I really like the idea of these tools, but I do have some questions about how prepared organizations are to adopt these forward-thinking concepts. Our recruitment process outsourcing and blogging teams have been reviewing two specific social performance management and engagement tools: UpMo and Rypple.
Without question, social media and networking tools have improved our ability to communicate, share, and get important feedback, whether we like it or not. The challenge I am having is figuring out how to manage all of the various social streams that I use today.
Here are the ones that I use on a daily basis (and then feel anxiety about not getting a chance to look at while traveling, doing my day job, or juggling all of life's other obligations):
- RSS feeds (too numerous to list)
- Text messages
- Yammer
- Google+
- Blog (The Seamless Workforce)
- Insert five to 10 other options here, including Rypple and UpMo
At some point, it's just overload. And although I know there is tremendous value and content out there, there is also a lot of noise. For the record, I am responsible for some of that noise at times. Mea culpa!
I recently told our blogging team that I need a curator for my various digital and social interests. I'm joking, of course. Though I'd love to have someone help me stay connected to digital communities, that would be a little intrusive and disingenuous.
My inability to keep up is not a matter of competence. It's purely a matter of time and attention. All of this leads me to ask, how are you dealing with it? How do you prioritize? When is it too much or just enough? And most importantly, what do you value most, and what provides the most value?
Everyone's definition of noise is different. But somewhere, these tools that are meant to drive productivity and connections ultimately leave us more disconnected, either from ourselves or from the space we live in. I guess I'm getting more comfortable with missing a few things in my digital world in order to catch up on a few things in the world of a handshake and a cocktail after work.
This post was written by Doug Lubin, a successful Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Practice Leader and Consultant, who brings over a decade of expertise building sustainable solutions for clients and partners. Doug helps firms develop high performing talent acquisition and management strategies locally and globally. Learn more about Doug.
