CIS 720 Seminar- Talk by Pamela Estell on Employee voice, Engagement, and ICTs

CIS student Pamela Estell had given a presentation on the topic of Employee voice, Engagement, and ICTs  at our seminar recently.  

Abstraction:

Effective organizational communication allowing a two-way flow of communication between subordinates and upper management has been shown to foster greater levels of engagement and productivity. This is often referred to as providing opportunities for direct employee “voice.” Understanding the influence and impact of ICTs on employee voice and engagement are critical for the success of modern organizations. ICTs have enhanced the reach, speed, and interaction among employees, and between employees and management. Having observed the success of social media technologies for personal use, employers have recently begun implementing enterprise social network sites (ESNS) with the hope of making communication more effective across the organization. ESNS can vary between mainstream social media tools, to homegrown intranets, or even platforms such as knowledge management sites that have been appropriated for communication purposes. The most fundamental difference between ESNS and mainstream social media are that ESNS have been formally sanctioned by management.

Whether ESNS will be an effective tool in enhancing voice and engagement, and what potential drawbacks exist for employees and firms have yet to be fully studied. The article Pamela Estell will be sharing at HICSS presents a review of the literature on the intersection of employee voice, engagement, and ICTs, and suggests a research framework to guide management practice and scholarly work in leveraging ESNS for organizational employee engagement.