What makes up the framework of an organization is the diverse set of employees which holds it together. However, this framework may be significantly weakened if it is not maintained through proper communication between all employees which ultimately affects their own involvement within the organization. Thus, it is also important to consider, whether in the work place or everyday life, how modes of communication are not static, but in flux. From the telephone to the internet, technology continues to transform the dominant ways in which we relay information to one another within the workplace. However, keeping up with the times and adapting to the current, rapidly evolving social media landscape may pose a struggle to organizations that were not born in the current social media era. One organization that is fighting against the odds and keeping up with the times is Dutch airline company KLM. Despite, KLM being the oldest scheduled airline in the world still operating under its original name, the company has successfully integrated a social media strategy internally within their organization to increase levels of employee involvement.

Nestled on the shores of Lake Couchiching in Central Ontario, Fern Resort is a family-owned business that has welcomed visitors to its relaxing and laid-back atmosphere for 123 years. The all-inclusive resort caters primarily to families during the summer and welcomes large social groups and conferences during the winter and shoulder seasons. “The fun, fine food and hospitality you’ll experience at Fern have been developed into a solid tradition by four generations of our family (and there’s a fifth generation now growing up at the resort.) We, the Downings and Nelsons, have a genuine concern for the comfort and well-being of our guests. We hope you’ll truly enjoy your stay.” Fern Resort is located in the Lake Simcoe Tourism Area described as “Ontario’s Recreational Heartland, offering a myriad of outdoor experiences for residents, cottages and visitors.” Within a 90 minute drive of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Fern Resort takes full advantage of its almost 2km of prime waterfront on Lake Couchiching and 200 acres of rolling fields and bush to offer visitors the very best of Cottage Country. From summer sunset cruises and water skiing to a 1.5 km skating trail through the woods and a traditional outdoor hockey rink on the lake, guests at Fern can experience all the seasons in Ontario in all their glory.

A great way to generate successful employee involvement and motivation is to promote everything employees love. Most employees love their water cooler talk and that is why UPI Energy FS created an online platform for employees to communicate daily, from different cities, offices, cubicles and even their homes.

International Business Machines Corporation known world-wide as IBM is a multinational technology company and headquartered in New York. Originating in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) which was later renamed as “International Business Machines” in 1924  (Wikipedia). IBM manufactured and markets computers hardware, middleware, and software, and offers to host and consulting series to mainframe computers to nanotechnology. (Wikipedia) IBM has over 400,00 employees and their employees are referred to as IBMers.  IBM won first place in the “Advocacy” category of Regan’s 2016 Employee Communication Awards

Humana is an American health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky who recognizes the importance of brand advocacy from employees on social media. Humana incorporated employee social media advocacy as part of their social media strategy. Humana used employee advocacy as part of their content pillars content sharing not only for brand awareness and to drive campaigns, but to also optimize your organic reach. Forty percent of Humana’s content is branded and Sixty percent is health and well-being content, which allows employees to grow followers and become influencers in the space. So when employees share Humana’s content, they have a more qualified audience. (Heine, 2017) As of 2014 Humana has had over 13 million customers in the U.S., reported a 2013 revenue of US$41.3 billion, and has had 51,600 employees. In 2013, the company ranked 73 on the Fortune 500 list, which made it the highest ranked (by revenues) company based in Kentucky. It has been the third largest health insurance in the United States. (Wikipedia, 2017)

Bell Canada is Canada’s largest communications company, providing telecommunication services and solutions to consumers, businesses and government customers.  Services provided include wireless, Internet, TV, Home Phone and broad band communications. Bell Canada is one of the main assets of the conglomerate BCE Bell Canada Enterprises. In 2010, Bell Canada, launched its first annual Bell Let’s Talk Day to raise awareness for Mental Health.  The goal of this campaign was to begin a new conversation about mental illness at a time where it was not talked about. Millions of Canadians, celebrities and athletes began to engage in the conversation, discussing their experiences and offering support and hope for those struggling. Leading personalities of this cause include Clara Hughes, Howie Mandel and Michael Landsberg just to name a few.  In addition to the conversation, Bell Canada has also made a pledge to invest an unprecedented $50 million in this multi-year campaign. What makes this initiative stand apart from other campaigns is its use of social media.  In 2017, Bell Let’s Talk day was on January 25.  Bell Canada committed to contribute 5 cents towards mental health programs for each of these interactions on Bell Let’s Talk day at no extra charge to participants. Every text message, mobile and long distance call made by Bell Canada customers Twitter: Every tweet using #BellLetsTalk Facebook: Every view of the Bell Let’s Talk Day video on Facebook.com/BellletsTalk Instagram: Every Post using #Bell Let’s talk geofilter. The hashtag the #BellLetsTalk was in Twitter’s annual top 10 list. To date the campaign has been very successful with 729,065,654 interactions and Bell Canada committing $6,585,250 to mental health in 2017.