Here is an excerpt from another McKinsey Global Study during which executives indicate that the adoption of social-media tools at their companies is high—and that this usage could spur additional benefits. To read the complete report, check out other resources, learn more about the firm, obtain subscription information about The Quarterly, and register to receive email alerts, please click here.

Source: McKinsey Global Institute

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Over a surprisingly brief period, the use of social tools and technologies has grown from limited experimentation at the edge of corporate practice to what’s now the mainstream. But after this strong initial uptake, many companies find themselves at a crossroads: if they want to capture a new wave of benefits, they’ll need to change the ways they manage and organize themselves, according to the results from our sixth annual survey on the business use of these technologies. 1 A remarkable 83 percent of respondents say their companies are using at least one social technology, and 65 percent say employees at their companies access at least one tool on a mobile device. Ninety percent of executives whose companies use social technologies report measurable benefits from these tools, and what’s more, a small yet growing number of companies—the most skilled and intensive technology users—are racking up outsize benefits.2

In aggregate, though, the shares of respondents reporting certain benefits have hit a plateau, suggesting that these benefits are harder to come by after the first wave of adoption. Executives are optimistic but sober about the next leg of the social-technology pathway: they expect increases in employee productivity but also recognize the significant organizational barriers that prevent their companies from capturing the full potential of social tools. They also acknowledge the new open environment’s risks, including possible leaks of confidential information and intellectual property—yet 60 percent of respondents still say the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Three in ten executives believe that internal processes at their own companies will evolve from current use, with implications for project management and strategic planning. To accelerate these changes and make them stick, a growing number of leaders have begun to stress the importance of driving social-media skills throughout the organization (see “Six social-media skills every leader needs”). It’s these networked organizations that are the most likely to realize competitive gains.

Notes:

1 The online survey was in the field from June 12 to June 22, 2012, and received responses from 3,542 executives representing the full range of regions, industries, company sizes, tenures, and functional specialties. To adjust for differences in response rates, the data are weighted by the contribution of each respondent’s nation to global GDP.

2 We identified four types of organizations, defined by the degree and type of benefits reported (that is, whether outsize benefits were derived from connecting with employees, with consumers and suppliers, or with all stakeholders). We found strong correlations between high levels of benefits and the degree to which these technologies were embedded in employees’ day-to-day work.

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To read the complete report, please click here:

The contributors to the development and analysis of this survey include Jacques Bughin, a director in McKinsey’s Brussels office, and Michael Chui, a principal of the McKinsey Global Institute who is based in the San Francisco office.