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Social media- a catalyst for employee engagement

Monday, 19 July 2021 | AN Tripathy & Gaurav Kumar

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Effective use of social media is an opportunity and a challenge in contemporary competitive corporate landscape. Today, effective use of social media is inevitable. If we are not using it, we are in crisis; if using it ineffectively then we are definitely in crisis. So, the only way out is to use social media effectively. Today the power of social media is just a click away, new and emerging communication platforms have made dissemination of information very easy and effective. Constant and collaborative communication via social media is key to participative management, employee engagement and public sector undertakings are no exception. The Unique Selling Point (USP) of social media is the role of User Generated Content (UGC) in its operation which makes it user friendly, interactive and inclusive.

Today, Indian PSUs have moved ahead from the era of physical files in terms of official working and have shifted to e-office platform in order to boost employee efficiency and enhance transparency in the official working. This has promoted paperless culture and virtual office space. This has literally brought the office just a click away and proved very evident during Covid times when offices have to function by maintaining social distancing. There are many processes that exist in our PSUs’ work culture such as managing human resource data, analysing financial performance, online approval of files etc by way of using various software like HRMS, FMS and SAP. Further, the use of bulk SMS and voice call service has made internal communication mechanisms more prudent and employee friendly. Bulk message and voice call service saves time, paper, money and manpower and reaches within no time. Intranet online platforms like collaborative knowledge desk are also introduced in which employees can log in and share their experiences which can help in process improvement and knowledge upgradation of employees. Best case studies, learnings are available online for employees for future reference. 

Feedback is quintessential for continual improvement. Suggestion Mela is organised in many PSUs which is yet another illustration of a strong and cost effective tool of employee engagement. Employees of the corporation give their suggestions which reach the top management and many of the workable suggestions have been implemented which gives a strong sense of ownership to the employees. Suggestions are also invited through an online portal for encouraging paperless culture.

To encourage the culture of capturing photographs and making videos among employees, to project the corporation in a better light many PSUs have established a photography and videography club. The effort is to identify employees having interest in cameras and to develop them as in-house photographers/filmmakers so that a bank of good multimedia products can be developed by using internal resources and later on uploaded social media platforms. Regular photography and videography workshops are also organised to create awareness and to hone the skills of the employees and their family members.

Human capital is the most essential asset for any organisation and in contemporary competitive scenarios the survival of organisations predominantly depends only if they recognise the importance of efficient management of this precious capital. The employee has been indicated as the significant stakeholder in the social media action plan of many PSUs.  When the PSU fraternity addresses the employee as their significant stakeholder they mean it in the plural sense not the singular one. Employees with the family members constitute their definition of the significant stakeholders. The biggest liberty that social media has provided is speed and cost effectiveness.

In a mixed economy set up like India, the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) have time and again proved that they are the growth engine of our development.  Public sector undertakings believe in prudent use of public money and that is why they have moved towards frequent and fair use of social media effectively.

(Tripathy is the deputy general manager of HR&PR, Kumar is the PR manager and social media officer at THDCIL)

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