If Coffee Machines Had Ears, What Would You Learn About Your Employees?

Everywhere you turn, people are talking about data—how to capture it, what to do with it, and what it all means. We’re familiar with the term Big Data, and know that with exponential growth in personal computing devices, there’s going to be more data than ever. Right now, the spotlight is on how to use the data that is being captured, but we are forgetting about the data that isn’t finding its way to us. This can include information like employee conversations and insights that are valuable to ensuring business success. But, how do we capture this type of unique data?

Chatting Around the Coffee Machine

An age-old office practice is chatting around the coffee machine; while coffee machines may have evolved over time, what happens around them hasn’t. Employees gather, refill coffee mugs, and engage in that old-fashioned thing: a conversation. Some of what is discussed details weekend plans or the purchase of a new dress, but what about casual conversations regarding how the new order process is taking twice as long as the old one? What happens to this data, and what would the coffee machine know if it had ears?

Create the Ears

There’s good news: Your coffee machine can have ears! Well, not exactly. But you can easily enable your employees to share valuable insight without offering yourself up to be bombarded with emails. Enterprise social networking (ESN) can be your ears, and empower your employees to use their voices in a meaningful way. No longer do these conversations have to be confined to small groups, or bounced around as emails that can get lost in inboxes; they can now be broadcasted to the right audience and consumed at a time that suits all concerned participants.

Think of the day when coffee machine conversations become posts on an internal social network. Watch as fifty other employees comment or “like” a post to show their support that the new order process is too lengthy. That’s the day when you will be able to implement a change to improve your business process and your employees’ job satisfaction. They spoke and you listened; you listened because for the first time, you were able to hear. Now, replicate that across all departments in your organization, and imagine the potential such a tool could unlock!

Try tibbr to see how TIBCO’s enterprise social networking tool can provide you with the ears to gain valuable insights into your company.

SOURCE: Tibco