Companies Increasing Use of Web 2.0 Technologies

May 21, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Companies are embracing Web 2.0 technologies such as social networking tools, blogs and Webcasts for internal communications and as part of their overall technology mix, according to a new survey by Watson Wyatt.

Watson Wyatt’s 2009 HR Technology Trends Survey found that since the economic downturn began, 72% of employers have increased their use of intranet sites and 61% have increased their use of e-mail to communicate with employees, according to a press release. Employers are also using newer tools – a third (32%) have increased their use of Webcasts; 13% have increased their use of social networking tools; and 12% have increased their use of blogs for communication.

Companies are adopting role-based employee portals – those that are personalized to the user – the most rapidly, the announcement said. Forty-one percent have already deployed or are piloting role-based employee portals and nearly a quarter (24%) are planning to adopt them in the next 24 months.

Adoption of generic intranets has slowed almost to a halt: While 86% of companies currently have them, almost none (2%) plan to implement them in the next 24 months. Rather, companies are planning to deploy blogs (13%), wikis (13%) and podcasts (10%) in the same timeframe.

Preliminary results of the survey released in April indicated the level of satisfaction with technology is high; approximately three in five respondents (59%) are satisfied with their use of podcasts, 49% are satisfied with their social networking technologies, and two out of five (40%) are satisfied with their use of blogs and wikis (see More HR Execs Leveraging Service-Delivery Technology ).

Watson Wyatt’s survey was conducted in February and March 2009 and includes responses from 181 large employers.

To view the 2009 HR Technology Trends report, visit http://www.watsonwyatt.com/techtrends09 .

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