Employee collaboration in a

digital universeThe rise of the Enterprise Social Network

Ralph J. Davila, APR

What’s an Enterprise Social Network?

An Enterprise Social Network, also known as an ESN or internal social collaboration platform, is a social-media based tool designed to connect people in real-time and through multiple devices – typically at mid- to larger-sized corporations or organizations – to better streamline business operations, generate connectivity and share knowledge.

Does my company need an ESN?

A 2015 study by Altimeter Group entitled, "Employee Engagement: Strengthening Employee Relationships in the Digital Era" authored by Charlene Li, revealed,

“There remains significant untapped opportunity to use digital tools to enhance employee engagement...only 41% of organizations believe they have a holistic and strategic approach to employee engagement and advocacy.”

Can’t I just launch one and let it organically grow?

Remember the old adage, failing to plan is planning to fail? According to a June 2015 article in CIO magazine,

“...decision makers face plenty of challenges in their pursuit of social enterprise collaboration. Businesses must understand what they’re trying to achieve before they set off on the journey, and be committed to making cultural changes to the way they work. But the message is clear – collaboration tools are likely to take over your enterprise whether you like it or not, and it’s better to be the leader rather than the follower.”

Five steps to successfully launch your ESN

1.Gain leadership buy-in2.Run a pilot/test group3.Craft a solid strategic plan4.Work with internal communications5.Launch your ESN

Gain leadership buy-inSupport from the C-Suite, senior leaders is critical. Ask yourself the following questions and answer them with your leadership hat on…• Why does my organization need an ESN? Provide

statistics and data points to reinforce your business case.• Where is the ROI in the proposed ESN? Develop

value propositions related to the business.• How will I successfully plan, deploy and grow the

ESN? Outline a plan-of-action and timeline with key milestones that are realistic and attainable. • How will I overcome the fears and objections from

leadership? Show value through case studies, answers to barriers to adoption and hold live previews of tool.

Run a pilot/test groupYou’ll need data and insights to see if your ESN is realistic, practical and attainable. A few steps to follow when testing your network include:• Hold over a 6-8 week period for best results. • Determine what cross-section of employees with take

part.• Identify a Community Manager for the network and for

pilot groups.• Analyze and make comparisons on network data, such as:• # of groups created• % of total and group engagement (leaderboards)• # of private message versus public posts• % of leadership posts and involvement (private or public groups)• Geographic locations with highest usage and lowest areas

(make informed assumptions)

Craft a solid strategic planAsk yourself these questions when developing your actionable, timely, realistic and attainable plan-of-action.• Is your overall objective tied to the business needs?• Do you have adequate data from the test group to

substantiate your plans and desired actions? • What resources will you need to effectively deploy and grow

your ESN?• Is there a centralized community manager/s for the network?• What is the plan to reach leadership throughout all levels of

the organization to train and mentor them?• Did you create alliances with internal communications,

marketing to strongly communicate your message?• Do you have a system in place to quickly communicate and

update leadership?

Work with internal communications

Coming together inter-departmentally will help drive your message and awareness. Take into consideration these tips to create internal partnerships:• Identify the value propositions of your ESN • Prepare your 'top 3' key message points to be used in

developing your employee communication • Determine the mediums available that will best target the

employee population, • Craft draft messaging for each medium you choose and

work your senior management and inter-departmentally to hone the messaging to best fit the audience

• Remember, you're still working with internal comms this whole time! They are critical in supporting you through many facets, including: ensuring brand compliance, tone and voice; and driving best practices

• Distribute the message to your target audiences within the organization, track performance, modify message, mediums, etc.

Launch your ESN!The following are five elements for making sure your ESN deployment goes smoothly:• Impart knowledge: Make sure employees have access to the

information needed to best use the ESN• Drive purpose: When there's no purpose, there's no action or

engagement... just confusion and a decrease in engagement. Make sure your employees are aware and understand what the ESN's value is and what’s in it for them.

• Share experiences: Become part of the conversation. Live the experience with your fellow employees. Be more than a viewer!

• Hold an event: A great way to build awareness and the value your ESN brings to them and the organization is to hold a formal launch event.

• Define metrics: Determining what metrics you'll use will most certainly transform as the network changes, but like any campaign or project, make sure you set realistic, timely, measurable and attainable goals and follow that paradigm. 

Don’t forget… it’s all about a strong “Community”

I find this quote and mindset from this top-tier group focused on ESNs and employee collaboration extremely valuable. It’s from the Community Roundtable's "The Community Manager Handbook,""Part of what makes community behavior sustainable is that it is not imposed on the community members, but rather developed in cooperation them... a strong shared purpose is perhaps the most critical element of successful communities."

Let’s Connect…Follow me on my social channels at:• LinkedIn• Twitter (@rjdavila)• Instagram• Pinterest• Google+• Blog (Ton of Bricks)