Google has released a major new study into the use of social tools in the workplace, which gathered opinions from 2,700 professionals across Europe.
The research revealed that 71 percent of senior executives are using social tools at work at least once a week compared to 49 percent of those in more junior roles – going against the stereotype that social media in business is most popular with younger generations.
The study, developed by Millward Brown for Google, also found that high growth businesses are more likely to be using social tools to fuel success.
The study, which gathered opinions from 2,700 professionals across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, sought to understand how social tools are being used in businesses.
It found that a third of professionals surveyed are using social tools on a daily basis for business purposes, the top reasons being:
- Finding people, information or expertise more quickly (41%)
- Collaboration and knowledge sharing (37%)
- Widening personal networks, building professional relationships, raising profile and creating communities (34%)
- Reducing the volume and length of emails (31%).
“Senior managers are recognising that social tools allow people to transcend business silos and connect and share in a way that just wasn’t possible before,” said Thomas Davies, Head of Google Enterprise in the UK.
“Having the ability to find the people and information you want faster speeds up the decision-making process, allowing businesses to be more agile and competitive. As more organisations expand overseas for growth, this, and the ability to pool knowledge from disparate teams, will mean that social tools have a dramatic effect on the way ideas are brought to fruition and business challenges are overcome.”
