the rise of the 'social' intranet | sarah jennings | december 2014

The rise of the 'social'

intranet

Sarah Jennings

Digital & Community Engagement

20 November 2014

using social media to increase knowledge sharing, encourage teamwork

and collaboration within and between local authorities


Four enablers of engagement

Visible, empowering leadership

… providing a strong strategic narrative about the organisation, where it’s come from and where it’s

going.

Engaging managers…who focus their people and give them scope, treat their people as individuals and coach and stretch

their people.

Organisational integrity

…the values on the wall are reflected in day to day behaviours.

There is no ‘say – do’ gap.

Employee voice

…throughout the organisations, for reinforcing and challenging views, between functions and externally,

employees are seen as central to the solution.

Reference: Engage for Success


How do you make an intranet ‘social’?

1 Traditional intranetCentral 'hub' of where employees can access company news, information, policies and documents.

2 Social intranetThe above plus the latest social communication tools.

3 Enterprise social networkAll the above plus productivity tools such as mobile and tablet apps, workspaces, knowledge management applications, task management features, calendar and event integrations etc etc


In a nutshell

Reference: www.mumbacloud.com


Why go social?


Case study:Southeastern

Thanks to Andy Bindon , Human Resources Director at Southeastern


Drivers…engagement programme linked to:

1 Launch of the UK’s first high speed service

2 Role services would play at London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics


Involved employees…

1 Developed a strategic narrative around the new vision and objectives

2 Established staff focus groups and devolved running of employee recognition scheme

3 Improved people management skills of leaders and managers


How could productivity be enhanced (and quickly) across the rest of the organisation?

Could social media hold the key for harnessing technology and accelerating momentum?

Saw improvements in key business areas but only 15% of employees were involved.


The trial

1 Selected a social platformRan alongside traditional intranet. Included tools similar to Twitter, Wikipedia and Facebook. Branded it ‘Workmate.’

2 Useful information and toolsUploaded key company information and included tools that would help people do their jobs better.

3 Self regulationPeople could use it as they wanted - have conversations, ask questions, express opinions, set up private groups.


80% of employees registered with 2,200 visiting each week and

about 500 posting

Approx. 60 business questions are asked every week.

Nearly 90,000 conversations had taken place

160 active private groups (about 65% are work related, the rest are

social)

Created a new set of company values and produced a 'values in 60

seconds' video which has had over 6,000 views

Used for pulse surveys, more work tools and toolkits added

(including a employee engagement toolkit, launched in July 2013,

was accessed over 2,500 times in the first three months)

The results…within a year…

In the initial three month trial, the static intranet had 550 visits (about the norm) whereas WorkMate had over 52,000!


How could ‘social’ work in local government?


The need to innovate is the driver

Local government is full of bright ideas, but

there is often a gap between these ideas and

their implementation.


Fostering innovation…

Experiment with ideas

…empower staff to generate ideas relating to the issues that have been identified as priorities, and permit

them to experiment – and fail!

Build and share capability and capacity…provide a range of learning opportunities, tools and practical advice for staff. Recognise, encourage

and develop talent. Consider how you might ‘borrow’ talent in from other councils and partners as

needed.

Clarity of strategy

…ensure staff understand the strategic direction, priorities and values of the organisation. Involve them

in developing the ‘strategic narrative.’

Different people at different times

…each step may require a different set of attitudes, mind-sets and roles. Different people may need to

be involved at different stages. The person who generates the initial idea may not be the most

appropriate people for follow-though. Reference: Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project (Joan Munro)


…supplemented by external expertise and skills when needed…

…and learn directly from others about what works and what doesn’t?

How can local government use ‘social’ to harness innovation and assets; anddevelop people and knowledge…


Intranet

Extranet

Trusted spaces

Employees

Partners

Professional networks

WWW

Social media

Stop working in silos:Embrace the ‘mega’ enterprise social network


So, at camp Khub, we wanted to make the theory a reality, reuse what we had (not reinvent the wheel) and involve our community.

We had an idea….


i.e. combine social media with productivity and knowledge

management tools… discussion forums, wikis, ideas factory,

workspaces, document management, events/calendars, blogs…

Could we use the Knowledge Hub to turn a

social intranet into an enterprise social

network?

Answer:

Not sure yet…but that’s why we’re co-creating one

with councils to test out the theory.


Join the social experiment:https://knowledgehub.local.gov.uk/web/social-intranet-extranet/


Tips and hints

Employee engagement and social intranets go hand in handUptake will be much improved if it's part of wider organisational change programme.

Get advocacySelect people from across the organisation (including the leadership team) to act as community

managers to encourage colleagues to join in and contribute..

Not everyone’s on Twitter and Facebook

Like any new way of working, ensure staff are comfortable and adequately trained in how to use the tools

(and why) without turning it into an instruction manual.

Culture change

If you don't already have a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration, a set social media tools won't

solve this. Openly discuss existing barriers with staff, and address these as part of the project.

Draw up rules for engagement

Agree levels of moderation and monitoring, but don't make them too prescriptive. Include a space that

invites feedback from staff - and ensure you respond and act on suggestions!


And remember…It’s about people and culture, not simply technology

Where you go to work together© Copyright 2014 Capacitygrid Knowledge Hub Limited. All rights reserved.

khub.net [email protected]

Find out more

Contact

[email protected]

Sarah Jennings

@LadyLeoLion | @KnowledgeHub

the rise of the 'social' intranet | sarah jennings | december 2014

Government & Nonprofit