Optus believes social media and collaboration technologies are revolutionising the way Australians interact at work and at home. We are seeing social networks, applications and media proliferating in personal and business environments. On the collaboration front, email is complementing social media tools that enable workers to share ideas and documents with several others at the same time.

1. WHITEPAPER: SOCIAL MEDIA
FUTURE OF WORK
About Optus Social media and
Business. collaboration
technolgies.
Optus Business is passionate about understanding the issues and
opportunities facing the business community. We are committed
to offering the kind of expertise, advice and services that allow
businesses to succeed, while taking care of the technology that
underpins our customers’ ability to compete and thrive.
If you want to discuss how Optus can help you through innovative
communications solutions, contact your Optus Account Manager
or call the Optus Business hotline on 1800 555 937.
Join the conversation
Web - optus.com.au/business
Twitter - @optusbusiness
Blog - http://yesopt.us/blog
SingTel Optus Pty Limited ABN 90 052 833 208 trading as Optus, 1 Lyonpark Road, Macquarie Park NSW 2113, Australia. Optus, the Optus logo, Optus Evolve and ‘yes’ are trademarks of SingTel Optus Pty Limited.
Optus’ services are provided by Optus Networks Pty Limited ABN 92 008 570 330, Alphawest Services Pty Ltd ABN 49 009 196 347 and Optus Mobile Pty Limited ABN 65 054 365 696. Copyright © 2012.
OBD0114-08/12

2. WHITEPAPER: SOCIAL MEDIA
Contents
Executive
summary.
01 Executive summary.
02 Social media and collaboration
changing Australia’s future.
03 Social media and collaboration.
Problem, solution or revolution?
Web-based social media.
Social media the enterprise.
Information governance.
Preparing for social media in business.
04 Conclusion
Optus believes social media and collaboration The Optus Future of Work report found that of the
technologies are revolutionising the way Australians organisations surveyed:
interact at work and at home. We are seeing social
Fewer organisations were banning social media
networks, applications and media proliferating in
access at work and more were monitoring workers’
personal and business environments. On the
access to these sites.1
collaboration front, email is complementing social
media tools that enable workers to share ideas and Most HR managers believed allowing social media
documents with several others at the same time. access from the workplace or employer-issued
devices would be important in recruiting and
Many organisations understand they must find a
retaining staff over the next few years.2
workable position somewhere between banning Web-
based social media entirely and allowing unmanaged Some organisations were concerned about social
use. They seek to establish and constantly revise media access damaging staff productivity.3
security policies to prevent sensitive corporate Organisations expected to increase their use
information being distributed on social media and to of collaboration applications, particularly those
minimise reputation risk. that allowed real-time communications, such as
The benefits of social media and collaboration instant messaging, Twitter-style applications and
technologies to business can be considerable, presence technologies.4
including enhanced productivity, an increased ability
This paper will examine the business implications
to recruit and retain talented younger staff and the
of social media and collaboration technologies,
capacity to leverage corporate knowledge accrued
and assess a range of issues your organisation
within an organisation.
should consider when deciding if and how to
SOCIAL MEDIA AND COLLABORATION CHANGING implement them.
AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE
In early 2011, Optus asked market researchers
Stancombe Research Planning to survey more
than 300 IT and human resources (HR) executives
from medium-sized and large organisations to
understand what their workplaces would look like
in the future.
1. Optus Future of Work Report, page 33
2. Optus Future of Work Report, page 35
3. Optus Future of Work Report, page 34
4. Optus Future of Work Report, page 28

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Social media and collaboration.
TOOL PURPOSE PROS CONS
Social media is revolutionising the way we collaborate. When defining a policy, businesses should understand how different
We are now more connected to our families, friends, colleagues, groups of people within the organisation perceive social media.
customers, partners, suppliers, competitors, sporting To most senior managers with a traditional attitude, social platforms Email Send and receive small Efficient Broadcast model – can’t
associations and teams, fellow hobbyists, and governments may be irrelevant to the core business, unproductive, distracting, amounts of digital content Easy to use control what you receive
than ever before. This connectivity is self-perpetuating, as a risk to information security and a breach of IT systems usage one-to-one or one-to-many Reach anyone, anywhere A very noisy medium
each new connection opens a list of potential new contacts. policies. By contrast, young graduates will almost certainly have A
bility to attach documents and executable files Replicates versions of content
This revolution presents a range of challenges for businesses. used social collaboration tools to share information and connect at Standardised in attachments
‘Social media’ has a broad range of meanings with different business university and at home. They may regard email, telephony and face-
implications. It also represents a fundamental shift in the way to-face meetings as ‘old school’. Denying a graduate access to these Share digital content and Subscription model o way to push information
N
Blog
businesses collaborate. platforms is the equivalent of forbidding a senior manager to use a allow others to comment to another user
Easy to use
If you are confused by the social revolution, you’re not alone. mobile phone. Many large corporations are acknowledging the role of on it ot suitable for private
N
Great for sharing ideas
Welcome to the ‘new normal’. social media as a communications medium rather than a productivity or sensitive material
Encourages collaboration
drain. For example:
One of our observations is that the more people know about social entrally stored content – a single source of truth
C
media the more likely they are to be planning to harness the benefits International airlines are offering customer service on Facebook
of it; the less people know about social media the less likely they are and Twitter.
Wiki A searchable organic web E
asily find information and knowledge by subject o way to push information
N
to be building their corporate social strategies. Banks are using social networks to provide and improve of related documents linked Great learning tool to another user
customer service. by subject ot suitable for private
N
Problem, solution or revolution? Encourages collaboration
Retailers are delivering promotions, marketing and customer C
entrally stored content – a single source of truth or sensitive material
The hype around social media may be distorting its evolution within service over social media.
businesses. Social platforms were born in the consumer world
Media agencies are distributing breaking news updates over Tweet Share short status updates eep colleagues up to date with your activity
K o way to push information
N
and business people can often find it hard to look past consumer
social media. and ideas with members of Subscription model to another user
uses such as sharing a humorous video with friends to see the
Senior managers who want to block access to Web-based social your human network Encourages collaboration ot suitable for private
N
collaborative potential of the underlying social media technology.
This medium allows people to connect and share information media should ask themselves: ‘How disconnected do I want my or sensitive material
globally, in real time, and in a way that deeply engages the workforce. organisation to be?’ Blocking access to Web-based social media may hort message length
S
hinder a business in engaging and retaining Generation Y workers. is restrictive
So what does this mean to today’s knowledge workers? To answer Failure to interact through social media may also make businesses
this question, we have broken down the discussion of social media increasingly irrelevant and invisible to younger consumers. Aggregation of activities, reat way to get the latest updates and avoid
G ot suitable for private
N
News feed
into three areas: posts, tweets, blogs and outdated information or sensitive material
On the other hand, social networks can compromise the information
Web-based social media other contributions from Subscription model Not the most effective 1:1
security of a business and damage its brand. The correct balance
members of your human Encourages collaboration communications tool
Social applications in the enterprise for your organisation lies somewhere between the extremes of no network
Information governance access and unlimited access. When making this decision, you should
consider the cost of not participating in the world’s fastest growing
Web-based social media Community Virtual workspace for people B
rings individuals together regardless of location Each community needs an
communications networks. You should also consult with your
The number of social media websites and tools is proliferating to collaborate, specific to entrally stored content – a single source of truth
C owner or
marketing, communications and HR leaders. subject or purpose; brings
quickly. At time of publication, popular tools included Facebook, Flickr, Subscription model Administrator – this creates
Social media the enterprise together information, overhead
Friendster, LinkedIn, MySpace, Skype, Twitter, Yammer and YouTube. Encourages collaboration
applications, communication
Businesses must determine their stance on each of these platform The social media revolution has shown the business world that email tools and people C
onnects people with knowledge and information
sand how they will manage and police that decision. The most is just one of many communications tools. Email is a mechanism
popular options are to: for transporting digital information from one person to another
or broadcasting information to a group. This makes it a relatively Human Connect with people who are Subscription model None – you can always
Allow access for social use networks of interest or of value to your unsubscribe
ineffective collaboration tool. Encourages collaboration
Allow access for business use purpose C
onnects people with knowledge and information
Deny all access. Collaboration’ refers to a group of people coming together to
Leverages intellectual assets
achieve a common outcome or piece of work. When people
There are also now many technologies available for policing access to
use email to collaborate, they often end up working on different
these platforms. Chances are, your organisation already has a policy Video Share digital video content powerful medium for learning and education
A an place heavy band width
C
versions of the output. This is because email does not offer a
to cover staff use of Web-based social media, or is considering one. libraries within a central library. lso suitable for OHS, compliance and
A load on networks
shared digital workspace for groups of people to work together.
That policy will vary to meet your specific needs – there is no executive briefings
‘one size fits all’ template. aptures and retains rich content for re-use
C

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Social media and collaboration. Conclusion.
In addition, email is a ‘broadcast’ or ‘push’ model rather than Preparing for social media in business The way we communicate and collaborate at work is changing.
a ‘subscribe’ or ‘pull’ model. Even if you do not care about the Social media provides new ways of collaborating internally Technology improvements and generational change is driving
printer on level 7 running out of toner, you will still receive an and externally. When developing policies around social media greater use of social media and collaboration tools, and your
email notification about it. Digesting and filtering this information use, the first step is to identify stakeholders for each of these organisation may be able to benefit.
consumes a great deal of our attention and productivity. three categories: The combination of social media and collaboration can unleash
In contrast to email, tools such as blogs, communities, contextually Web-based social media – a good place to find a stakeholder tremendous productivity and flexibility gains for organisations.
aware content, federated search engines, human networks, news feeds, could be within the Marketing Communications group, HR, Businesses that employ this combination can remove obstacles
posts, tweets and wikis have considerable collaborative power. They or within a customer relationship function depending on to communication, improve decision-making and outflank slower
create digital workspaces for people to share knowledge and ideas. your business. competitors. In addition, social media and collaboration can assure
an organisation’s future by making it a destination of choice for
Organisations today can harness social networking by deploying Social Applications deployed in the enterprise – if your
young, talented workers.
enterprise-grade social applications. The potential benefits include organisation has a Chief Collaboration Officer (or similar role) you
increased productivity, better knowledge and information sharing are one step a head. If not, then this responsibility could likely be
and a more engaged workforce. split across HR and IT. A steering committee across the two could
be the answer
The table on the previous page discusses the relative value of each
of the tools available to businesses. Information governance - again this could potentially be a split.
IT will own the technology that provides the security; HR may
There are many enterprise-grade social applications available which, contribute to and communicate the policy that dictates usage
if used correctly, are proven differentiators for businesses. They can policy. Either way, an owner is required for each of these.
increase productivity, boost knowledge and information sharing,
Once you have identified stakeholders, the second step is to
and engage the workforce. These applications tend to encourage
establish with each of them a strategy for each category listed
collaboration rather than simply transmitting and receiving digital
above. Assess the challenges across the business and consider the
information. Also, most use a subscription model, which allows
benefits of each relevant social media application or service. Ensure
people to tune in to the information they need and avoid the rest.
your organisation establishes and regularly updates appropriate
If your organisation’s collaboration toolkit is primarily built around policies along the way.
email, conference calls and face-to-face meetings, social applications
The final step in developing social media policies is to understand
are well worth reviewing.
and prepare for the possibility that introducing social platforms
Information governance will create a distinct divide across the organisation. Some staff will
Whatever your organisation’s stance on social media, it must welcome it, while others may not ‘get it’ and might resist taking
constantly revise security policies to meet the challenges these time out of their day to get on board. The latter group will require a
applications present. Social media can spread information change management program to help them develop an interest in
like a virus. social media. You will need top-down and bottom-up adoption plans
Blocking access to Web-based social media does not solve the to cater for these two user groups.
problem. Indeed, denying access usually encourages workers to If your organisation has followed the three steps above, you are well
access sites and applications using non-approved methods, on the way towards harnessing the collaborative power of social
such as from mobile devices, which may be outside the media in business.
organisation’s control.
Businesses can minimise their risks by using up-to-date security
technologies and educating employees about their policies governing
use of social media. These policies should also stipulate what
corporate information can be sent over social networks and how
it can be sent.