Do you have the right strategy for using enterprise social networking tools in your organization? The key to getting the most out of such tools is to have a plan in place and make sure they’re serving specific business purposes.
With that in mind, here are five steps to ensure a successful implementation of enterprise social features.
Step 1: Set goals that can be measured.
Yes, we’re talking about a bunch of humans using technology to be “social,” and you need to measure their interaction. What’s the beginning state? If teams are already using social systems, what is the percentage of use? Your entire company may be automatically signed up to access your intranet, but how often do they visit? How long do they stay? How much do they post to newsfeeds? How much do they “like” and/or “reply.” These metrics will lead to the measurement of desired outcomes — more products, more overall engagement between employees and increased productivity.
TIP: Launch an employee survey before your new intranet is launched at six months and a year with questions aligned to the goals of the social intranet.
Step 2: Stack the deck in your favor.
Imagine watching your children start to stand by pulling up on ottomans, tables or whatever is in front of them — standing comes before walking. Using the same logic, identify early adopters to the features you’re going to develop and start with those hand-picked groups. Not all social intranet pilots will work, so keep picking groups that are ready to collaborate and use new tools. When a group finally does adopt the features, you have just created an example of the values and metrics you created in Step 1, to which others throughout your organization can refer.
TIP: Start with a small subset of features to focus on the communication and roll-out.
Step 3: Who’s who and what are they good at.
Technology is not social; people are. To that end, to make a social intranet “social,” you must create a structure around the people within your organization. Whether you’re using one productivity ecosystem or a combination, be sure to select a single source of your employees’ personal profile information. The profile not only houses an image, birth date and interests, but it also provides key attributes of an employee’s expertise.
TIP: Create a contest where different departments, divisions and/or teams compete against each other to have the most profiles completed.
Step 4: Nurture growth through “community managers.”
No child can learn to walk without the help of people around her/him. A social intranet is no different. You’ve already committed to gathering metrics over the long term; now it’s time to make sure the right people are in position to nurture (pun intended) the solution. Create a group of community managers and power users who can be the human representation of the technology you’re using.
Combine these baby steps with the amazing new technologies that are arriving in the market place, and you will be able to change the culture of your organization.
Step 5: Repeat and evolve.
If you find something that works, keep doing it. Once you get the basic functions working, progress to more advanced interactions and getting the absolute most for your investment in social technology.
TIP: Social technologies are built around rapidly changing human interactions, so be ready to change your rules and your approach.
Learn more about getting the most out of today’s enterprise technology tools by downloading our free e-book, “7 Keys To Mastering The Digital Workplace.”
