Editorial
Enterprise social networks (ESNs) were meant to revolutionize workplace communication. Back in the early '00s, comms pros — myself included — argued platforms like Jive and Yammer would break down silos, foster collaboration and give employees a voice.
As Carrie Basham Marshall argued in 2022, it’s clear they’ve not delivered on that “Enterprise 2.0” promise. “We believed that platforms rich with consumer features would convince employees to abandon email and ‘work out loud’ for the benefit of everyone,” and in doing that “we slapped the wrong solution on a poorly-defined problem.”
Now, as we watch the fragmentation of external social media platforms, are we witnessing the final nail in the ESN coffin?
A recent LinkedIn discussion sparked debate from longtime ESN champions. The consensus seems to be that while our 2012 vision of democratized, transparent and networked organizations proved naïve, social collaboration is still alive — just in a different form.
From Collaboration to Corporate Broadcast
The original ESN vision mirrored the rise of social media. With Facebook still dominant and Instagram emerging, we assumed employees would expect similar open, peer-to-peer communication at work, driving transparency, knowledge sharing and community. Or so read the many business cases we submitted at the time.
That vision has faded. Organizational inertia and leadership reluctance to cede power mean most ESNs have become top-down corporate comms channels rather than the vibrant social spaces we hoped for.
SWOOP Analytics’ latest report on Viva Engage confirms the shift: the platform is increasingly used for corporate announcements rather than collaboration. The data suggests employees are comfortable lurking but less inclined to contribute, transforming ESNs from social spaces to broadcast channels. And when leadership only pushes messages rather than fostering dialogue, employees disengage.
But SWOOP CEO Cai Kjaer suggests this isn’t all bad: “While our report showed that the balance is tipping towards more publishing than conversation, it is also on the back of significantly higher usage. I think what has happened is that corp comms teams have latched on to it as a platform, but the two-way conversation format is still evolving.”
From Community Noise to Communication Clarity
With Workplace from Meta shutting down and Jive on life support, organizations are reconsidering their approach. Comms teams are moving from noisy, low-value engagement tactics to high-quality, authoritative content, prioritizing clarity and relevance over forced interaction.
The shift often means dialing down user-generated content — or switching it off altogether — in favor of curated, professional editorial and data-driven personalization. Pearson, once a Jive poster child, now uses a Unily-based intranet focused on high-quality editorial with social reactions — but no commenting.
While this has improved content quality, Pearson’s Digital Employee Experience VP Kim England believes there’s a balance to strike: "In a time-poor world, where employees are bombarded with workplace apps, they feel overwhelmed. Employees need a voice, and social intranets help maintain connection in hybrid and remote working."
Digital Fatigue, Fragmentation and the SaaS Explosion
A key factor in ESN decline isn’t just shifting behavior — it’s the explosion of workplace tools. When ESNs first emerged, businesses used far fewer SaaS applications. Today, a mid-sized organization juggles 250-350 different SaaS solutions. Employees aren’t avoiding ESNs out of reluctance; they’re simply overwhelmed.
Many of these newer applications now have social features baked in. Microsoft Teams, Slack, project management tools, knowledge bases, even HR platforms have incorporated social elements. Rather than logging into a separate ESN, employees collaborate within the tools they already use.
So ESNs aren’t “dead” so much as social collaboration has fragmented, spread across a complex ecosystem rather than concentrated in a single tool — much like the external social media platforms they mirror.
The Changing Relationship Between Employees and Employers
Beyond technology, ESN decline reflects a deeper shift in how employees relate to their employers. In 2012, work felt more relational. Companies aimed to foster belonging, and employees engaged in company culture. Work today is increasingly transactional.
According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in employers is declining. Mass layoffs, economic uncertainty and shifting priorities mean employees are less invested in internal culture. Where trust is low, engaging in social conversations at work feels risky. Public comments can backfire, especially in times of corporate instability.
If ESNs Are Declining, What’s Taking Their Place?
Just because employees aren’t talking on ESNs doesn’t mean they’ve gone silent. They just moved the conversation to other locations.
- Small-Group Communication: Employees now default to Teams or Slack, where conversations feel more immediate, relevant and safe. This mirrors external social trends: 63% of users share via "dark social" channels, while only 54% post on public platforms. The downside is valuable knowledge is locked away in private chats rather than shared openly.
- Purpose-Driven Communities: While broad ESNs struggle, focused communities thrive. Well-planned communities of practice remain vibrant and valuable. As Shift*Base’s Lee Bryant notes: "Social collaboration, social sensemaking, small-group collaboration, and communities of practice are still working and creating value."
- Targeting, Relevance ... and, Yes, Email: ESNs were supposed to kill internal email, yet here we are. With attention spans shrinking (now just 47 seconds on average), targeted email digests help employees locate key information without being overwhelmed.
- Shadow Collaboration: When trust is low, employees take discussions elsewhere — often to unofficial platforms like WhatsApp. As I’ve written before, this introduces security and regulatory risks. Penalizing ESN participation can have a chilling effect, driving collaboration underground. Better to maintain trust than attempt to rebuild it.
Are Standalone ESNs Still Worth It?
Given the SaaS explosion and the social media implosion, does a standalone ESN still make sense? Maybe not, unless it’s hosting specific communities of practice or business-critical discussions.
Social collaboration hasn’t disappeared; it’s just diffused. Rather than expecting employees to post in a separate ESN, organizations should focus on embedding social features into existing workflows and improving relevance. That could mean:
- Integration With Workflows: ESNs should surface relevant discussions at the right time within daily work.
- AI and Personalization: Smart recommendations can help employees engage with meaningful content rather than being overwhelmed by noise.
- Smaller, Targeted Groups: A single, open platform may lack focus. Purpose-driven communities are more effective. Giving teams the flexibility to choose digital solutions to meet their own collaboration needs will require a huge mindset shift from IT.
Ultimately, ESNs aren’t dying; they’re evolving. Their success hinges on culture, not technology. As Mark Britz put it, “The problem with organizational social is the organization, not the social.” Without a culture of open, engaged communication, no platform will fix the problem.
Final Thoughts
Enterprise social isn’t over, but the old model of company-wide, open conversation is fading. Organizations clinging to that vision risk empty platforms and disengaged employees. Employees will show you the answer: collaboration hasn’t gone away, it’s just moved. Organizations that rethink their approach — integrating social into workflows, fostering purpose-driven communities and building trust — can still extract value from these tools.
For internal comms and digital workplace pros, the key question isn’t whether ESNs should exist. It’s whether they still serve a meaningful role in the channel mix. If not, maybe it’s time to let them go.
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Editor's Note: Read more about the changing dynamics of workplace collaboration:
- Is Your Team Still Collaborating in Email? Tips to Break the Habit — Three ways to encourage your employees to get out of email, drop the DMs and make better use of channels.
- The Workplace From Meta Clock Is Ticking. Factors to Consider Before Migration — Workplace from Meta customers have less than a year to move off of the communications platform. Here are some factors to consider before you jump ship.
- Enterprise Social Networks Are Making a Comeback — The resurgence of enterprise social networks is happening as internal communications discover their potential for reach and engagement.
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