environment, brand protection, and many more. The good news is, this is the stage when you have the most control over the situation. Most organizations would benefit from a well-researched, clear, and fairly applied social media policy.

Another huge issue is recommendations. Increasingly, people are asking former colleagues to write them recommendations on social media such as LinkedIn. Is that the same as an official post-employment recommendation? Jackson says yes–although it’s difficult to define when people are speaking for themselves, and when they are speaking on behalf of the organization. It’s a good reason to have a solid policy in place.

The warmest and fuzziest scenario is positive relations through social media in the form of corporate alumni networks. In Computer World’s article, “The new word for tech’s ex-employees is ‘alum’” large, successful sites catering to groups of ex-employees are examined. Microsoft’s alumni network, for example, has 10,000 members–what an incredible opportunity for networking and goodwill!

Conenza sees the value in alumni social networks and provides corporate strategic planning and social networking community software. Read the full article here.

For more information please visit our site at http://conenza.com

For those of you who missed our event last week, “The Application of Enterprise Social Networking to Talent Management and Talent Acquisition” you can take a look at the slide presentation below. There is a lot of great information inside. 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at info@conenza.com.

Conenza has an exciting and informative webinar coming up next month in partnership with the Human Capital Institute and we would like to invite you to attend.

The event is on Tuesday, June 2, 2009, at 10:00am PT and is titled:
The Application of Enterprise Social Networking to Talent Acquisition and Management.

In this webinar, we will discuss how enterprise social networking can be applied to your talent acquisition and management efforts to enhance collaboration and communication, increase recruiting and talent management efficiency, and retain access to valuable intellectual capital. We will walk through some real world examples of the different types of social networking initiatives that are being successfully adopted within leading global organizations:

>Internal Collaboration and Communication Networks
>Corporate Alumni Programs
>Recruiting and Referral Programs
>Employee Onboarding and Mentoring Programs
>Extended Talent Networks
>Learning and Development Communities

You can learn more about this webinar and register to attend here.

By Meighan Berberich, Director of MarCom, Conenza

Workforce reductions are one of the hardest decisions a leader has to make. Unfortunately, in the current economic climate, it is a decision from which few of us are immune.

Leaders want to ease the transition and communicate that they still value their people, including those who are leaving. Creating a secure, private, branded online community where your former employees can stay connected to your company and each other can:

• Send a powerful message about the value you place on your company’s people, current and former
• Provide exiting employees with valuable connections, benefits, resources, and peer support
• Deliver real value back to your business and ensure you don’t lose touch as they are walking out the door

The Microsoft Alumni Network (MSA) recently announced a program that provides a great example about how an alumni community can help support exiting and former employees. In an effort to connect former Microsoft employees with companies looking for top talent, MSA is currently offering free job postings to companies interested in targeting this qualified pool of more than 10,000 validated Microsoft alumni around the globe. Companies with open positions can post their jobs in the Opportunity Center online at: https://www.msanet.org/default.asp?pageID=car_postjob

For over a decade, the Microsoft Alumni Network has been the official organization for Microsoft Alumni worldwide. MSA helps support its members with a wide variety of benefits, including access to the Microsoft Company Store, job opportunities at Microsoft and other leading companies, competitive pricing on individual and small business health insurance and benefits, annual events, and other special privileges. Membership is open to authenticated former FTEs of Microsoft.

Conenza is sponsoring a Human Capital Institute Webinar on March 3, 2009, that is focused on this emerging talent management discipline, Corporate Alumni Relations.

You can find the details below, we hope you will join us:
Excelling at Corporate Alumni Relations
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 / 10:00 AM PT
Featured Speaker: Dr. John Sullivan, CEO, Dr. John Sullivan & Associates
Register Now 

By Meighan Berberich, Director of MarCom, Conenza

We have an exciting and informative webinar coming up next month as part of the Conenza Executive Event Series and we would like to invite you to attend.

The featured event for January is:
Executive Playbook for Corporate Alumni Communities: A Step by Step Guide for Building and Maintaining High-Value Connections with Exiting, Retiring, and Former Employees

You will find all the event details below. We hope you will be able to join us.

Event Details:

Executive Playbook for Corporate Alumni Communities
When: January 13, 2009
Time: 10:00am PT/ 1:00pm ET
Register Now

The business case for a private corporate alumni and employee community in normal economic times is one that is extremely compelling; in an economic downturn it becomes a strategic imperative.

Your exiting, retiring and former employees are powerful connections that can make a significant and long term contribution to your company. A corporate alumni and employee social network enables you to harness these connections and provides a lasting source of competitive advantage in recruiting/re-recruiting, strategic outplacement, business development, retained access to domain expertise, and high-value marketing.

In this Webinar, we will provide you with a step by step guide for creating a highly-rewarding corporate alumni and employee community that will deliver millions of dollars in benefits to your business. We will also highlight the latest features and functionality of our recently released Conenza Community Core 3.0. The modular Conenza Community Platform, featuring the Conenza Community Core, can provide you with an easy and cost-effective way to get started and quickly create value from a privately-branded extended enterprise community.

Register Now

By Meighan Berberich, Director of MarCom, Conenza

The Human Capital Institute is hosting an educational webinar on the topic of extended talent networks. The event will feature Zach Thomas, a Senior Analyst with Forrester Research who focuses on the processes, strategies, and tools that help organizations hire, engage, and promote effective workforces. Below you will find all the details:

Title: Now More Than Ever: The Business Imperative of an Extended Talent Community
When: December 2, 2008, 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET
Speaker: Zach Thomas, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research, Inc.
Register: Click Here

Event Description: Increasingly, smart companies around the globe are tapping into the power of social computing to cost-effectively harness talent from both inside and outside their organizations. Savvy human capital professionals are leading the charge in this arena—building talent communities for recruiting, alumni programs, mentoring, learning, and collaboration.

In this webcast, Zach Thomas from Forrester Research will explore the business imperative for building a talent community for employees, past and present. Highlighting recent research on corporate social networking, Thomas will discuss how these initiatives are improving talent acquisition efforts, turbo-charging business processes across the enterprise, and positively impacting both the top and bottom line. Finally, he will provide attendees with best practice recommendations on how to successfully get started.

The event is complimentary with pre-registration. For more information or to register, visit HCI’s Extended Talent Networks Community.

By Meighan Berberich, Director of MarCom, Conenza 

We have two exciting and informative webinars coming up this month as part of the Conenza Executive Event Series. The theme for this month is: Employee and Alumni Social Networks—From Business Case to Sustainable ROI.

Featured Events include:
* How to Build a Bullet-Proof Business Case for an Employee and Alumni Social Network
* 6 Ways to Drive Community Member Engagement and Maximize ROI

You will find all the event details below. We hope you will be able to join us.

Conenza Executive Event Series: October Webinars

How to Build a Bullet-Proof Business Case for an Employee and Alumni Social Network
Date and Time: October 22, 2008, 9:00 am PDT, 12:00 pm EST

At Conenza, we have partnered with some of the most admired companies in the world to build and manage rewarding corporate online communities. In this webinar, we will provide you with the information and tools you need to effectively champion an employee and alumni social networking initiative within your organization.

In this session, you will gain:
* A solid understanding of the Corporate Social Networking landscape
* A detailed outline of the business benefits of an Employee and Alumni Social Network
* Industry examples and statistics that will help you effectively tell your story
* Tools and techniques for quantifying the business value and justifying the cost
* Insight into how to identify and build internal advocates for your initiative
* Guidance on establishing a long term community strategy

As a registered attendee, you will receive the Executive Business Case Builder for Corporate Communities—a valuable collection of templatized resources that will help you garner the internal support you need for your community program.

Register Now 

6 Ways to Drive Community Member Engagement and Maximize ROI
Date and Time: October 29, 2008, 9:00 am PDT, 12:00 pm EST

The key to realizing the value of an employee and alumni social network is making sure that community members are active and engaged. In this webinar, we will share a decade worth of proven social networking strategies to help connect your members and get them coming back to your online community again and again.

In this session, you will gain:
* Insight into the three key pillars of driving member engagement
* Guidance on how to design an effective year-long engagement strategy
* A understanding of how technology can help you build a thriving community
* Real-world examples of what works and what doesn’t when seeking return visits
* Tips on establishing metrics that help you effectively measure and fine tune your community

Register Now