breaking silos to improve performance

the social management of work

rolf e. kleiner and charles bedard

03 Introduction

04 Why we need social management practices

07 Why it works

08 Linear management processes don’t work

09 Perpetual processes are enabled by social management

10 It’s new technology and a new mindset

15 Which technology?

18 Conclusion

contents

introduction

People are inherently social. The trouble is, organizations typically do not

harness this natural inclination well. Rather, they create barriers that hinder how

employees engage with one another, and limit agility in how they collaborate

and make decisions.

They do this by forming complex hierarchies and reporting structures,

excessively layering new processes and controls without reviewing or

removing existing ones, as well as creating functional silos with defined

yet competing interests.

In an effort to control and converge the way people work, organizations have

hindered their productivity and increased bureaucracy—so much so that

traditional management think is no longer working. Employees and employers

alike are looking for a new way of interacting that’s more productive, more

efficient and more responsive to what’s happening here and now—not what

was happening when all these processes and hierarchies were created.

By redefining how we manage, and by striving to better reflect how people

want to work in an information-based knowledge economy, we can improve

communication and collaboration, and eliminate waste. This is what social

management at work is all about and we’re already doing it ourselves.

In the next few pages, we will take you through our thinking, our approach and

show you why “social” is the next evolution in good management practice.

rolf e. kleiner charles bedard

3

From the outside, we perceive companies as unified wholes. In reality they are often a series of silos, each with their own objectives, management practices and ways of operating.

why we need social management practices

The challenge every large organization faces is to move from being a group

of fragmented silos working in parallel, to becoming a unified ecosystem. And

unfortunately, many of the controls and processes managers have used to

improve employee functioning have, in fact, inhibited it.

The silos present in many traditional business structures have the effect of limiting

access to critical communication—not only vertically but also horizontally. This is

problematic for four reasons:

1. Only top leaders can give strategic communications the appropriate

weight, yet few employees receive this thanks to hierarchical “cascading”

communication styles.

2. Strategy involves trade-offs, which are more easily accepted when put in a

broad perspective, without parochial filters.

3. Messages passed from person to person seldom arrive intact—so employees

are left operating without the key information they need.

4. Critical messages from the “frontline” do not filter back up the management

line effectively or efficiently. Often, key customer insights are lost because

cascading doesn’t work in reverse.

The “social management” of work is about effectively communicating and

managing at least these two things:

1. The operational goals of the corporation; and

2. The impact individuals have on operations.

4

Traditional management approaches often concentrate heavily on achieving

the first point, but do not have the technology, processes or management

practices to deliver on the second.

At their core, social management practices aim to recognize and harness the

symbiotic relationship of the organization and the individual. When executed

properly, the outcomes are:

• increasedworkforceengagement

• lowerturnover

• bettergovernanceofprocess

• improvedefficiencyandeffectiveness

• betterfinancialresults

• establishmentofaperformancecultureand,ultimately,

• successfulexecutionofstrategy.

While some hierarchy is necessary—the buck has to stop somewhere—social

management ignores the idea that “cascades” must only occur within silos.

Instead, it embraces a more transparent and flattened business structure,

facilitated by perpetual (rather than linear) processes, and by social technology.

why we need social management practices

5

what we think happens what really happens

A unified collective A series of silos

One goal Many goals, different objectives, competing interests

One way of operating Multiple operating practices and management routines

Working collaboratively Disjointed, in conflict

Information flows/”cascades” as needed from one layer of the organization to the next

Information tends to “pool” rather than “flow”—some areas have access to too much, while others have access to too little

Employees are well connected to their managers and understand the objectives

Employees are disconnected from managers and do not always know how they are performing against the plan

6

the cost of disengaged employees to u.s. employers per year 1:

$370bthe percentage of return on the salary of a disengaged employee 2:

60%the percentage of return on the salary of a fully engaged employee:

120%the average proportion of employees that return high engagement scores:

12%

1 Blacksmith, N., & Harter, J. (2011, October 28). Gallup wellbeing. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/150383/majority-american-workers-not-engaged-jobs.aspx

2 www.blessingwhite.com/.../blessingwhite_2011_ee_report.pdf

We need to do better

Social technology is in its infancy. As it becomes more popular, business leaders can use this dynamic change to break down the silos and create unity in their businesses, thereby allowing every person to contribute to success.

why it works

Social technology is changing the way we work and manage because of the

following reasons:

1. Community networks are inherently social and create an opportunity to

streamline hierarchical processes, resulting in flatter organizational structures

that are more agile, responsive, collaborative and aligned.

2. It is replacing laggard reporting with real-time or near-real-time alerts and KPI

dashboards. This allows current feedback, not post-event, reactionary data.

3. It allows organizations to connect employee performance with operations

management.

“Social management” capitalizes on the gains made by performance

management and moves a step forward, bringing the constant communication

of the modern world to bear on the business. This continuous communication,

when combined with a clear focus on business goals and personal responsibility,

can help leadership teams create a thriving, high-performance business.

However, this growth will not be spontaneous—business leaders must control

and monitor the successful transition. As social technology changes the way we

work, perpetual (not linear) management processes must be implemented to

maximize the gains.

7

8

Organizations spend a lot of time creating elaborate processes for their staff to follow. These are meant to guide and intentionally restrict who does what, when they do it, where they do it and why.

linear management processes don’t work

This is roughly what a linear management style looks:

On the surface, this may seem like the responsible way to run a large

organization. Yet, the key problems with this approach are:

• Allsteps/processesaremanualsotheprocessitselfbecomesareburden/drain

on productivity

• Versioncontrolofdocumentationisonerousandineffective

• Alldecisionsaremadeonpast/historicalinformation

• Analysisishamperedbecausekeydataisheldinsideforms,nottransparent,

accessible systems

While we all want to reduce risk and effectively manage resources, these complex

and lengthy process maps haven’t always achieved the ends we hoped they

would. And there have been other costs along the way.

hr employee manager hr executives

Process Initiation Completing Review Form Collecting Data Analyzing Results

conduct environmental analysis

project initiation

develop, revise & align strategic plan

integrate planning, develop tactics & measures

implement, monitor, evaluate & adjust

9

Perpetual management processes are rather different to linear processes. They take a company’s strategy and create information and communication process flows to each team and individual. With each communication cycle, work becomes more efficient.

perpetual processes are enabled by social management

This is how a perpetual management works:

HR team can look at skill strengths and gaps; and

use this information to plan workforce training

and recruiting

Managers can use skills captured during process to help staff projects

Executives get timely feedback from HR on

alignment of workforce with corporate priorities

Employee goals are linked to manager goals and corporate goals

employees

executives

hrmanagerSTRATEgICAllY

AlIgNED ORgANIzATION

PERPETuAl MANAgEMENT

PROCESS

goal setting

activity & kpi monitoring

communication & collaboration

feedback & recognition

learning & strategy

10

the benefits of perpetual management include the following:

• Employeesaregivencontinuous,real-time(ratherthanperiodic)feedback,

recognition, engagement and goal setting.

• Employees’goalsandobjectivesarealignedtothatoftheorganization.

• Asingle,unifiedunderstandingoftheoperatingperformance.

• Improvedawarenessandalignment—betteralignmentbetweenstrategy

and execution. 

• Simplermanagementstructureandflattermanagementhierarchies.

perpetual processes are enabled by social management

Company interactions are becoming less linear anyway

11

The boundaries between employees, vendors and customers will blur

Teams will self-organize

Decisions will be based primarily on the examination of data rather than reliance on opinion and experience

The organization’s formal hierarchy will become much flatter or disappear altogether

Data used for decision-making will mostly be collected through experiments

Financial transparency will increase dramatically

Internal markets or other voting mechanisms will be used to allocate resources (eg, talent, capital, ideas)

Strategic priorities will be set from the bottom up

Individual performance will be evaluated by peers rather than by managers

Employees will have much more discretion in choosing which tasks to work on

Employees will play a much greater role in selecting leaders

large companies and/or business units will disaggregate

Compensation decisions will be made by peers rather than by managers

35

32

32

27

20

19

18

17

14

12

10

9

3

likeliest organization changes in next 3–5 years, without constraints

% of respondents,3 n=4.261

3 Respondents who answered “none of the above” or “don’t know” are not shown.

12

The adoption of social technology as a business tool has happened mostly in the last three years.

it’s new technology and a new mindset

In a recent study by McKinsey and Company, researchers discovered that

organizations with the most widely utilized social applications were those most

likely to see success, while those that implemented social tools only in select

business processes or departments saw inconsistent and often short-lived results.

McKinsey’s research shows that: “Respondents affiliated with fully networked

organizations say that they continue to realize competitive gains and performance

improvements...Integrating social technologies into the workflow and using them

to optimize internal processes will, these results suggest, provide additional

competitive benefits.”4

Central to McKinsey’s findings was the idea that silos are no longer working, and

businesses must make the decision at the executive level about social technology

to experience the maximum benefits. This transition from silos to a unified

organization is a simplification of the way work is done. The multiple agendas

and divergent business strategies of the past are eliminated as the corporation

is able to move toward one agenda and a common goal. Truly holistic, perpetual

management is now possible when facilitated by the connection of social

technology with social management monitoring tools.

Businesses willing to implement social technology and to adopt the mindset

necessary to support its complete adoption have seen the greatest gains. Those

that implemented social technology in one vertical only, or for just one process,

have seen fluctuating gains and inconsistencies. According to the McKinsey

report, “Executives at internally networked organizations note the highest

improvement in benefits from interactions with employees; those at externally

networked organizations, from interactions with customers, partners, and

suppliers. Executives at fully networked organizations report greater benefits from

both internal and external interactions.”

4 Bughin, J. (2012, November). How social technologies are extending the organization. Retrieved from http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_social_technologies_are_extending_the_organization_2888

13

Perpetual management processes, aided by social technology, allow

organizations and managers to augment event management with process

management.

In an organization that follows an event management approach, the goal is

business as usual, and only the exceptions are exceptional. However, in an

organization driven by a perpetual management approach, the goal is continuous

improvement on every front. When social technology is integrated into this

approach, the gains can increase productivity up to 25 percent.

However, the danger of social technology is similar to any other technology—

companies that see the tool as the solution will stumble. It is critical that

innovation and advancement occur simultaneously. Organizations that are

interested in seeing the benefits that McKinsey & Company predicts must be bold

enough to bring both the social technology and the management tools to their

employees in parallel.

it’s new technology and a new mindset

% of average workweek

improved communication and collaboration through social technologies could

raise the productivity of interaction between workers by 20 to 25 percent.

14

25–35%

10–15%

20-25%

30–35%

25–30%

productivity improvement

Reading and answering emails

Searching and gathering information

Communicating and collaborating internally

Role-specific tasks

total

28

19

14

39

100

interaction with workers’ tasks

7.0–8.0

5.5–6.5

3.5–5.0

4.0–6.0

20-25%

increased value-added time

Source: International Data Corporation (IDC); McKinsey global Institute analysis

15

Technology alone cannot deliver the benefits of a “social management” approach to work. Instead, businesses must align their processes, their mindset/culture and implement the right technology alongside each other.

which technology?

Once the organization as a whole has decided to implement a more holistic

approach to management, aided by social technology, the benefits are tangible

and definitive.

Readily available, cloud-based tools (SaaS) enable users to integrate

performance and operational management in a very simple “dashboard”

application—effectively connecting employee performance with operations. In

this way, social management tools effectively automate execution.

Social management monitoring is a key component to utilizing social technology

properly in a business context, as it bases activities on outcomes and metrics.

For example, social performance management monitoring tools allow executives

and managers to capture and record:

• time: employee productivity, downtime.

• output: Each employee’s work can be directly tied to the bottom line.

• social currency: The value of influencers, networks and other

communications will become part of the key value of a new hire or

promotion.

• product feedback: Social technologies can be used to derive customer

insights and interactions during and after development.

• marketing and sales: Social technologies can be used to generate and foster

sales leads; for social commerce.

• customer service: Social technologies can be used to provide customer care

across multiple mediums (chat, email, telephone, kiosk, video, etc.).

16

Whichever technology you choose for your business (and there are many) it

should include each of these capabilities to ensure you capture all of the critical

information in one place. Its key purpose should be to replace manual, error-

prone reporting with accessible KPI dashboards that improve governance and

provide direct (real-time) feedback to employees and their teams. Ideally, you

should be able to:

go from this: to this:

which technology?

As the old saying goes: what gets measured gets improved, and good

technology should facilitate this objective.

Social supply chain Social recruitment

Two-thirds of companies already use a social solution of some kind.5

17

5 Harvard Business Review. (2010). Sas business analytics and business intelligence software. Retrieved from http://www.sas.com/resources/whitepaper/wp_23348.pdf

it makes sense to integrate these and apply the same logic and processes across all areas.

Social marketing and sales Social CRM and support Social product development

In an incredibly brief nine years, social technology has expanded and morphed

into a major game-changer for the business world. The way we work is

changing, and businesses must be ready to tailor social technology to their own

needs; integrate that technology into their business processes; and manage the

people, the technology and outcomes effectively.

Instead of holding fast to linear, control-driven ways of working and managing,

organizations must find ways to integrate social technologies across all areas

of their business. They are now being challenged to manage differently, and in

a way that better reflects how people want to work in an information-based,

knowledge economy.

Ultimately, social management—and the technology that facilitates it—is about

improving communication and collaboration and eliminating waste. It’s about

finding ways to make better business decisions, to engage employees in the

strategic intent of the organization and to improve performance.

Social management has worked for us and for many of our clients. If you’d like

to know more, please get in touch.

conclusion

18

about the authors

ROLF E. KLEINER is the Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of

Kelly Services. In this role he is responsible for fostering disruptive innovation

efforts, innovation strategy, innovation culture development and idea

management at a corporation-wide level.

This information may not be published, broadcast, sold, or otherwise distributed without prior written permission from the authorized party. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. An Equal Opportunity Employer. © 2013 Kelly Services, Inc.

ChARLES BEDARD is Vice President of Global Strategy, BullseyeEvaluation and has

extensive knowledge of technology and outsourcing options for today’s business.

he serves as a Strategic Advisor, Chief Strategy Officer, and Global Strategist to

B2B technology and outsourcing providers. Previously, Charles served as a Director

for multiple fast-growth companies in BPO, IT, hR/human Capital/hRO,

Technology/Software, and Professional Services. he earned his Bachelor of Arts

from Southwestern University and his Masters of Business Administration from

Texas Christian University.

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