Social media tools and platforms have become pervasive; still, many businesses are grappling with how to employ online strategies to reach employees and drive the strategic agenda.

There’s no “one size fits all” approach to social media in the workplace. Programs must be personalized to suit the individual company’s culture, industry and talent pool. Done the right way for the right culture, social media has enabled several organizations to solve business challenges.

For Best Buy, an employee video contest helped to improve 401(k) contributions among its young and disparate workforce. Ernst & Young has leveraged Facebook to attract and recruit top talent from across the globe. Dell tapped social media to engage its global workforce to solve critical product and service problems through an online community called “Employee Storm.”

Before embarking on any social media program — whether the goal is to enhance the customer service experience, attract and retain employees or motivate workers during times of economic uncertainty — companies must do one critical thing: listen.

Here’s a four-step process to help human resource executives and senior leaders understand their internal target audiences and develop programs and platforms that will resonate with them.

1. Listen. Management first and foremost needs to find where employees are already connected to one another, where prospects are asking for information about the company, its brand and where former employees are discussing their experiences or building alumni groups online. They can liaise with corporate communication, marketing or other groups involved in monitoring online discussions to find out when the company brand is being brought up by former, current or future employees on blogs, microblogging sites and elsewhere. They must also talk to managers across departments to understand where and how employees are connecting with each other. Only by understanding where, when and what employees are already doing online can leaders develop programs to reach them with the right messages in the places they are likely to be seen and heard.