WHILE CANADIAN COMPANIES ARE FULLY AWARE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS CAN IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INCREASE SALES, such tools continue to remain absent in the business space, according to a recent study commissioned by global IT consultancy Avanade.

The survey found that 68 per cent of Canadian companies view social networking as the next step in collaborative activities and technology for a business, while about 40 per cent fear that they will lose customers to companies that are embracing the use of social networking technology.

Roughly 78 per cent of Canadian companies surveyed believe social media tools are beneficial for improving feedback and reducing customer support time; 89 per cent feel such tools create the perception of a positive, forward-looking company.

Canadian companies also feel that social media tools will inevitably enter the workplace, whether welcomed or not. Of the companies surveyed, 87 per cent agree they will be “forced to increase the use of social networking media and technology” in order to meet the needs of younger employees. And 83 per cent say social networking, if not proactively managed, will “come into the business by stealth.”

Yet companies continue to resist incorporating them into the workplace. “Most companies have no formal plans to manage the adoption of social media (such as instant messaging, blogs, wikis and social networking) or leverage its benefits,” the survey reports. Only 16 per cent of Canadian companies “have a fully implemented strategy for integrating social computing for employees.”

Security (83 per cent), apathy (50 per cent) and unproven technology (61 per cent) are the top three reasons Canadian companies are resisting social media tools, according to Stéphane Gagnon, Business Solutions Advisor, CRM, Avanade Canada.

In a recent study on Web 2.0 tools used at Canadian enterprises for internal employee communication, Robert Half Technology also found the majority of companies surveyed do not use or have any plans to use social media tools in their workplace.It is clear more leadership in Canada is needed to understand the demongraphic profile is shifting - and in the war for talent - organizations that take advantage of Web 2.0 will attract, develop and retain the best and the brightestSo where are the CEO bloggers in Canada.

None of the banks have their CEO blogging. One of the Canadian Telecom companies - MTS Allstream has their new Enterprise CEO, Dean Prevost blogging. Many USA High Tech CEO's are blogging like Sun. Consumer Packaged Goods company, Proctor and Gamble has their CEO now blogging.

Many organizations do not allow their employees to blog internally or externally or have invested in the right social mediated security software to meet regulatory requirements for archiving. In our research there are no real barriers other than education and apathy.

Security is no longer a barrier and poses no more of a threat than email does to corporate conduct. IT orgnizations simply need to purchase the right security software and a simple policy and guidelines need to be in place, as well as effective training programs. Edcation investments and role models is the barrier vs security.

We see this change as simply a genereational communication preference shift. The boomers like email. The Gen X and Y don't. Simply put - the water cooleer is being replaced by social networking tools and the GEn X and Y breathe these tools like oxygen...to deny them access just makes us as executives look foolish.

It is time to trust and move forward like our parent's generation did moving from the horse and buggy to automobiles -  to flying to being globally via the internet  to now a future world where the conversation is the cloud - and if you are not in the conversation you simply are left behind. The power of the customer continues to shift to the wisdom of the crowd, and to people we trust (family and peers).