Diversity, sexual harrassment, and ethics are common topics in workplace trainings; however who would have thought that eventually social media training would become compulsory in the corporate world also? Dell, Adidas, PepsiCo, and Sprint are just some of the firms that are implementing a mandatory social media educational program in place for current and future employees in order to avoid disasters such as the Dirty Domino's Pizza fiasco. In these training sessions, workers will not only learn how social media has a large influence on business practices and how it can be used for the company's benefit but they will also understand how to work the company's internal social network, often times misunderstood.
3 key steps for companies to get their social media training right from the get go:
1) Start early
Starting from day 1 will send employees a strong message about the organization's goals and objectives in carrying out the training and their emphasis on social media in general.
2) Create branded program for social media training
Inspire and connect with unique logos, characters, taglines, or themes that will resonate with the employee and motivate them to be successful in the program. Sprint did just that by calling all trainees "ninjas" to shadow their common characteristics of self control, moderation, and courtesy.
3) Be creative and specific about what you want
Guide employees through initial interactions and experiences in order to provide them with the confidence and freedom to later adapt best practices for the business with ease.
