By Mark Schaefer
Awhile ago I wrote that that the biggest value delivered by social media technologies will be the internal use of these ideas instead of the external marketing application we usually think about. In fact, I forecast that this would become a very important trend … and it is.
There are many software providers getting into this space and some of the best-known product names include Yammer (Microsoft), Chatter (Salesforce), Connections (IBM), and Jive.
I’ve been lucky to be able to help people with consulting services in this space and I am particularly interested in the challenge of getting people to use it. After all, we can get technology to do anything we want. But people? That’s a little more difficult … and that’s the opportunity I love!
If you’re considering an enterprise social initiative for your company, here are seven aspects of employee adoption that you’ll need to think about upfront.
1. Role clarity versus role flexibility
In every company I study, people report the most value from these programs is coming from the spontaneous association (a term coined by Tony Martins) created by people organizing around problems. Doesn’t that sound like an ideal work environment? People learning about issues wherever they may be in your company and then volunteering to help?
Well, it’s ideal until your boss asks you why you’re late on your project deadline because you’re helping an employee in India solve a problem instead.
This is a key idea. For these programs to really work, there must be some understanding, some balance between role clarity and role flexibility in this new environment. This is a new way to organize, a new way to think. Don’t overlook it.
2. Local sponsorship and involvement
This leads to idea number two. People work on the things that are rewarded by their bosses. Don’t dismiss the critical importance of obtaining the buy-in and understanding of leaders and supervisors.
Here is the single-most effective way to get employees to adopt a new technology — have their supervisors ask a question about it in every staff meeting.
3. Allow for some “wasted space”
One company I have been working with was worried about the time that might be wasted on irrelevant topics and posts.
There is going to be some of that, but my advice is to let it go. Most non-project topics die off quickly. Let people know it is a safe space to experiment and even try something silly every now and then. Allowing for a little fun can spur interest and adoption.
4. Re-considering traditional forms of measurement
This is such a hard one. I’m a numbers guy. A measurement freak. But I also recognize that when most of the value of these programs comes from new connections and faster problem resolution you can go crazy trying to measure the ROI of something like “improved collaboration.”
Here’s what I mean. Last week an employee was struggling with a difficult software problem all morning. When he posted it on the company network, he had a solution offered from an employee he had not known of before in 10 minutes. Now, in this simple example, there were some legitimate business benefits:
- Value of the employee’s time
- Speed of problem resolution
- Benefits to everyone who is suffering from the software problem
- Increase in pride and employee morale of those involved in finding a quick solution (this is often cited by employees as a benefit).
If you are the administrator of an enterprise social platform, how do you measure that value created? How do you determine the financial value of “time saved” in a way that won’t make your boss call it a “fluffy number?” How do you even find out that the success story even occurred in the first place?
You begin to see the problem and the problem is exacerbated when the people funding the project are several layers away.
I think there is something to be learned from the many case studies that determine benefits through employee surveys and write up successes as stories (qualitative benefit) instead of pie charts (quantitative measure).
5. Rewards, levels and leader boards
Nearly all the leading software systems have some sort of reward system based on merit badges and leaderboards. Don’t overlook this! It might seem frivolous but in fact many studies show that employees respond to this type of recognition over monetary reward.
6. Build small wins into the program
You need to continually “market” the program internally by highlighting and celebrating small wins along the way. This is so important that I recommend actually building in some small, achievable milestones upfront so you have a reason to celebrate as the program first launches. This provides the “social proof” of success and makes people feel good about associating with a project that is clearly a winner.
7. Priming the Pump
Have you ever walked into an empty restaurant at prime dinner hour? I’l bet you wondered what was wrong or if you made a mistake.
The same thing will happen if your new users log-in to an empty space. If you “prime the pump” with a few discussions, users, and content, it will make people more comfortable and encouraged to participate.
Well, those are a few high level ideas and a good place to end it in a short blog post. Which of these resonate with you? What did I miss?
Mark Schaefer is the chief blogger for this site, executive director of Schaefer Marketing Solutions, and the author of several best-selling digital marketing books. He is an acclaimed keynote speaker, college educator, and business consultant. The Marketing Companion podcast is among the top business podcasts in the world. Contact Mark to have him speak to your company event or conference soon.
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