Social Audio for Business

It’s March. It’s a Friday. The weather is bad. So, let’s try something new in this edition of the Chatter.

In the past few weeks, we've been thinking about the potential of audio within the corporate space. And where many companies only see podcasting as a tool to utilize for the communications strategy, audio can be used for much more. In the next months we want to explore these potentials. Let’s start with our first example of what audio can do in the corporate space.

?Let's talk about employee engagement.

Currently, we see many discussions revolving around bringing people back to the office, create remote organizations, and how to deal with creating a hybrid work environment. Eventually, company executives and employees will have to accept that we are all moving into a hybrid work environment. If you like it or not.

One of the biggest challenges in a hybrid work environment is creating human connection and an inclusive corporate culture. This results from the fact that companies must deal with different audiences within their organization. Some people will work remote only, some ??will spend most of the time in a physical office space, and some will work partly from home and partly in the office.

This setup can create tension. For example, remote-only staff will not be able to participate in hallway chatter, attend informal coffee breaks or lunch meetings. Therefore, they are not able to shape corporate culture and might lack human interaction to build connections. It can also lead to a feeling of exclusion, resulting in decreasing engagement and loyalty. But how can Corporate Audio help with building human connection and employee engagement within that hybrid work environment?

With modern Corporate Audio technologies, you can create a company-wide social audio platform to easily connect with other people in the organization with minimal entry barriers. Because audio is mobile first, ideal for bring your own device, and works without the need of a screen. These social audio rooms can be used for different scenarios and setups. Here are three examples:

• Team Stream: A social audio room can be created and used in the same way gamers interact while playing together. This is an ideal setup for creative or collaborative teams.
• Ask me anything: Senior leaders can use social audio to quickly connect with the all members of organization and create an open dialog as well as build human connection.
• Listen and learn: New employees or junior-level positions can join social audio sessions were senior-level employees or decorated experts discuss trending topics or share their expertise. Audio rooms create a more save environment as you ‘do not have to show your face’.