December is a time for get togethers and social events aplenty.

The extra opportunities to open up and interact with others can be a great thing for employers who know how to harness the power of being social. More and more businesses are using social media as a tool to bring about positive change in their working environments and even bring in extra custom.

The mobile phone producers Nokia serve as an important example of how using social media in the workplace can bring about great things. For Nokia it all started when its CEO made some very frank comments on the future of the business that went viral. In actual fact the HR team at Nokia had already recognised a lot of the issues which were creating frictions within the business and had hatched a plan to encourage a more open and honest dialogue.

The HR team at Nokia knew that often the best ideas come from those already involved in the businesses or on the front line of the offering. Whilst this might be the case, those same people are not always going to be forthcoming with their inspired ideas to bring about positive change. Nokia also understood the importance of creating a dialogue, a two-way communication, rather than simply them giving out messages to the employees. Interaction both ways helps to motivate staff and lower the barriers that can prevent ideas from employees ever reaching the corporate staff.

One such idea of bringing about two-way communication was to introduce internal social media platforms, for example, “Social Cast”. In some ways this is an amalgamation of some of the most popular social media that allows staff to follow each other and post blogs or videos which can be rated by others. It creates an alternative, perhaps less intimidating atmosphere for staff to be able to share their ideas company wide. And Nokia hoped that the use of such systems would lead the way in promoting a more open and honest exchange.

Those involved in the “Social Cast” movement at Nokia knew that this had to more than a “ticking the box” scheme. It had to penetrate the culture of the company. They wanted it to become so omnipresent within the organisation that whenever someone felt they had something to say they would know immediately where to say it. Nokia's success with the use of internal social media takes the focus away from the negative points between social media and the workplace which have been publicised before now. Yes it is important in this day and age to have in place effective social media policies to ensure that they are not abused, either by distracting employees from their work or being used as a tool for harassment for example, but they can also be a force for good.