Powering up social software

Add into this heady mix intense competition for experienced staff, a global talent shortage and the impending ‘crew change’ as the retirement of a generation of engineers and managers considers retirement and you have an environment where -more of the same’ simply won’t deliver the desired outcomes.

Meeting the demands of an energy and resource intensive Middle East utility sector requires innovative solutions. This has triggered a search for ways to transform how infrastructure owners, together with subcontractors and suppliers to the utilities sector organise and manage themselves.

The quest is on to unlock the next step-change in performance. Consequently, many organisations are seeking to forge tighter links with customers, suppliers and outside experts, and engage their employees more successfully.

Outside the region, this is surfacing in the way utility clusters are approaching issues such as handling waste water by-products like sludge, troubleshooting transformers and transmission loss, and integrated maintenance schedules down the supply chain.

For other organisations, this sea change involves engaging the community, customers and suppliers in rolling out smart fittings and practical water conservation schemes – projects reliant on networks crossing traditional corporate walls.

The question is how best to accomplish this?

Next generation thinking

The Middle East’s operating environment requires new ways of thinking. As Einstein famously said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

So what tools are companies using to create this transformation?

Increasingly, organisations are adopting social software to forge closer interactions with customers, integrate suppliers into their operations and engage employees and external experts more dynamically on topics as diverse as carbon offsets, equipment selection and outsourcing supplier accreditation.

Social software can be defined as, “tools for collaboration and networking within and beyond the enterprise.” Typical social software span a variety of business services, including: wikis, blogs, forums, RSS, podcasts, social networking and file sharing.

Part of a business-centric approach to redefining business practices, they are being leveraged to change management practices and organisational structures and to tap distributed knowledge within and without their organisation.

Suppliers are already using wikis to develop tender responses. Subcontractors such as Shell, Fluor and CCC amongst others are using wikis to transfer internal experience from one project site to another as a way of coping with booming employee numbers, while organizations like Dow and Siemens use them as part of their strategy to attract and retain talent.

Compelling economics

Reinventing the wheel is costly. What worked or didn’t work in the past is frequently a mystery thanks to high staff turnover and yawning gaps in corporate memory.

Good practices are not always transferred between project sites or communicated to incoming team members or graduates. Subcontractors are using social software as part of in-house solutions to problems as diverse as mobilising projects and reinventing earthworks (crucial given earthworks can account for up to 10% of project costs).

In the absence of social software, poor information flows undermine the power of an organisation’s combined knowledge. The result – cost blow-outs, eroded profitability, sagging morale.

Too much of what is ‘known’ in an organisation is not easily accessed when it is needed most. Opportunities for competitive advantage slip away, leaving management and staff equally frustrated.

In the field, social software is proving fast to deploy, cheap to develop, and effective in harnessing the power of internal social networks for collective benefit. Its economics are compelling – it requires little training and doesn’t need expensive IT support if you happen to be on a remote desert site.

Suppliers plug-in

Many product and service providers to the utility sector have adopted social software. You’ll find social software lighting up productivity across major law firms, EPCs, subcontractors, construction companies, plus the obligatory accountants, consultants and technology providers.

Suppliers are finding blogs, forums and wikis are powerful productivity engines for enabling specialists to collaborate around projects and topics, regardless of geographic location, and facilitating the organisation’s ability to rapidly deploy scarce skills and expertise globally.

Further, in a project rich environment such as the Middle East, improving supplier’s ability to identify, evaluate and prioritise business development opportunities is proving essential.

Branded communities

Online communities are emerging as a powerful use of social software. Alternative energy, financial services and construction, are industries with useful lessons for the Gulf’s utilities sector.

Why are outsourced online communities so popular? Most professionals want to do more than simply network with their peers. To varying degrees, many want to contribute collaboratively to the progress of industry practice.

Online communities provide opportunities for foster customer interaction, partnering on issues such as supply chain bottlenecks.

Moreover, many companies are taking advantage of the opportunity high traffic social sites such as ‘FaceBook’, ‘MySpace’, Wikipedia, YouTube, iTunes and Flickr offer for showcasing their internal and customer messages.

Companies are migrating training materials onto YouTube, using FaceBook as their staff directory and uploading marketing content onto iTunes.

Summary

International experience shows social software is playing a major role in connecting organizations with their stakeholders and staff.

Utilities are using these simple tools to help manage major development projects, monitor water catchments, solve complex engineering challenges and transfer expertise to new hires. Isn’t it time you explored its potential returns for your business?