Should social tools be important for companies of all sizes?

Using social media tools within your business has never been more popular. Organisations are using them to improve knowledge sharing, achieve a more collaborative working environment and insert wider insight into the strategy setting process.

Tools such as Yammer (internal communication) and Rypple (employee feedback) are gaining in popularity, whilst pretty much every organisation now has a presence on Facebook or Twitter.

Research earlier this year by Deloitte and MIT however found that medium sized organisations are missing out on these benefits.

The research asked organisations whether they thought social business tools and techniques were important to them. Organisations at the smaller and larger ends of the spectrum were enthusiastic cheerleaders for the movement. Mid-sized organisations however were not so supportive.

Here are the percentage of respondents who agreed with the importance of social business by company size:

• Less than 1,000 employees: 21.2 percent
• 1,000-5,000 employees: 13.6 percent
• 5,000 – 10,000: 13.6 percent
• 10,00-100,000: 12.1 percent
• More than 100,000: 21.2 percent

So why is this? The researchers themselves suggest that SMEs are supporters because the tools allow them to punch above their weight. Larger organisations by contrast are using the tools to appear smaller and more nimble.

Are mid-sized organisations under-estimating the benefits that can be gained by applying social business on their organisation?