Collaborative online employee networks can be a huge benefit to organisations, yet too many do not recognise the full potential of online sharing, or they misunderstand the technology for this can be quite simple.

All kinds of fears are expressed at the highest level when the subject is discussed ranging from “inappropriate comments and behaviour “to sharing information too widely across the organisation.

All these fears can be allayed through policies, procedures and acknowledgement as per a system such as the Procedure Rock system. The biggest risk in the consideration of this matter is the lost opportunity of utilising collaborative networks.

Employees can often fail to pass on vital, unique and valuable knowledge gained through their day to day activities because of not being connected and working openly, particularly those from younger generations. The risk is that these employees can walk out the door with this information because there was no cross pollination and ability to share. In this way, the organisation loses a lot of tacit knowledge sharing. In turn, this can lead to unnecessary reworking and duplication.

If people are not connected and working openly, there stands to be a lot of waste and costs.

The benefits of introducing the collaborative online procedures can create a significant competitive advantage and boost productivity. For example, regular status updates among members of a project team can make for shorter and more efficient meetings.

The key to effective online collaboration is to be clear about the purpose of the network and structure it accordingly.

Procedure Rock can achieve this outcome through its unique acknowledgement feature and structured policies and procedures system with a fully integrated management support system. And keep solid records of this!