The Value of Authenticity and Transparency in the Social Enterprise
Jinfo Blog

By Azfarul Islam

Abstract

Consider a scenario where the latest financial report contains bad news. It's all very well to talk about the numbers as they are, but there is also an opportunity to discuss areas for improvement, plans for a better future and cast a softer light on harsh tidings. This is storytelling in action and at the heart of communicating within a social enterprise, explains Azfarul Islam.

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Storytelling in the Organisation

Large organisations, social or otherwise, are mired in historic processes which help run their engines.

Constantly being demanded of these processes are coloured statuses and acronymed values, and these metrics are best applied to structured, "mechanistic" tasks.

In a social enterprise, activities such as collaboration, networking and knowledge sharing are equally important in making and shaping business decisions.

How do you value something like authenticity or transparency? You craft a story around it.

Explaining the "Why"

Whether fuelled by tightening audit requirements or simply the limitations of numerical metrics, the ability of a story to express value and provide justification is one that should not be treated lightly.

Used in the right way, even the most innocuous of activities can be appraised. Stories can go so far as to explain the "why" factor that many metrics lack and provide a sense of progression that gives context to the proceedings.

Easing the Disruptive Effects of New Tools

With enterprises introducing social tools for collaboration and new ways of working, adoption and reach become concerns - especially since such things are generally seen to be "disruptive".

The age-old practice of use cases tends to be far too hypothetical or generic to have any impact. Without being able to frame these activities within context (say, productivity or efficiency), we risk creating contention with day-to-day work.

Real examples stitched into the fabric of a narrative may be the inspiration that a particularly unmoved business division needs.

This is no panacea without the right approach, however.

Making your Narratives Synonymic with Enterprise Value

To derive value, we cannot rely wholly on traditional journalistic means.

A framework is needed that is both "retrospective and prospective", say two of the foremost researchers in the field of social learning.

Taking a systematic approach to something unstructured offers the compromise needed to appease the requirements of most organisations wishing to modernise themselves.

Combining this framework with a distributed network of sources is the way forward to creating a more engaging, authentic and informed workplace: a truly social enterprise.

FreePint Subscribers can login to read and share more in Azfarul's article "Social Technologies: Communicating Value through Storytelling" now.

Editor's Note: The Social Enterprise

The FreePint Topic Series: The Social Enterprise runs from January to March 2014 to examine the ways that organisations are maximising internal social connections and knowledge management.

Register your interest now for notification of new content published in the series, to get early announcements to register for FreePint Webinars produced in the series, and to receive a free copy of the FreePint Report: Buyer's Guide on Social Tools, scheduled for publication in March.

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