When we think of public relations, we tend to think of external work – media relations, talking to customers, measuring organization perception and more. However, internal stakeholders are just as important as they can make or break an organization’s reputation. A public relations practitioner has to also manage internal communications for employees at all levels.

This week, we looked at social media and other collaboration tools. Some examples are Yammer, Digsby, Skype, wikis, podcasts and Slideshare.

Of this list, Yammer was new to me, so I am going to focus on its use in internal communication.

Yammer appears to be like Facebook, except it is geared for internal corporate communications. The purpose, as you can read more about here, is to ensure business objectives are being met.

Does Yammer help facilitate internal communications?

To some extent, I think it does.

Pros:

  • Since Yammer brings together only your colleagues and managers, it helps draw a clear line between your private and professional life. No more embarrassing mix-ups, where your boss ends up reading a message not meant for him/her.
  • Writing official emails can be tedious. If you just want to know if someone has completed a report, you can message them to find out.
  • Yammer is geared for the 21st century way of communicating. Everyone appears to prefer a quick, informal message and Yammer facilitates that.

Unfortunately, I think tools like Yammer can also cause some problems that PR practitioners should be aware about

  • Let’s face it: Any of us who use Facebook have also wasted a lot of time on it, endlessly scrolling through other people’s profiles and their messages. Will Yammer cause you to waste time in the workplace? Maybe.
  • What happens if someone says something inappropriate on Yammer? A crisis plan has to be created to handle these situations.
  • Privacy is another huge concern, as this article points out. Should companies be allowed to record conversations? Can they be used in legal situations?

I think before companies rush to adopt such technology to facilitate internal conversations, they need to properly assess whether it is a right fit for their company.