intranet future

Upcoming web workshops for small business owners

2010-03-10T11:34:00.003Z

I'm hosting a number of workshops to help small business owners make the most of the web. A "Blogs and websites for small businesses" workshop will be held on Thursday 25 March from 9.00am - 12.00pm. The session is aimed at small business owners and will show them the practicalities of setting up a blog or website and how to obtain maximum business benefits from them.

On Thursday 22 April from 9.00am-12.00pm "Grow your business with social media" will show small business owners how to maximise the benefit of free social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. For example, increasing sales and improving communication with your customers.

If you require more information or would like to attend please email me.

Enterprise Social Media: How your business can benefit

2010-02-15T11:55:00.002Z

On the Tuesday 30 March at 2.00pm GMT I'll be hosting a webinar entitled 'Enterprise Social Media: How your business can benefit'.

In this webinar I'll be showing how a business can introduce enterprise social media tools and demonstrating the benefits.

You can sign up for this free webinar by selecting the button below. Please note that spaces are limited.

Top ten tools for small businesses

2010-02-10T08:13:00.000Z

Following a talk I gave at Cheltenham Connect on Tuesday 9 February, the slide deck is now available on the right. The tools have made the top ten as they are free and easy to use and help businesses save time. All bar one of the tools are hosted online so can be accessed from any internet connection.

For help on how to use any of the tools please get in touch.

Give productivity and sales a boost with enterprise social media

2010-02-02T08:44:00.000Z

The biggest complaint from employees about intranets and other information storage areas like file shares, is poor quality search and navigation. They struggle to find what they are looking for. Enterprise social media can help the flow of information around a company and keep employees up to speed with best practice and company news. Better informed and more knowledgeable employees work smarter and generate more revenue.

For example, a sales consultant who can quickly find relevant case studies and has easy access to subject matter experts on his proposition can have a real edge. In organisations where employees recreate the wheel and such collateral is repeatedly produced from scratch, even more time can be saved. Good search technology, feeds and social bookmarking/tagging can all make appropriate information accessible.

Tools like Yammer enable efficient communication and collaboration amongst team and project members. This saves time and enable projects to be completed faster which aids productivity. For example, if a new product or service can be developed faster, then the time it takes to get to market is reduced and more can be sold.

Social media tools hosted on the web can help the business continue to operate when internally hosted systems are unavailable. For example, during the ‘big freeze' in the UK in January 2010, tools like instant messaging and webinars enabled communications to continue while email was less useful.

Within most companies email is the principal form of communication but email is not as 'light' as some social media tools and can be slow. Furthermore, useful information is hidden away in individual email accounts. Enterprise social media tools enable faster and more efficient communication. For example, instant messaging allows for rapid answering of questions by the IT Help Desk. The open nature of social media helps foster an increased awareness of what activities are going on both locally on projects and across teams. Due to this increased awareness less questions have to be asked as knowledge is acquired on an ongoing basis.

Many companies have an employee directory but this information is often maintained by the IT department. It’s more efficient for employees to edit and keep their personal details up to date and this approach allows them to add additional useful information.

For example, social media style profiles enable employees to list their areas of expertise so they can be easily located by others throughout the company and not just their immediate colleagues and team members. People can be grouped together in lists according to their areas of expertise thus forming a searchable database of subject matter experts. Employees can gain information from experts quickly and easily and this helps them do their job more productively.

Furthermore, the personal data from a profile can used to pre-populate online forms to save employees time when they use online self service systems. So employees don't have to continually fill out their personal details when for example; claiming expenses, buying software and viewing payslips. This results in a more efficient process and removes a repeated chore for employees.

Feed readers can be an efficient alternative to email subscription lists. Expertise from outside the business can be obtained as it's released. Feeds are easy to maintain and content is obtained quickly. Feeds can also be used to subscribe to an employee’s interests within the organisation. A significant issue with email is that many of the messages received are not directly relevant to the recipient and feeds help alleviate this issue of 'internal spam'.

With the right implementation, enterprise social media can make a real improvement to productivity and sales.

Improve your profit margins - how enterprise social media tools can engage employees

2010-01-04T17:21:00.000Z

As well as direct benefits of improving communication and collaboration use of enterprise social media tools can increase levels of employee engagement. It's generally accepted amongst HR professionals and business leaders that employee engagement can dramatically influence the bottom line.

Watson Wyatt’s (now Towers Watson) 2008/2009 WorkUSA report found that when employees are highly engaged, their companies enjoy 26 percent higher employee productivity, have lower turnover risk and are more likely to attract top talent. These companies have also earned 13 percent greater total returns to shareholders over the last five years. In a global survey in 2007 by Melcrum, 71% of internal communicators selected employee engagement as a perceived benefit of enterprise social media.

Cutting edge intranets are now incorporating social features. In today's announcement of the 2010 Ten Best Intranets from Nielsen Norman Group, the winning intranets provided the opportunity for employees to get to know one another as individuals and offered workgroup support that encourages work-related connections. Users on winning sites could create profiles, share content and share bookmarks to their favorite sites.

Specifically then, how do enterprise social media tools engage employees?

Open not closed - communications on a social network are open giving employees and managers more opportunity to interact with one another and to discuss the company's aims and objectives. The open nature of communication creates not only greater awareness of a company's goals but also ambient awareness - an understanding of what is going on in the company even if it is not directly relevant. This leads to feeling part of whole team.

Connections - Twitter, Facebook, Yammer, webinars, instant messaging. There are now lots of ways of making new connections and getting to know people within an organisation. A connected company working together as a team is an engaged one.

Teamwork/collaboration - communicating on a project or within a team using a tool like Yammer is more engaging than email as the working style is more collaborative and communications are more open. There are many tools that can be used to make project work more engaging including Twitter.

Level playing field - social media tools place everyone within an organisation on an equal footing. They create a 'side by side' as opposed to a 'top down' communication environment. A CEO of an 8000 person multi-national I worked summed it up with following quote about Yammer. "I like Yammer as it allows me to discuss topics with you guys like an equal not the boss." Status barriers are broken down and employees become more engaged with management and the company. Employees are more likely to communicate with a board member using a tool like Yammer than send them an email.

Trust - whether being able to communicate through an internal social network, their own blog, a wiki, Twitter or Facebook, employees will feel trusted that their employer has empowered them with a voice. Trust creates an improved employee/employer relationship and helps foster engagement.

Tone - Whilst there is a place for corporate announcements from the Employee Communications team it can be refreshing to read citizen journalism with a more personal tone from employees. For example, blogging about a conference they have attended or a new product they are developing.

Video - As stated in my Ten Enterprise Social Media Predictions for 2010 video will play a bigger role in the enterprise this year. Video is an appealing channel that can help leaders communicate more effectively and help employees become engaged with oompany goals and activities. Collaborative video where employees work together to film and edit a production is highly engaging. (please get in touch for more info on collaborative video)

Fun - last but not least employees are engaged with a company if they are happy. Frustration with poor IT and technology leads to disengagement. Properly implemented social media tools are enjoyable and fun to use.

In summary, engagement between employees and the company is prevented for two main reasons; barriers and passivity. Barriers prevent the company working as a unified engaged team. Whether they are barriers due to status, communication, generation gaps, organisational structure or geography, enterprise social media tools can help break them down. In working practices and internal communications employees can now be active rather than passive. They have the tools to seek out expertise and share knowledge and platforms to create content and communicate openly with colleagues and management.

The outcome is engaged employees combining and connecting for a competitive advantage and improved bottom line.

Ten enterprise social media predictions for 2010

2009-12-17T16:39:00.000Z

It's a good time to look to the future and make some predictions on how technology and social media will influence the way we work in 2010 and into the new decade. In general terms, use of social media within the firewall will expand hugely in 2010 and begin to catch up with the huge growth that we've seen externally in the past two years. Social media is now an intrinsic part of marketing, PR and is seen increasingly in CRM with the focus very much on the consumer. 2010 will see more emphasis on the employee, who after all performs the external functions listed plus all the others in the enterprise, so there is plenty of scope for value to be created.

1) Whilst there is currently a split between traditional intranet platforms and social networks like Yammer and Socialtext, functions from both will merge to create social intranets. The majority of 'off the shelf' intranets will come complete with intelligent search, social networking, instant messaging, ratings, polls, blogs and wikis. Companies such as Odyssey and Intranet Connections are setting the pace and other platform providers will follow. Intranets will be more about 'the way of working' - collaboration and workflow, and less about communication from management to employees. In the same way that social networks are connecting outside the workplace, eg LinkedIn's recent tie up with Twitter, there will be increased integration amongst enterprise social networks and between enterprise social networks, intranets and other applications. An example of this is Yammer's integration with Microsoft Outlook. Integration will be aided by Salesforce release of the API for Chatter which will lead to many hooks ups with other vendors. The ready made market of around 70,000 Salesforce customers will also help spur the growth of enterprise social media throughout 2010.

2) They'll be a increase in mobile devices being used to access enterprise applications and the company intranet. There has been huge growth this year in mobile phone sales and in particular smartphones. This will continue into 2010 with IDC predicting that the number of mobile phones in circulation will reach 1 billion which will be close to the number of internet connected PCs at 1.3 billion. In the workplace the ratio of PCs to mobiles is big but in 2010 the gap will narrow. We are now at a stage - promised around 5 years ago in UK TV ads for WAP - where browsing the web is an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. We'll see intranet browsing, instant messaging and corporate apps for iPhone and Android, such as Yammer and meeting room booking apps. Mobile devices will become larger with popularity driven by Apple's new tablet PC. Gazing further into the crystal ball, e-readers will also make an appearance within the firewall.

3) Browser based working will become the norm with cloud computing taking over from internal server hosted applications. 2009 saw a renaissance for cloud computing with better security and improved usability and hosted services such as Taleo becoming more popular. Many of the new social intranets will be based on the web enabling people to work from anywhere there's an internet connection or via their smartphone. Employees will use their personal area on the intranet to store documents and files which will lead to a reduction in the use of shared drives and memory sticks.

4) Employees will increasingly resort to using their own gadgets and technology where companies don't provide them with what they need to work and communicate efficiently. Mobile devices and use of instant messaging tools are examples of this. With employers struggling to keep in house technology at the same level as consumer gadgets, we could see companies outsource some of their desktop and IT procurement to their employees.

5) Presence technology will become more widespread. The technology provides information on whether a person you might want to call or message is actually 'present' and ready to answer. For example, Office Communicator provides online, offline, busy and away indicators and Facebook Chat provides online, offline and idle status. Such indicators will be incorporated into the intranet and employee directory/social network applications and in company smartphone apps.

6) It's amazing how many internal applications still require separate sign on which is a real turn off for employees and a time waster. 2010 will be the year when you only have to login to your PC or through a web portal to gain full access to all network applications and systems. This one is not about new technology just the planning and effort to implement it.

7) 2010 will be the year of video in the enterprise driven by falling prices, increased availability of web friendly cameras and the increasing popularity of youtube. The Flip (affiliate link), plus recent entrants such as Samsung(affiliate link) to the market will drive corporate sales. There are several ways in which employees can make valuable and engaging use of video; eg for training, to record an event, to demonstrate the company culture and to solve problems.

8) Ask most employees what they dislike most about their intranet and the answer in most cases is, 'I can't find what I want' or variations on this. 2010 should see improvements in location of information for a number of reasons. Firstly, Google is regularly improving its search offering for the enterprise (Google Search Appliance). Secondly, intranet platform providers are including better quality search facilities in their products. Thirdly, the open nature of the social intranet will make people and information easier to locate. Fourthly, developments in intelligent search techniques will see most popular and context related documents automatically displayed for the user without the need for active searching. So for example, if you working on a bid document past case studies of the same and similar product or service will be displayed. Odyssey are offering this now and offers will follow. Fifthly, although perhaps this will be 2011 rather than 2010, similar enterprise applications to Goggles will see picture search being used to scan business cards, bar codes of stock and assets and perhaps eventually documents and people. Looking even further ahead, augmented reality combined with GPS could be used in a similar way to provide real time business information. Just run out of a component for a product? You could scan a supplier's business card and immediately view his current stock list, location and availability.

9) Existing employee directories as they exist now will disappear. Either they will morph into social networks complete with expanded profiles and status updates through in house development or they will be replaced with social network type applications that are built into 'off the shelf' intranet products.

10) Finally, most of the changes predicted above need a framework so that employees have guidance or what they should and shouldn't do with social media, new tools and technology. Therefore, we'll see an increasing number of companies producing social media policies or guidelines or incorporating them into existing HR and information security documentation. A US survey in July by Russell Herder and law firm Ethos Business Law showed that only a third of companies had such policies in place.

That's my take on the future of intranets, enterprise social media and related technology in 2010. Please comment below or get in touch and tell me what you think.

Cast your net wider for a bigger catch - adding podcasts to your comms mix

2009-11-24T17:23:00.000Z

I've been threatening to write a blog on podcasts for a while so here it is! Podcasts are somewhat neglected by internal communications professionals perhaps because of fear that lots of tech is involved, but actually they are not that geeky and once set up podcasting is a quick and easy process.

If you're not familiar with the concept I suggest you subscribe to a 'real world' podcast to become familar with the concept. The BBC have a wide selection in their podcast directory.

As you'll see below podcasts can be great addition to the internal communications mix and can provide a new, informal and engaging channel for employees.

A podcast is an MP3 file recording of a person or persons delivered via RSS feed, usually in the style of a presentation or radio show. In contrast to a standard sound file the key aspect of a podcast is the RSS feed. This enables it to be automatically synched to a portable digital player, such as iPod/iPhone, a MP3 player or a PC or laptop.

A listener can subscribe to a podcast to hear it immediately and then, when a new instalment/recording is available, this is automatically retrieved and transferred to the MP3 player ready for playback. The subscriber can then play the file at their leisure. The recording can also be played or downloaded directly by selecting a link to the MP3 file on an intranet or web page.

The most common method of recording podcasts is using a microphone and headset in conjunction with PC recording software such as Sound Recorder or Audacity.

The most difficult and technical part of podcasting is setting up the RSS feed. If you need help with this then speak to your IT people or contact me. Once your RSS feed (suggest this is named rss.xml) and podcast are ready they will need to be placed in a location that's accessible by all employees. The logical place is therefore the intranet server and again you might need help with IT on uploading it there. Each time a new podcast is created it will need to be placed in the podcast location and the RSS file amended.

Advantages
Personal – employees get to hear a real voice and person rather than a bland toneless email. It's a great channel for an informal and human approach. The message or information is therefore more engaging and more likely to be taken on board...so can help communications be successful.

Flexible – a podcast can be synched to a portable device eg iPhone and listened to anywhere and at any time the listener chooses. So for busy workers it can be a great way to catch up on internal comms during dead time such as when waiting for a train/plane, travelling to a meeting etc.

Easy to produce – podcasts are easy and quick to produce. (see hints and tips below).

Large potential audience – there is no limit to the audience and large audiences aren't more difficult. For example, the effort and resources to produce a podcast for 100 employees is the same as for 100,000 employees.

Hints and tips
Low budget solutions - If you are low on budget and have access to a voice conferencing service such as InterCall you can use that to make a recording. This is easy to record using a telephone. The file is then converted to .mp3 format (using a sound recorder like Audacity) so that it's suitable for podcast.

Quality solution - If you have budget, invest in a mic and recording software such as Samson C01U Recording and Podcasting Microphone Pak which is available on Amazon.

Integrate with other channels – podcasts should be considered as part of the whole internal communications strategy and integrated with other channels. For example, when you have a need to communicate add podcasts to the list of possible channels to use. You could also record a summary of the previous week or month's email announcements. If it's the latter then a member of the internal comms team can produce. This can be a quick win as no management buy-in is required.

Many uses – podcasts can be used for many purposes. Here are a few examples: by knowledge workers to transfer their specialist knowledge to others in the business, to train workers on IT matters, to inform workers about change eg new HR benefits etc, to inform employees about new products. I'm sure you can think of lots more.

Don't script for exec podcasts – unlike a CEO blog which can be ghosted (yes, most of them are) it's best to have the CEO use their own words and to speak how they would speak.

In summary, podcasting has valuable communication benefits and is easy to add to the list of communication channels that can be used by an internal communications team to help them achieve their objectives.

Making the most of webinars

2009-10-29T18:18:00.000Z

Like me, you may use webinar (or online meeting) tools as a presenter and if not you've probably attended a webinar as delegate. The hints and tips below include some ideas for using the technology you might not have thought of. By using these ideas or holding more standard presentation style webinars you can maximise the benefits below.

Webinars are a fantastic alternative to face to face meetings and town hall presentations but one problem can be distracted delegates. So below you'll find some ideas to capture their attention to encourage them to focus on your delivery and content.

What are the benefits of webinars?

Provide savings of time, travel, accommodation and hospitality costs – significant savings can be achieved. There is some good independent data from Publicare on this
Low cost alternative to face to face meetings – particular useful if participants are scattered all over your country or around the globe
It's a web based tool so it's not dependent on your organisations network. In fact, a network can sometimes interfere with connectivity so a straight internet connection works well eg from home, conference centre, hotel room etc.
Good alternative for large gatherings when presenting to large number of people is impractical. Most tools will accommodate a 1000 people or more
Quick and easy to set up - as well as scheduling events you can start an instant webinar
No running costs if you use VoIP (PC microphone and speakers/headset) for audio – most applications provide a choice of telephone or VoIP and with some you can mix and match
Recordable - non-attendees or delegates who want a rerun can playback both the video and audio from a recording

GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar (GTM/GTW) from Citrix Online is the tool I'm most familiar so gets some specific mentions. It works well for me. Some of the tips below therefore might not apply on other platforms.

Hints and tips - general

If you are an organiser or presenter you can attend online training – For GTM/GTW both basic and advanced online training is available
Don’t forget that you can show anything from your desktop so in addition to holding presentations and meetings you can provide online training, demonstrate a website, take a customer through an application or collaborate on a project
Webinars are often thought of as 'one to many tools' but using the tool on a one to one basis can also be useful. You can use to work jointly on a document or a presentation or to take someone through an intranet or website

Hints and tips - setting up the webinar

If you are doing a formal or public facing webinar, a two person team works well. That is, a facilitator and presenter. The facilitator can manage questions, chat, introduce the presenter and close.
Don’t forget to check time zones before scheduling the web conference so that it’s in working hours for all the delegates you want to attend
If you're organising a webinar give yourself plenty of time (at least 15 mins) to set the session up, ensure all is working and the presenter is relaxed but ready
Ensure all noise sources are switched off eg telephones, BlackBerries, printers and if possible lock yourself away in a quiet room
Set up a poll so this is ready to launch during the webinar (more on this below)
Make sure that any automated follow-up emails are completed appropriately and set up correctly so you can 'forget and fire' (more on this below)

Hints and tips - running the webinar

Ensure that opening slide of presentation is displayed on presenter's desktop when webinar starts so that when the switch is made from 'waiting room' to presenter's screen it’s a seamless move to the start of the presentation. Sounds obvious but any other approach can appear amateur and if seen this happen a lot
Reducing noise is mentioned above but it's surprising how many webinars are spoilt by presenters rustling papers or in one case it seemed...eating!
The facilitator should introduce the webinar and presenter at the start and go through 'housekeeping'. I use a housekeeping template that can be customised as appropriate. This includes how questions will be managed eg Q and A session at end, how delegates ask questions, whether and where a recording and/or presentation will be made available and what delegates should do if there are any technical issues
In GTM/GTW, the default is to show your whole screen but you can present a specific application only by selecting an application beneath the Show My Screen button. This avoids desktop clutter, email and IM alerts etc or...
If you are showing the whole screen then ensure you close your email client and other applications if you're presenting. I was duly embarrassed once when a message from my lunch date appeared on the my colleagues' screens whilst I was presenting!
Some tools such as GTM/GTW offer a chat feature so the presenter and facilitator can use private chat to communicate during the webinar if required
In GTM/GTW you'll find that right clicking names on GoToWebinar is the easiest way to do stuff eg change presenter etc.
To close the webinar the presenter should thank everyone for their time and attention and discuss next steps (if any), and provide the presenter's contact details (if needed). The organiser should then close the webinar by thanking people once again for attending and then stating something like. 'The Enterprise Social Media webinar is now closed'

Hints and tips - after the webinar

Follow up - The follow up shouldn't be an afterthought. Delegates should be contacted to thank them for their attendance and a link to the recording should be provided. Some applications like GTM/GTW partly automate this process and provide templates for email messages.

Best practice - getting maximum value for the webinar

This section is about making the most of webinar technology and making the webinar session work for you and the delegates.The main problem you have as a presenter is keeping the attention of the delegates or delegate distraction. Unlike a face to face meeting attendees have numerous distractions eg email, web, internet, phone calls etc so it's important to do all you can to keep their focus on your webinar.

Hopefully, the following ideas will help:

Interact with your audience regularly and check in at logical points by asking questions of the attendees. For example: 'Does that make sense? Are there any questions so far? Can you think of an example where you might use podcasts.' You get the sort of thing
Put the focus onto your audience and make them your priority. For example, don't say, 'I'm going to talk to you about enterprise social media.' Instead say, 'In the next hour, you will learn the four secrets of enterprise social media; the benefits of using social media and collaborative tools; and the mistakes your competitors are making when they implement them.' You get the idea
Use the poll feature to get your audience to participate. In GTM/GTW it's easy to set up. It's a very powerful feature and generally I've obtained 90%+ response rate and in under 30 seconds - unheard off response rates with email or web surveys. It's best to use the poll feature to ask people about the content of your presentation eg which social network do you use the most?
Unmute the lines half way though the session and have a discussion. For example, discuss the results of the poll you've just run
Use drawing tools to illustrate points on presentation or focus attention to items on screen. This helps avoid 'death by PowerPoint' and if done correctly gives the presenter an air of authority and professionalism
It's important that your content is understood by delegates so the messages needs to be concise. simple and clear. If you are working from a PowerPoint presentation you should:

Have clear short messages on each slide so use large, bold text and have no more than 4 to 6 lines of text per page
Use a white background
Avoid all animation as this is distracting and add complexity
Avoid video as this tends to break up via webinar

Webinars are a great tool that we could all use more. For further help in making the most of webinars or implementing them in your business please get in touch.

Workplace social media and collaborative tools: Will you ride the wave?

2009-10-19T14:36:00.000+01:00

In the same way that intranets multiplied amongst companies in the mid to late 1990s, new social media and collaborative tools are going to do the same over the next few years. Early intranets were essentially glorified electronic noticeboards, displaying news, information and policy documents from the 'company' to the workforce. The latest workplace revolution is about connections, collaboration and sharing amongst co-workers and is therefore far more powerful and significant. As Chris Brogan writes in Trust Agents, 'There's a tidal wave coming, and it's made of people.'

This tidal wave will be driven by social media and collaborative tools like instant messaging and webinars combined with shift to a younger more tech savvy population. In less than two years those born between 1981 and 2000, will outnumber baby boomers in the workplace.

Those companies that fail to ride this wave won'r realise the many benefits and will lose competitive advantage to those that adopt and use these tools correctly. So how can companies take advantage? Here are twelve ideas:

1) Social Media Policy
To set the framework for use of social media tools both in and out of the company it's important to have a stand alone policy. This should be both a 'dos' and a 'donts' document where practical use of social media should be encouraged. There are plenty of existing policies and guides available. Some are called 'guides' but I think policy is more appropriate because the document should lay out rules, many of which aren't optional. Depending on the culture of the organisation, a guide in addition to the policy containing advice and suggestions might also be appropriate. But it's not just a document. Understand the culture and what the company is trying to achieve before putting pen to paper.

2) Firewall

Don't act like one of the 54% of companies who block access to social network and media sites (Source: Robert Half Technology) or the multi national who uses Twitter for marketing but denies its sales people access! As well as all the ideas here there are many benefits to be gained and much value realised by using social networks and media externally for marketing and recruitment. Open the firewall.

3) CEO blog
A blog from the leader of the company is easy and inexpensive to set up, but marks an important shift in direction. Employees will read the views and opinons of a person (rather than just another email from Internal Comms) and will get the opportunity to connect by contributing feedback through comments. This paves the way for dialogue between management and employees; something that is often lacking.

4) Podcasts
As an alternative to the thousands of text only messages and announcements that have been emailed or published on the intranet, record a podcast. There are many opportunities such as a round up of the weekly company, a business area announcements, a special message from a member of the board or as an alternative or bolt on to a CEO blog. You can also podcast voice conferences for those that can't attend. The key advantage is that employees can subscribe and once they've done this they'll automatically be able to listed to the latest update. I'll be writing a guide on the mechanics of podcasting in a future post (yes, I know I've said that before).

5) Video
How many years have you had a text and static image homepage for your intranet? It's time to record a video of your CEO or a member of the Board. I think one word sums up the power and advantages...YouTube.

6) Instant messaging - option 1
Introduce internal instant messaging eg Office Communicator to provide a new network for fast and easy communication. Helps build relationships with those in a different business area or country; breaks down silos. For more advantage please see previous post - Email is not the only way.

7) Instant messaging - option 2
If there are technical or cost barriers to setting up instant messaging withing the firewall, then you can use a free alternative - Twitter. Externally facing yes, but you can set updates to private to ensure business confidentially. Using Twitter in this way will provide the same advantages as Option 1.

8) Webinars
Another communication tool, webinars are great for bringing people together in an interactive meeting. The term webinar implies that it's a top down presentation and whilst this is usually the case you can use the tool for online team meetings and project working. Webinar tools such as GoToWebinar include plenty of communication features such as Q and A and online messaging/chat.

9) Twitter
Whilst Twitter is an external facing tool you can use it internally in several ways. Here's 2. Employees can share best practice with others with similar skills and expertise, which as well as benefiting them as individuals adds value to the company. They can also use Twitter to network with potential clients and suppliers.

10) Yammer
Add Yammer or integrate micro-blogging onto your intranet. In effect, a dedicated version of Twitter for your business. For more on Yammer please read earlier post Making the most of Yammer.

11) Social tagging/bookmarking
A method for employees to share, organize, search, and manage bookmarks on and from your intranet. Other internal web resources, tools and internet sites can also be included. Think Digg, Reddit, Delicious and StumbleUpon but inside your firewall. Not as difficult or expensive to implement as you might think, even if not included in your intranet platform.

12) Conference and event reporting
This final idea works for employees inside and organisation by making a connection with the external world. How many times can a colleague make a conference or event that you can't attend? Twitter can be used to report back on conference speeches and events so that colleagues don't miss out. This is a great use of Twitter's real time capabilities and can be used in the same way for webinars too. Reporting often triggers parallel conversations to the event on items of interest - more connections + more conversation = more value.

The twelve points above are just the crest of the wave. There are many ways of using social media and collaborative tools inside an organisation which are only limited by your imagination. Yes, they all require resource or investment but generally costs are low and shouldn't be a barrier to entry.

The question you should ask is: 'What will be the cost of not riding the wave, not using these tools to connect and collaborate?'

Finally, although the technology is exciting - at least to geeky types like me - it's not just about new corporate gadgets. The tools and technology need to be aligned with your business objectives, company culture and internal comms strategy and only then implemented and used in an appropriate way.

If you need more help with understanding the benefits and value or the implementation of these ideas within your business, please get in touch.

Top ten intranet tips - #IntranetTips

2009-09-29T17:19:00.000+01:00

Below are the top ten intranet tips that I've published on Twitter (#IntranetTips). Putting them into a blog post brings them together and provides a bit more space to add some additional detail. Thank you to Rachel Lai and Carolyn Douglas for giving me some ideas on the detail.

1. Open non-web eg pdf and Office docs in new windows

By coding hyperlinks with ‘_blank’ or setting your links in CMS to open in a new page, non-web pages will open in a new window. This allows the employee to close the window once they read the document whilst still remaining on the intranet. It can be quite frustrating to have to fire up the browser again to go back to the main intranet.

2. Link to your corporate website pages to avoid duplication

About Us, Board Members and Locations are good pages for this. This type of content is often published both on the intranet and company website. If you have the same CMS for intranet and website then you can avoid duplication by publishing the same page to both. If not then simply link out to your website from the intranet.

3. Keep a searchable archive of all internal and external news

It's a good idea to keep links to all your previously published homepage articles and press releases. The best way is probably a listing in date order with links to the full article. Your CMS may be able to automate this. As per tip number 2 above, if press releases are stored on the website then just link to the appropriate page. It's helpful if your archives are searchable.

4. Roll out an intranet icon onto all employees desktops

To provide easy of access to your intranet speak to IT about using a 'group policy' to install an intranet icon onto all employees desktops. A bonus point if you can get the icon designed to match your intranet or company brand.

5. Add multimedia to homepage to keep it exciting and engaging

It's vital to attract employees to the shop window of your intranet – the homepage. To make it engaging include video and/or sound. Perhaps a video of your CEO announcing the annual results. Podcasts are an refreshing change to text and are not that difficult to produce. (Coming soon! – a post on how to make podcasts). In addition, use good quality pictures to go along side your news articles.

6. Display clocks on your homepage if you have offices in different time zones

When telephoning or arranging a conference call with people abroad or in different time zones it's helpful to know what the time is at their location. You can display clocks showing the appropriate times on your homepage based on the intranet server time. Make sure your system or IT people take into account daylight saving changes so that the times are always correct.

7. Put the content owner and last updated time/date at the bottom of every intranet page

The last updated date shows employees that the content is fresh (or not) and the name of the content author gives them someone to contact should they have a query. Some CMS such as Intranet Connections can automatically do this for you.

8. Add an easy to use Sales/Wants application. Your employees will love it.

Sales/Wants boards or classified ads give employees an opportunity to engage with the intranet in an off duty way. On an intranet I ran recently the sales/wants application was the 3rd most popular page after the homepage and employee directory.

9. Don't make people have to log into any page/app. Their Windows login id should suffice.

You can hook your intranet into Active Directory to avoid employees having to log in to the intranet itself or applications connected to it. Speak to your IT people about SAML which you can use to access third party applications.

10. Put a 'Quick Tasks' dropdown on homepage for quick access to claiming expenses, booking travel, logging IT calls etc

This makes it easy and quick for employees to access the applications they use most. Metrics and feedback indicate such links are popular.

Making the most of Yammer

2009-09-13T10:21:00.000+01:00

Yammer is an online tool used to communicate, share, and stay in touch with others in a company or organisation through the exchange of short messages. In geek speak Yammer is an internal micro-blogging tool, or to put it another way, a business version of Twitter. Yammer gives you a private network (locked down using company organisation email address), messages are not limited to 140 characters and documents and images can be attached to messages. Plus there are features like profiles, RSS feeds, organisational charts and the recently added 'Likes' and threaded message view. Yammer is hosted as Software As A Service (SaaS) so can be accessed easily from both inside and outside your network.

Here are some FAQs on using Yammer:

1) How can I access Yammer?

You can access Yammer using:

www.yammer.com
Yammer Desktop Application
Blackberry application
iPhone application
Android application
Gabble (A Mac application)

2) How do I post messages?

Just type your message into the Update box and hit Update. That's it.

Posting a message to the your Yammer network is similar to sending an email (or an instant message), with a few key advantages:

Anyone interested in you or any Tag (see Tags below) in the message can view the message – you don’t have to decide ahead of time who may be interested in your message, unless you want to – just post your message for all Yammer users to view.
If you want to message someone on a 'one to one' basis then you can send them a private message. The advantage of private 1 to 1 Yammer messages, over IM, is that your messages are archived and searchable forever by you and the recipient.
The content of the message and any attachment is searchable by anyone on your network using the search field on the top right. It's a great alternative to email - for more on this please my previous post Email is not the the only way.

3) How do I attach a file or image to my message?

Attach a file or image directly to your message by clicking the ‘Attach file’ link beneath the update form. This will prompt you to select the file or image you would like to attach with your message. You can attach as many files or images as you would like.

After posting, the attachment will appear within your message and in the appropriate File or Link Directory.

4) What does 'following' mean?

Following the people, Tags and groups that you find most interesting is the key to getting the most out of Yammer. Your My Feed will only include messages from the people, groups and Tags you follow, giving you the information you need when you need it.

5) How do I follow someone?

When you follow someone in your network you will receive all messages they post in your My Feed, except for those posted to Groups you have not joined. For example, you can follow colleagues who work on the same projects as you, are involved in interesting initiatives in your organization, and who share insightful links. And of course, don’t forget to follow your boss!

Click on a colleague’s name or picture to reach their profile, then use the blue 'Follow' button to the right of their name to follow them. You can also find and follow lots of colleagues quickly in the members directory, reached by clicking the 'Members' tab.

6) How do I use Tags?

#Tags are used to Group topics together. If you use Twitter then you'll be familiar with this concept. For example, if you want to post a topic on sales then simply put a # front of it - #sales. When others do the same all posts with the Tag sales are grouped together making them easy to find in 2 ways.

You can click a Tag and all posts containing the Tag will be displayed on the page.
You can search for Tags (or for that matter any topic or person) using the search field on the top right of the page.

Over time this will lead to the development of a knowledge base as many topics and knowledge and information around them are posted. The full Tag collection can be viewed by selecting Tags under the More menu.

7) How do I address a message to a person?

As on Twitter use @ followed by a colleague’s user name to address a message to that person. Your colleague’s name will link to their profile, and the message will appear in your colleague’s received and following. This is useful for asking someone a question or including them in a conversation on Yammer.

Notice that after typing the @ symbol, a list of users appears. You can select the name you want from the list using the mouse, scroll up and down the list using the arrow keys, hit return to select the highlighted name, or keep typing to narrow down the list. The auto-suggest list is particularly useful if you don’t know your colleague’s unique username, determined by their work email address, but know their name.

8) How do I use links?

You can easily add links to your update by simply putting the link in your message (i.e. 'Check out this news story: http://news.bbc.co.uk. The link will then automatically be added to your network's Link directory which is accessible under the More menu.

Remember that people will be using Yammer externally so links to internal applications such as your intranet won't work. Therefore, if you use internal links be sure to flag them as such eg http://intranet (internal). When linking to long URLs (web addresses) you can use a URL shortener such as 'bit ly' at http://bit.ly/. Bit ly works for both external and internal links.

9) How do I find other Yammer users in my network?

Use the Members directory to quickly view and follow multiple people in your network. The directory listing for each member includes their picture, name, username, title, # of messages, and number of followers. Use the blue Follow buttons to follow members right from the directory, or click on a member to view that member’s profile.

Use the Invite more members link to invite others in your organization to join your network. Yammer will become more and more useful as more colleagues join and become active members.

10) How do I search for a Group, person, Tag, or message?

You can search for groups, members, Tags, or for a specific word or phrase.

To search for all messages posted to a Group, begin typing the Group name into the search field. As you type, matching Groups will be displayed. Click on the Group name or select it with the up and down arrow key and hit enter. This shortcut takes you to the Group page which displays all messages, you have permission to view, posted to that Group.

To search your network for all posts by a particular member, begin typing his or her name into the search field. As you type, matching member names will be displayed. Click on the member’s name or select it with the up and down arrow key and hit enter. This shortcut takes you to the member’s profile which displays all messages by that member.

To search for all posts about a particular Tag, begin typing the Tag name into the search field. As you type, matching Tags will be displayed. Click on the Tag name or select it with the up and down arrow key and hit enter. This shortcut takes you to the Tag page which includes all messages about that Tag.

To search for a specific word or phrase, type it into the search box and click the search icon. Your search results appears in three tabs:

messages displays every message that includes the search word or phrase.
members displays every members whose name matches the search word.
Tags displays every Tag whose name includes the search word

11) How do I control the number of email updates I receive?

By default each account is set up to receive a number of email updates and notifications. To change the email updates and notifications you receive go to Settings (top right hand side) and then Email.

12) Can I use Yammer as an alternative to email distribution lists?

Yes. Distribution lists can be set up using the Groups feature of Yammer so that it's possible to communicate to a Group of people in a similar function or with a similar interest in the same way as Outlook. However, the instant nature of Yammer provides a welcome alternative to this approach. Short bites of information instead of just sending messages one-to-one around a contact list can be a refreshing change. Considerable time can be saved and email traffic reduced. You can also SMS people in groups.

Here are a few tips:

When you first join, introduce yourself. It's a good way to break the ice.
Fill out your Profile so your colleagues know what skills you possess. Be sure to add a Profile photo.
Watch the Yammer Video Tour to understand how to use Yammer and the value it provides.
Stick to your area of expertise and provide unique, individual perspectives on what you are doing in your role.
Express yourself and your views but keep it business like - try to avoid messages such as 'I just had a good lunch'…unless it was with a client!
Tell other people what you're working every time you switch projects or when you or your team delivers something new or significant.
Post meaningful, respectful comments—in other words, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive.
Share hints, tips, snippets of knowledge, opinions, ideas and suggestions – in short anything that will add value or help your colleagues.
Post questions to obtain info but return the favour by providing answers to other's questions.
Respect confidentiality and commercial sensitivities.
It's fine to disagree with others' opinions but keep it appropriate and polite.
Join Groups you're interested in.
Post your message to the most relevant Group and use Tags, if applicable. This ensures proper message delivery to members who deem themselves as experts or interested in the subject matter.
If you forget to add a Tag to a message, simply reply to the message with the Tag. Entire threads are associated with Tags.
Don't worry about people receiving messages that they may not be interested in. Yammer is structured so the recipient can choose what content they receive based on what or who they follow. Just make sure you post to the most relevant Group and use the appropriate Tags.
Before asking your colleagues a question, Search Yammer using the search bar in the upper right. It may have already been answered.
Turn threaded view On, in bottom left corner of feed, if discussion threads are hard to follow or you're trying to catch up after a lot of activity.
Ask the question: 'What value do you get from Yammer?' and post an example. It will help everyone understand.
To prevent messages being submitted when you hit 'enter' uncheck Enter Key Does Not Submit Message under Appearance.
If you are on Twitter you can post to both sites at the same time by putting #yam in your Twitter post. Just make sure your Twitter user name is includes in your Yammer profile.
And lastly a more macro one...suggest Yammer for your business continuity planning. When your network or email is down Yammer could help out. It's accessible from any internet connection, most mobile devices and is faster than email. You can also message and SMS groups quickly.

Yammer can really add value to a company or organisation in a number of ways and to get going you can start a network for free. I'd suggest a small pilot or soft launch. However, do think carefully before you do this. To make the most of Yammer and to give better controls you'll almost certainly need Admin Tools, for which you'll need budget as there is a monthly cost per member.

Email is not the only way

2009-07-28T10:51:00.001+01:00

I'm increasingly finding that I'm using email less and less as I move to other alternatives for text based communications. Email has been around for some time now. It was in 1995 that I first used it in a work environment. It's adoption amongst medium to large companies was virtually universal by 1997. I remember asking a major computer retailer for their email address in 1996 and being surprised they didn't have one!

Email is a very basic messaging system and one that hasn't changed much since its launch. What it fails to provide which many of its 'competitors' do is speed, context and conversation.

In the office, I use Microsoft Office Communicator more than email. It's great for quick internal queries. As a sender I receive quick answers to my questions and I hope that I provide them too. I like its informal conversational style. You feel that you are talking with someone and establishing a connection. Speed of message transmission is instant unlike email which can take 30 to 60 seconds to reach its destination. This means rapid response to a situation when required. With email there is no chance of a conversation (maybe that's why they're called threads?) and cumulatively a fair bit of time is wasted. I often find that email is 'fire and forget'. Fire off a message to colleague and both sender and recipient forget about it the action required or the question that needs to be answered. This is partly due to visibility, there is no public display of the message that has been sent. There is always that doubt as to whether the email has actually been received. Office Communicator also indicates 'presence status' - online, offline, away etc. This saves a huge amount of time knowing which colleagues are available. Tip: You can integrate the presence indicator with your employee directory so that each person's entry shows their presence status.

With more conversational tools like Office Communicator and Yammer message are visible and communication is more effective. With Office Communicator the speed means that actions and answer are very quick. With Yammer messages are public so are rarely ignored and forgotten. Even if aimed at a colleague someone else can step in and reply.

Yammer has a number of other strengths over email. Communications are structured in conversations and topics, using #tags. This makes following a line of work or thought easy to follow and helps when looking for old messages. On top of this Yammer has an excellent and fast search. All these features are missing from Outlook. No conversation style, no topics and a poor and slow search. Tip: To provide a better search I use Google Desktop.

For receiving and giving generic help and advice on intranets and social media I use Twitter, LinkedIn and of course blogs. All visible and easily searchable.

Socially, I tend to use Facebook and text more than email, again due to its conversation style but also because it provides context. If I'm organising or going to a party then everything is structured around one place in Facebook - the 'Event'. Often, I might have something to say that may be useful or of interest to others, say a film recommendation, so I post on their Wall. Texts, like Office Communicator are great for quick short messages. With phones like my Google G1 or the iPhone they are also displayed as conversations. Texts are often neglected in a work environment but they are a great alternative to email and phone, particularly if you are communicating with busy people, who tend to divert to voicemail.

Finally, what's all this got to do with intranets? Well, the intranet should be the 'way of working', the desktop that is the central point of all tasks and the communications hub. Tools such as Office Communicator and Yammer should be integrated into an intranet so that they are part and parcel of the working environment.

20 steps to a new intranet

2009-07-20T09:58:00.000+01:00

The following are 20 steps you should consider when implementing a new intranet along with a tip for each step.

1. Agree intranet strategy with Board/Senior Management - consider knowledge management, working practices and culture too.

2. Use strategy to produce business requirements – look to include features that will benefit your organisation and fit with the culture.

3. Define and agree scope of project – decide if it’s appropriate to look at the workflow and processes you’re giving access to via the intranet.

4. Create shortlist of platforms - research web resources and other organisations intranets.

5. Use business requirements to narrow down shortlist and to make final selection – using weighted scoring is a good approach.

6. Write project plan - ensure that all the following steps are included and who is going to carry them out.

7. Agree new intranet name and brand – it’s vital so needs its own identity. Ensure that the URL matches the name.

8. Agree and arrange hosting location and environment – large organisations should looks at mirrored servers in multiple locations.

9. Define the information architecture and site structure - ensure that stakeholders and user groups feed into this.

10. Design navigation – ensure this marches information architecture and that search and home buttons are on every page.

11. Design/look and feel of whole intranet – ensure design highly usable and re-inforces both intranet’s your organisation’s brand.

12. Design homepage – it’s the front end so spend some time on this.

13. Install and build – install and build inline with business requirements.

14. Migrate – but before you do remove out of date content from any existing systems you’re migrating.

15. Implementation of publishing system – install mechanism and intranet assets to use in the ongoing creation of content

16. Implement and configure search – ensure your search indexes the whole of your intranet and all the document storage areas.

17. Test and obtain feedback – test with your stakeholders and user group.

18. Produce comms plan – a new intranet is a big change so ensure people are aware.

19. Train and provide help – set up classroom training and provide lots of online help.

20. Launch

Use your intranet to create value

2009-07-14T18:00:00.000+01:00

As well as saving costs your intranet can also create real value for your company and help that bottom line by improving the flow of information and knowledge around your company.

The intranet can act as the plumbing system to help this flow. Better informed and more knowledgeable employees work smarted and generate more revenue. For example, a sales consultant having easy access to a case study of a similar customer and proposition plus a subject matter expert can have a real edge. Make sure your case studies are easy to navigate to and are picked up by your search engine. Expand your employee directory to include areas of expertise and skills. Even better if you have your main search engine index this information too.

You can providing additional means for employees to share knowledge and work together and build them onto your plumbing system. For example, instant messaging like Office Communicator, a webinar tool like GoToMeeting and a social network like Yammer.

A significant objective of an intranet is to deliver company news to employees but build on this by presenting your objectives in interesting ways. For example, use pictures, dashboards and blogs. Give employees the option to feedback on your objectives and progress. This aids their understanding of your company's aims and objectives and gets them engaged. You can do this by adding a comments section under every news story and getting your senior people to write blogs which have feedback sections.

Once your plumbing is in place ensure that the whole system is aligned with your brand and ensure your internal brand mirrors your external brand. Get rid of any old logos and colours and redesign systems so they follow your current brand. Subtle yes, but this will help employees feel engaged with the intranet and will encourage them to make the most of the new features you've set up.

Real cost savings in action

2009-07-07T17:58:00.000+01:00

As mentioned in my post of the 4 July BA saved £55 million last year so it was good to see its intranet today and get a sense of how these savings are made. On first look it seemed that not much had changed since I last had a tour in 2006 but whilst the design had changed little there is no access to more functions than before.

The BA intranet, or Employee Services Portal as they call it, is extremely task orientated. So the focus has been to move as much process and transactions as possible online. So far example, when staying in a hotel on an overnight stopover cabin crew can now arrange rosters and swap shifts. Online payslips are now compulsory - there is no option to receive a paper copy in the post. An great example of a real saving in postage, paper and production costs for 42,000 employees each month.

A recent new area is 'Action for survival' which aims to help BA get through the recession. This houses forums for employees to generate ideas and Q and As on money saving measures such as the recently announced unpaid leave/work initiative.

It was noticeable that design has not changed much in 3 years and there is little evidence of Enterprise 2.0. No blogs or wikis and the forums are 'traditional' rather than Yammer style. Despite this the intranet remains extremely popular with around 23,000 accessing each day and over 98% of employees accessing at least once per month.

So functions and task do seem to the driving force behind this intranet which is more than paying its way for BA.

Improving the bottom line

2009-07-04T16:37:00.000+01:00

There is certainly plenty of scope for an intranet to save money and some big savings to be made. In 2008 British Airways estimated it saved £55 million (Source: Norman Nielson Group). Here two practical suggestions for achieving real savings:

1) Integrate your Employee Directory with Active Directory

Work with IT to integrate your online employee directory with Active Directory (AD) so that employees details are automatically displayed from their AD login account. The employee directory should provide an update page so amended details are fed back to each employees AD account. Use this employee data as the central source of trusted data for ALL systems where employee data is stored.

2) Move systems and process online

Move as many systems and processes online as possible to create more efficient processes. Obvious starting points are HR and IT self service and knowledge bases/FAQs and but there are plenty of others: expenses, meeting room and webinar booking, purchasing, hot desk booking, parking space booking, online training course booking and e-learning systems (maybe part of HR system). They don't all have to be self service eg asset management and meeting room administration.

You can combine the two ideas above by using your captured employee data in pre-populated forms to save employees time when they use your online self service systems. So employees don't have to continually fill out their personal details when buying software, claiming expenses, booking a meeting room and viewing their payslip. etc. This results in removing a repeated chore for employees and additional time savings to those now more efficient online processes.

Can your intranet save the world?

2009-06-29T10:16:00.000+01:00

Perhaps not but your intranet can make a huge difference to your company. Maybe even the difference between a successful and a failed one.

Improving the bottom line
By making the most of your intranet you can increase the success of your company. A good intranet can improve your bottom line by making employees working lives easier by helping save time in their roles. For example, by providing quick access to information. There is usually plenty of scope for cost cutting and time saving. There is often less focus on creating value but the intranet can do this. For example, by providing the means for employees to share information and allowing them to work together to turn this into valuable knowledge.

Getting employees onside
An intranet can get employees more engaged and involved with your company and with what it is trying to achieve. Making the intranet fun and presenting corporate goals in an attractive way can help make employees more aware of the targets. If you then give them the opportunity to feedback and discuss your goals you'll create a dialogue between management and employees. Employees will not just feel part of the company but valued and involved in something exciting and purposeful.

Knowledgeable and engaged employees working towards a target are a powerful force. I'll be exploring these ideas in more details in future posts.