This month’s Big Question is one that I’m asked all the time. How do you cost-justify social learning initiatives?
Social learning is no different from other business investments. You don’t sell the tools; you sell the business value of the project. Does it increase revenue? Cut costs? Improve service? Speed things up? How much?
If there’s not an obvious, believable, significant business outcome, pick another project. Social media generally delivers astounding returns.
Draw analogies to what other companies have accomplished with social media:
- Large company implements an organizational wiki informally. Used by 20,000 employees, it saves $20 million a year previously wasted tracking things down.
- Consulting firm uses blogs and feeds to distribute summaries of research findings and competitive information to 4,000 software engineers, freeing up 250,000 billable hours annually.
- Simple FAQ shaves 10% off customer calls and improves quality of service, saving $3,000,000 a year in salary costs alone.
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