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10 Steps for Rolling Out Yammer Within your Organization

1. Customize your header with colors and logo. (premium)

2. Set a Usage Policy. (premium)

3. (yam) Yam current Yammer users. This Yam announces Yammer as a corporate-supported tool and tells users to invite 5 coworkers.

4. (yam) Create a “Yammer Champions” group, invite the users in your network with the most messages, and send a Yam to the group containing information on becoming a Yammer Champion.

5. (email) Email the users in your network with many followers but few messages. This email contains information on how to best utilize Yammer.

6. (email) Email executives. This email prompts them to sign up and contains information on how and why to use Yammer.

7. (email) Email (or have an executive email) a company-wide message. This email encourages joining Yammer and contains information on how and why to use Yammer. Alternatively, you may want to have the head of each department send the message to their respective departments.

8. (email) Email managers. This email prompts them to sign up their team and contains information on how and why to use Yammer.

9. Bulk upload users. (premium)

10. Resend pending invitations.

Key

Text Premium Text Message Template

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For instructions and message templates for each step, see below:

1. Customize your header with colors and logo. (premium) As a first step to the rollout process, it’s useful to brand your Yammer network with your company colors and logo. This way, your users feel more comfortable within the network, knowing that it is a corporate-supported product. If you are the admin of your network, you can do this by clicking Admin > Choose File (in the “Basics” section of the Configuration tab).

2. Set a Usage Policy. (premium)

Before the strong rollout push, it’s helpful to set a usage policy for your Yammer network to ensure that your employees use the tool in the way that you see fit. Members will have to accept the usage policy before using the tool for the first time. You can set the policy however you like—we recommend using your organization’s internal communication or email policies as a starting point. Setting a usage policy is helpful for setting the tone of conversation within your network, as you can encourage work-related and relevant posts. If you are the admin of your network, you can set your usage policy by clicking Admin > Set Usage Policy.

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3. (yam) Yam current Yammer users. This Yam announces Yammer as a corporate-supported tool and asks users to invite 5 coworkers.

In order to achieve successful deployment, a push within your Yammer network is crucial. This step is one of the most important for a successful Yammer deployment, as it makes use of Yammer’s built-in viral features. Here is the Yam we recommend you or an executive within your organization sends out to current users (if you have a premium network, use the Broadcast Message feature):

Yammer is now officially a corporate-supported communication tool! This means I need your help to bring our employees aboard: think of the 5 people you work with most and send them an invite to join our network. Feel free to invite more, as the more people using Yammer, the more useful it will be!

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4. (yam) Create a “Yammer Champions” group, add the users in your network with the most messages, and post a Yam to the group containing information on becoming a Yammer Champion.

One of your best resources for a successful deployment is the pool of people who are already enthusiastic about Yammer. If a user is a top message-poster within your network, chances are they are enthusiastic about the tool. Looking in the Members tab, you can sort the list of members by the number of messages posted by clicking “Messages”. Note on paper or in a document on your computer the five users with the most messages (or more, if you choose), then click Groups > Create New Group, and create the Yammer Champions group. We recommend the following Group Description:

This group is for champions of our Yammer network. It exists to discuss Yammer best practices, tips, and ideas for increasing engagement and use within our company.

With that group description (or a similar one), we recommend making the group public, inviting the five users you noted earlier, and clicking the “Add these members without an invitation” checkbox. Finally, check the “email” checkbox for the preferred method of message delivery. Click Save, and you have your Yammer Champions group! You’ll be taken to the group’s profile page, where you can post the following Yam to the new Yammer Champions:

Welcome to the Yammer Champions group! I’ve added you to this group because you’re one of the top posters in our network. You probably have a better understanding of Yammer and its benefits than others in the company, so I thought you would make a great champion of Yammer. I would really appreciate it if you could help drive Yammer engagement by: 1. Posting regularly and encouraging your coworkers to do the same (ask

questions, spark conversations, status update, share news, etc.) 2. Setting an example for others by posting relevant, work-related content 3. Directing new users that need help or don’t understand the tool to the

Introduction to Yammer (http://scr.bi/d2yJ6P) document on Scribd.

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5. (email) Email the users in your network with many followers but few messages. This email contains information on how to best utilize Yammer.

Sometimes an executive will sign up for Yammer, gain a large number of followers, and barely use the tool – lacking knowledge of what the tool is for and how it can be used. Having executives and managers engaged in your Yammer network is crucial to a successful rollout for two reasons: 1. When an executive is engaged, it signals to other employees that Yammer is a corporate-supported and useful tool, and should be used. And 2. The executive benefits because she can get a feel for what employees are talking about within the organization, and employees benefit because they feel better connected to those running the organization. If you click on the Members tab, you’ll see the members of your network sorted by number of followers. If any of the first ten individuals listed have posted a small number of messages (judge based on relativity to others in the first ten), email the person(s) the following message. Their email addresses can be found on their Yammer profiles.

Subject: You have a lot of followers on Yammer! I see you’re signed up for Yammer and are one of the most followed people in our company, which is great! This means many employees are actively looking for information from you. You have a significant opportunity to connect with employees and share your knowledge, as Yammer is a simple way to reach a large audience. Here are a few examples of how to start using Yammer:

• Post an update about what you’re working on (people want to know – this is why you have so many followers)

• Share information and spark a conversation • Ask a question or request feedback on a topic

I hope you take advantage of this opportunity by actively posting messages to your followers and engaging in conversations. Thanks, [Name]

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6. (email) Email executives that haven’t joined your network yet. This email prompts them to sign up and contains information on how and why to use Yammer.

We’ve seen many examples of networks that have been able to take off once executives sign up and begin using the product. As mentioned in step 5, having executives engaged in your Yammer network is crucial to a successful rollout. Here’s the message we recommend sending:

Subject: Executives on Yammer I see that you haven’t joined our Yammer (www.yammer.com) network yet, and I wanted to strongly encourage you to join the conversation. Because you’re an executive, employees want to hear what you have to say. You have a significant opportunity to connect with employees and share your knowledge, as Yammer is a simple way to reach a large audience. Here are a few examples of how to start using Yammer:

• Post an update about what you’re working on (people like to know what executives are up to)

• Share information and spark a conversation • Ask a question or request feedback on a topic

I hope you take advantage of this opportunity by signing up at www.yammer.com and engaging in conversations. Thanks, [Name]

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7. (email) Email (or have an executive email) a company-wide message. This email encourages joining Yammer and contains information on how and why to use the tool. Alternatively, you may want to have the head of each department send the message to their respective departments.

There are members of your organization who’ve never heard of Yammer, and others who have heard of it but don’t know what it is. This email is meant to quickly educate the people in your company about Yammer and its value, and prompts them to sign up.

Subject: Why you should join [company]’s Yammer network Yammer (www.yammer.com) is now officially a corporate-supported product, and I wanted to strongly encourage you to join the conversation if you haven’t already. Yammer is an internal communication tool that makes connecting to others within the organization very easy. On Yammer, you can ask and answer questions, spark conversations, request feedback, share documents…the list goes on. For a quick Introduction to Yammer, check out this document: http://scr.bi/d2yJ6P. The more people on our Yammer network, the more valuable it will be, so join up and make sure your colleagues do to! Thanks, [name]

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8. (email) Email managers. This email prompts them to sign up their team and contains information on how and why to use Yammer.

If managers use Yammer, then the people they manage will be more inclined to sign up and use the tool.

Subject: Managers on Yammer Yammer is now officially a corporate-supported product, and critical to its success is the participation of managers and executives. Because you’re a manager, employees want to hear what you have to say. You have a significant opportunity to connect with employees and share your knowledge, as Yammer is a simple way to reach a large audience. Here are a few examples of how to start using Yammer:

• Post an update about what you’re working on (people like to know what managers are up to)

• Share information and spark a conversation • Ask a question or request feedback on a topic

I hope you take advantage of this opportunity by signing up at www.yammer.com if you haven’t already, engaging in conversations, and making sure your team signs up. Thanks, [Name]

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9. Bulk upload users. (premium)

The Bulk Upload feature provides a fast and effective way to sign up a large number of users at once. If you are the admin of your Yammer network, go to https://www.yammer.com/admin/users_bulk_update, which will provide instructions for using the feature.

10. Resend pending invitations.

There are probably a number of people within your organization that have received an invitation to join Yammer, but never opened the email. To resend these pending invitations, go to the Members tab and click the pending invitations alert above the list of members.