7 tips how to work out loud. success case from belgium. experiment at kbc bank

• Youconstantlyreflectuponwhatyouhave learnt,whatyouknow.

• Youturnthoughtsintolanguage (spokenorwritten).

• Yousharethisknowledgeviasocial technologies(Yammer,Slack,IBMConnect,You Tube,MSSharePoint,Newsfeed,LinkedIn, Facebook).

KBCusesMSSharePoint.

By sharing knowledge and reacting to other people’s posts you build up a powerful network.

“WorkingOutLoudismorethanjustaboutusingtechnology.

It’sabouthelpingpeoplefeelbetter:empowered,generous,connected.”

JohnStepper

More time. Increased productivityand social cohesion Knowledge sharing occurs more naturally. Team limits fade out,cross-silo communication.

More time

•Teammeetingshavebecomemoreefficientanddiscussionsareaboutrealcontent.Backgroundinformationisnowsharedbeforethemeeting.

•Knowledgeflowsfaster,sothereisless‘reinventingthewheel’. • Know-howisexchangedmoreefficiently.

Increased productivity and social cohesion

•Peoplegettheirquestionsansweredfaster.

•Sharingdraftversionspromptsgoodfeedback,sothefinalversionisalwaysbetterthanthatofa ‘one-man-band’=co-creation.

•Employeesgrowintheirjobs:theyreceivefeedbackfrommorecolleagues,andcanappearfromthemostunexpectedcornersoftheorganisation. •Itcreatesvirtualproximityforhomeworkers.

Knowledge sharing occurs more naturally

Soundslikeaparadoxbutbypostinganaddressee-lessmessage(anemailneedsanaddresseetomakeitgetsomewhere),yourquestionwillgettotherightpersonsooner,andnotnecessarilytotheoneyouexpecteditto.

Team limits fade out, cross-silo communication.

•Peoplecaneasilyfindoutwhat’scookingindifferentteams. •Employeescaninteractwithpeopletheydidn’tknowbefore.

“We are growing towards a more network-based organisation.”

TheypreferMSSharePointtoe-mailto communicatewithteammembers.Theyuseshortmessages(microblogging).

Everyonecommunicatesandchecksoutthesemessagesattheirownpace:begin-ningorendoftheday,orafterameeting.

Teamscommunicatemoreoftenwithotherteams.

It’s not the messenger who filters now, but the recipient. Themessengerdoesn’tknowwhoisgoingtoreadthemessages.

Create a safe environment, a safe setting

Teach them how to master micro-blogging specific language

Give them ideas about topics they can write about

Teach them how to avoid information overload

Spell out what the expected behavior is

Experiment started as a bottom up initiative

Create a safe environment, a safe setting

Atafirststagepeoplewillonlyshareknowledgewithintheirownteams,aswellaswithtrusted

colleagues.

Teach them how to master micro-blogging specific language

Sharingknowledgethroughenterprisesocialnetworksrequiresaspecificlanguage.Peoplewereshownhowtomasterthis“new”language.Theyweregivenrecommen-dationsontheelementsforasuccessfulpost.Inthebeginning,peoplewereaskedtoprovidefeedbackoneachother’sposts(toolong,toocomplex...).

Give them ideas about topics they can write about

Itisn’talwaysobviousforpeopletoknowwhattowriteabout.“Whocouldfindmyknowledgeinteresting?”

Agoodstartingpointis:

• Whatareyoudoingnow?• Whatwastheconclusionofthemeetingsyou participatedin?• Askforfeedbackonadocumentnotfinishedyet (drafts,storylines,minimumviableproductsetc…).• Sharealinktoaninterestingblogpost,anarticle…• Announceadelivery.

Teach them how to avoid information overload

Peopleweretaughttheyshouldbecautiousaboutwhichpeopleandwhattopicstheywant

tofollow.

Spell out what the expected behaviour is, even for (senior) management,

they should set the example.

Only this way can the expected behaviour be made clear.

Some examples of the expected behaviour as spelled out by KBC in their experiment.

Be brief

Be authentic

Be positive

Be present

Microblogsareshort. Usehyperlinkstoelaborateonasubject.

Whenyouarepromotingaproject offline,don’tforgettomentionitonline.Postabouttopicsyouwanttobeknownfor.

Encouragepeopletorespondpostitivelyonapost.Forlesspositivefeedback,useotherchan-nels.

Reactquickly.Beingpresentonsocialme-diaisnot‘atodo’tosaveupuntiltheendoftheweek.

Experiment started as a bottom up initiative.

It’sagrassroots(bottomup)initiativewherebypeopleareinspiredbyseeing/knowingwhatother,teamsareupto.

Thisishowtheapproachisspreadacrosstheorganisation,withno“pressure”,no“musts”.

Was this an easy thing to do?

Certainly not! Evenafter6months,WorkingoutLoudisnotself-evident.Filteringrelevantinformationisstilldifficultande-mailingstaysapersistanthabit.Itremainsanon-goingexperiment.