Question

Nokia Actively Uses Social Media to Communicate

Apply the knowledge of Management presented in this chapter to the following case. Applying this knowledge should enable you to have a better understanding of how Nokia uses social media to its advantage.

Read the case below and answer the questions on the right.

Nokia is a Finnish multinational communications and information technology company. It was founded in 1865. In 2015, the company had 114,256 employees and four business groups: Nokia Networks, Nokia Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent, and Nokia Bell Labs. Total revenue in 2015 was 23.22 billion euros.¹⁶²

The company’s vision is to be an “innovation leader in the technologies that connect people and things.” Making this happens involves pursuing a strategy of “creating a new type of network that’s intelligent, efficient, and secure, and advancing the technologies that tap its power through smart devices and sensors.”¹⁶³ It is not surprising that Nokia would focus on using social media for its internal communications given the company’s history, vision, and strategic focus.

Nokia created a Social Media Communications Team in 2008 to improve communications. The team’s goal is to:

“Encourage the use of social media internally to bring out the company’s unique authentic voice and to engage in social media externally on behalf of Nokia, and contributing to product and service announcements by opening up a dialogue and driving online engagement.”¹⁶⁴

Nokia’s Communication Strategy

Nokia’s communication strategy entails a three-pronged approach using social media: (1) build relationships, (2) improve products and services, and (3) demonstrate corporate values and leadership.¹⁶⁵ The two key tools being used in this pursuit are BlogHub and VideoHub.

BlogHub. Members of the Social Media team believe BlogHub is the most effective internal communication tool used at Nokia. According to Molly Schonthal, former team member in North America, “The BlogHub lowers barriers for employees to find conversations relevant to them.” BlogHub gives all employees a voice because communication spreads in all directions—horizontally, upward and downward. This contrasts with the top down communication approach used in many companies. Schonthal concluded BlogHub provides a “dynamic community that is ruled by members, not executives.”¹⁶⁶

BlogHub enables employees to share ideas and update others on what they are doing. This fosters collaboration and breaks down communication silos. It also provides valuable information to management. One blogger noted that “BlogHub is an effective way to gather employee feedback on various issues and track the conversations that are happening inside the company. One of the primary ways that is accomplished is via a voting mechanism, enabling employees to rate blog posts, with the most popular entries rising to the top."¹⁶⁷

Nokia Conversations is one specialized internal blog run by Phil Schwarzmann, its Editor-in-Chief. One feature focuses on telling employee stories about interesting people or interesting aspects of someone’s job. For example, one story pertained to a 6” 11” employee who played basketball for Norte Dame and now plays for a Finnish league. Other stories involve people who live the Nokia values of:

Respect—treating each other with respect and working hard to earn it from others

Achievement—working with others to deliver superior results and win in the marketplace

Renewal—develop your skills and grow the business

Challenge—avoid complacency and question the status quo¹⁶⁸

VideoHub. This collaborative tool allows employees to post and share videos. It contains a combination of professionally produced corporate or marketing videos and employee-generated content. The company provides a network of trained employees who help employees create short videos.

Videos of Nokia’s quarterly business reviews represent examples of formal videos. These videos feature “top leaders’ insights into the company’s performance on a quarterly basis. The video is largely based on professionally conducted recording and editing, but is often complemented by employee-generate video clips.”¹⁶⁹

One example of less formal videos entailed management’s requests of clips of employees who exemplify the company’s values. Over 100 video clips were created. Johanna Komonen, Nokia’s communications manager, commented that “Nokia is a very non-hierarchical company and I don’t think you could ask people to make videos that are honest unless they felt confident enough to know that it’s their video. We don’t tell anyone what to put in their video, they know that it’s their video and their views.”¹⁷⁰

All told, this tool “acts as a hub through which Nokia’s employees can post, view and discuss work-related videos. Employees are encouraged to keep the clips to only a few minutes or so in length, with even the professional shot Quarterly Business Review lasting only around eight minutes.”¹⁷¹

Communication Doesn’t Stop with BlogHub and VideoHub

Other communication tools include the following:

Live Meeting enables employees to ask questions online during presentations. Employees can also send text messages if they can’t be online during the presentation.

Road shows are used to educate employees about new products. “Regionally, mini product launches—aka ‘mobility happy hours’ are held so employees can ask questions and become familiar with Nokia devices.”¹⁷²

Video conferencing is used to communicate across geographical boundaries. Annual communications meetings are also accessible with this medium in order to cut down on travel costs.

Electronic newsletters are used on daily, weekly, or monthly bases to communicate about important topics and Nokia businesses and their initiatives.

Corporate intranet is used to communicate about organizational charts and human resource benefits.

Flat Scree Displays are located around regional offices and provide consistently streamed information about corporate issues, information, and real-time business metrics.¹⁷³

Social Media Certification

Nokia has highly invested in its communication strategy. To facilitate its success, the company developed a six-part social media certification. Employees must complete the process before actively using the social media tools. To be certified, employees must:¹⁷⁴

Be prepared

Be transparent

Be smart

Be nice

Be yourself

Be professional

Questions

1)

Based on the case, Nokia’s use of social media allows for all of the following benefits except.....

a)connecting in real time over distance.

b)crowdsourcing.

c)horizontal communication.

d)upward communication.

e)downward communication.

2. Nokia utilizes video conferencing so employees can communicate across geographical boundaries. Based on your reading, which of the following is true about video conferencing?

a)It is the most personal form of communication.

b)It has relatively low media richness.

c)It is best for routine situations.

d)Email is a richer medium of communication.

e)It is a good communication medium for ambiguous situations.

3. Nokia’s use of electronic newsletters is an example of

a)upward communication.

b)nonverbal communication.

c)jargon.

d)high media richness.

e)impersonal communication.

4. Which of the following can be a major problem with Nokia’s use of social media?

a)loss of formal communication methods

b)privacy concerns

c)loss of employee productivity

d)geographical boundaries between employees

e)unprofessional videos

Answer 1

Answer 1 : b. Crowdsourcing

Note : At nokia communication is upward, downward and horizontal, also they connect in real time by video conferencing but do not crowdsource the work.

Answer 2 : e. It is a good communication medium for ambiguous situations.

Note : As video conferencing connects the employees without the global boundaries in case of ambiguous situation to discuss the issue.

Answer 3 : b. nonverbal communication

Note : As newsletters are transmitted electronically to the employees instead of communicating face to face.

Answer 4 : a. Loss of formal communication methods

Note : As Nokia put more emphasis on use of social media instead of using the traditional approach of communication.