Enterprise Social Networks: From Benefits to Platform Selection
Enterprise Social Network (ESN) refers to internal online communities created by businesses. These tools are successors to company intranets, providing organizations with an online space employees can use to communicate, share information, and track projects.
Modern ESN platforms are typically cloud-based, meaning employees can log in and access them on the go. They're great for remote or distributed teams who need access to team communication wherever they are.
ESNs are typically easy for employees to use because they share features with regular social media platforms—posting, comments, groups, and reactions. Good ESNs are far more secure than open social media tools, primarily because they're only accessible to people within the organization. No one else can create an account, though some tools allow businesses to create spaces shared with clients or third parties.
Enterprise Social Network vs. Workforce Messaging
Many businesses use workforce messaging tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams for internal communication. While these share some ESN features, they aren't the same thing. They lack features like news feeds, profiles, and knowledge sharing.
To put it simply: an ESN is the business equivalent of Facebook or LinkedIn, while a workforce messaging tool is WhatsApp. Many organizations choose to use both types of tools.
How ESN Tools Create Business Value
Streamlined Communication
Have you ever opened an email thread and spent five minutes scrolling through messages trying to work out the context? If so, you know the benefit of streamlined communication.
ESN tools typically organize communication into posts and threads. It's easy to separate conversation topics and look back through the thread to quickly gain context.
Messaging other people at your organization is easier too. Instead of searching for email addresses, simply click on someone's name and send them a direct message. You can communicate in real-time. Depending on the tool, you may also get video conferencing or the ability to connect with clients.
Better Collaboration
Enterprise social networking tools help break down walls between teams. Information is no longer kept in silos. Employees can collaborate with the best people for the job, not just the people they communicate with regularly.
Communication features help with this, as does the ability to search for other employees. Many tools have features to upload and share documents—file sharing makes it easy for anyone to access what they need. Others include task management features that keep entire teams on track.
Improved Knowledge Access
One of a business's biggest assets is the knowledge and expertise employees hold. If you can share this knowledge throughout your company, you'll end up with a more informed, knowledgeable workforce.
ESN tools are an excellent way to improve knowledge sharing. People can ask and answer questions. When someone receives an answer on an internal board, it isn't just them who can see it—anyone with access can see and use that information.
Employees can benefit from this answer for years to come. You just need an ESN with message search features or the ability to highlight helpful questions in sticky posts.
Built-in knowledge bases allow teams to create documents around specific processes. Anyone with community access can use the knowledge base.
Other ways to use your ESN for knowledge access include sharing videos or resources, holding meetings or Q&A sessions, and posting company-wide announcements.
Higher Productivity
With better communication, knowledge access, and collaboration, businesses that use ESN tools also improve productivity. Employees have faster access to tools, people, and information that help them do their job.
Research has found that employees using internal social tools are significantly more likely to find coworkers with relevant expertise and accurately identify who could put them in contact with the right experts.
More Effective Remote Work
Social software is useful for businesses that work in an office, but these tools really shine for remote or blended work.
ESNs make it easy for employees to communicate no matter where they are in the world. They also replicate the sense of community found in an office, ensuring remote employees feel like an essential part of the team.
Managers benefit too—they know remote team members have access to the same information as on-site employees without taking extra steps.
Improved Employee Engagement
Enterprise social networks can improve employee engagement and help you build company culture.
Easier communication and collaboration ensure everyone is connected. Using the community during onboarding helps new employees instantly feel a sense of belonging.
Management can use the tools to understand how engaged employees are. It's easy to run surveys and let employees have their say. Analytics features show how people interact with the community.
Features to Look For
Collaboration
Team collaboration features are central to your ESN. Most solutions offer multiple features for working together and communicating.
Collaboration tools allow employees to create groups for different teams, make and respond to posts, post status updates, connect with people throughout the organization, use instant messaging, communicate via video and audio, and share files and multimedia.
Integration
Your Enterprise Social Network should integrate with the tools your business uses, ensuring it's part of a streamlined workflow.
ESNs may integrate with productivity tools like GSuite or Office 365, HR tools for managing leave or payroll, learning tools for training, and scheduling and time management tools.
Open APIs allow you to integrate the ESN with any tool, even if direct integrations don't exist.
Security
The conversations in ESN tools often contain sensitive company information. The tool must be secure.
Features to look for include limiting signups to company email addresses, data encryption, two-factor authentication, activity monitoring, VPN-only access restrictions, and strong password policies.
Analytics and Reporting
Analytics and reporting provide insight into how people use the tool. Drilling into this data can provide insights into your company and help strengthen culture.
Analytics can show you information about people (how many users actively use the tool), content (what content gets created and who creates the most), and groups (which groups are most active).
Knowledge Library
Enterprise social networks offer multiple ways to store business knowledge, helping all employees access information they need.
Look for the ability to create a knowledge base anyone can add to, store documents and files, highlight useful questions and answers, share updates marked as important, and create internal company wikis.
Enterprise Social Networking Platforms
There are plenty of ESN platforms available, typically SaaS products with monthly fees.
Bettermode
Bettermode is a customizable community platform that lets you build a community for your exact needs. Businesses mainly use it for external customer communities, but its feature set also makes it suitable for internal ESNs.
The tool has many collaboration features enabling teams to work together. You can create groups or channels for different teams or use cases, and anyone can create and reply to posts. Users create profiles and see relevant content in a feed when they log on.
Bettermode has powerful knowledge-sharing tools—a searchable knowledge base anyone can access and the ability to highlight learning resources. It integrates with a wide range of tools and lets you add functionality via a Developer Portal.
Workplace from Meta
Workplace is the ESN from Meta, the company behind Facebook. It has many features employees know from Facebook, making it easy to use, but provides this in a private network only employees can join.
The software offers ability to mark posts as important, integrations with business tools, and analytics and reporting.
Microsoft Yammer
Yammer is the ESN from Microsoft with features like social news feed, groups and topics, and document sharing. Its biggest benefit is integration with other Microsoft 365 products.
It brings the social experience to Office, Teams, and SharePoint. You can deliver live events for training or meetings, plus get in-depth reporting and analytics.
Salesforce Chatter
Salesforce Chatter is an ESN with popular features. Users create profiles enabling them to contact others. When they sign in, they see a feed of important conversations and company news.
Teams can create groups to collaborate on projects, clients, or campaigns. The tool has file storage and sharing features plus ability to share answers to common questions.
Speakap
Speakap is a full-featured ESN built to keep distributed teams connected. It has features like groups, events, and file sharing, plus helps businesses share updates with employees and see performance reports.
The tool integrates with many business tools so employees can access what they need from within the mobile app—payslips if you integrate payroll software, or training if you integrate an LMS.
Making Your Choice
The right ESN depends on your organization's needs. Consider how many employees will use it, what integrations you need, whether remote work support is critical, and how much customization you require.
For organizations that want flexibility and deep customization along with the option to eventually extend the community to customers, platforms offering both internal and external community capabilities provide the most versatility.
Ready to explore enterprise social network options? Talk to sales for a demo.
FAQs
What's the difference between ESN and intranet?
Traditional intranets are static information repositories—one-way communication from company to employees. ESNs are interactive platforms enabling two-way and peer-to-peer communication. Think of intranets as bulletin boards and ESNs as social networks.
Do we need both Slack and an ESN?
Many organizations use both. Slack excels at real-time messaging and quick conversations. ESNs are better for persistent content, knowledge sharing, and company-wide communication. The tools complement each other.
How do we drive ESN adoption?
Make the ESN the primary place for important information—if people must check it to stay informed, they will. Get leadership actively using it. Recognize and reward participation. Integrate it with other tools employees already use.
What about security for sensitive company information?
Look for ESNs with enterprise-grade security: encryption, two-factor authentication, audit logs, and compliance certifications relevant to your industry. Ensure the platform allows granular access controls so sensitive information reaches only appropriate people.
