To Yammer or not to Yammer

 

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 21^st 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.

 

Should a company donate resources?

Generous corporate sponsors and members of the public help fund various causes and nonprofits. They also volunteer time and resources. When such efforts are missing, it affects programming, public relations activities and ultimately, the beneficiaries of the cause or nonprofit.

People donate their time and money to support nonprofit initiatives for a multitude of reasons – many of them personal. But I am interested in why organizations do the same. Why should a company that is primarily motivated by profit donate resources to another entity?

One obvious answer (although it is self-serving) is that it’s great PR.

Here is a list of public relations benefits for an organization:

• Improved ties with community:

Today, a company’s publics demand that it fulfills its corporate social responsibility. By donating resources, the organization will build positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders and be seen as a valuable member of the community. It’s a great way to build trust and be seen as a company that cares about the vulnerable.

• Media coverage:

When a company makes a sizable donation, it usually receives wide media coverage. I ran the search “Apple donates” on Google News and I got 32 news stories about Apple donating iPads for Teach for America. This is a great way to build a positive reputation and get the word out about your product.

• Opportunity to improve image:

According to this article in The Wall Street Journal, in 2010, the Goldman Sachs Group was facing criticism about an increase in pay at the company. By making a generous contribution, the company was able to deflect some of the negative publicity. It was also able to get its efforts publicized in the nation’s premier business newspaper.

• It’s an end in itself

No organization can succeed without the support of the community. In today’s globalized world, this community is truly international. By donating time and money to worthwhile causes, an organization gives back to society. It fulfills its responsibility as part of an inter-connected world. It’s the sort of PR money can’t buy.

So it might seem like a great idea for a company to donate resources to another entity. However, there can be some public relations pitfalls.

Companies that want to donate resources must be careful about:

• Internal stakeholder relationships

Organizations must ensure they have their employees’ consent when they make donations to a cause or nonprofit. Some causes can be controversial and it is important that top management take into account their employees’ viewpoints. If this is not done, disgruntled employees can cause harm to the company’s reputation.

Click here to see how Target got itself into a bit of a mess.

• Appearing to have double-standards

Companies have to be careful of appearing to have their own agenda when they make charitable donations. WalMart has been frequently affected by this as you can read here and here.

So there are PR pitfalls and benefits when an organization donates time and money. However, I think every organization should donate resources. While their reason for doing so may not always be altruistic, it will benefit not only the organization, but also help those in need.