Corporate social networking: Why should HR embrace it?

Frédéric Radier looks at the benefits that social networking can provide in the workplace, and offers some advice to help HR professionals implement a corporate network within the organisation.

Social networking sites have revolutionised communication and the art of personal marketing. A huge number of people now have profiles on sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn and spend a significant amount of time communicating with friends and colleagues via these sites, as well as using these tools as a means to create their own personal brand to stand out in the crowd.

Facebook alone has roughly 8.5 million users in the UK. Many businesses are now recognising that the communication benefits social networking technologies provide in the consumer world can also be applied to the corporate world, and as a result are looking at ways of harnessing Web 2.0 technologies.