Productivity tool or a procrastinator’s best friend?

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

In February last year, Thierry Breton, CEO and chairman of Atos Origin, an international IT services company employing staff across 42 countries, announced his mission to ban internal email, with the intention of becoming a "zero email" company by 2014.

Unsurprisingly his declaration caused a media stir and also received some backlash, but Breton defended his decision, saying:

"I didn’t do this for external reasons…I did it to enhance the quality of working conditions for Atos’ 80,000 employees…my first intention was to deal with this data deluge and to work with the tools the young generation are using. We are addressing a real issue of our time…we are no longer using email the way it was intended to be used"

  
His decision was also made in light of the revelation that employees were receiving over 100 emails a day, of which only 15% were useful, and also upon consideration of the fact that for the 10,000 new employees hired every year, internal email tools such as Outlook were completely unfamiliar, with Breton stating, "We have to adapt ourselves to this new generation that will become our business colleagues tomorrow."

As radical as the idea may sound...
...it perhaps isn’t when you fully consider that it’s a positive step towards what we’re all trying to achieve -  i.e. transforming the internal comms model and becoming a social business. And whether you realise it or not, most of us have already taken these steps in our implementation of digital tools.
What we haven’t done however, is fully allowed the potential of these tools to take hold and deliver the collaboration-driven business benefits they’re capable of.

So while we have the tools in place which hold the potential to increase efficiencies, reduce reliance on email and ultimately drive productivity – our failure to educate employees as to how it can be used,  failure to generate the required culture shift that encourages more "fluid" communication and a failure to engage leaders to lead by example and influence – are all pivotal reasons why "business-benefitting collaboration" is simply not happening.

 

IBM – where it all began?
While Breton’s decision was the most highly publicised, IBM’s BlueIQ team* - namely one member of the core team, Luis Suarez, knowledge manager, community builder & social software evangelist - could be considered as leading the charge, having decided back in 2008 to start living in a world without email.

 
"As a remote employee, I wanted to prove to everyone that I could keep working for the company without using email, relying almost exclusively on social software tools to communicate daily with my team members."

And in January 2011, just three years on, Suarez reported an impressive 95% reduction in inbox traffic.

Why live without email?

"Around two and a half years ago in my role of software evangelism, one of the main hurdles we were hearing from people is … they perceive this software as another set of tools on top of what they were already using…they had this feeling that, you’re asking me to spend more time online with Twitter, Facebook and whatever the internal social software applications were."

As well as wanting to demonstrate to coworkers just how dependent they were on email (despite its loss of productivity as a channel), Suarez’ decision was also triggered in 2008 when IBM’s Blue IQ team were faced with the challenge of educating an overwhelmed and reluctant salesforce to use the social tools that were available to them to provide "answers" rather than "problems" (with the potential to benefit them in completing daily tasks and increase efficiencies). The initiative was a success and transformed IBM’s salesforce into fellow social software evangelists. Not only that, the Blue IQ team continues to expand with the ultimate aim of enterprise-wide social collaboration inside and outside of IBM that drives real business results.

Enabling crucial conversations
Suarez will be sharing his story at our first-ever Digital Communication Summit in London on 27-28 March, 2012, where we’ll be addressing the role of technology in enabling crucial conversations to build an engaged and collaborative workforce, and the fundamental role communicators play in leading the transformation across culture and leadership to create a truly social business that reaps the benefits of outcome-driven collaboration.  

Joining him will be thought leaders such as Paul Miller, CEO and founder of the Intranet Benchmarking Forum and Digital Workplace Forum and Laurie Hibbs, HR director at LexisNexis UK as well as business leaders from companies including BT Conferencing, Nokia, Bupa and the adidas Group who will be sharing their powerful case studies. 

Check out the full event programme online: http://bit.ly/yipJEj

*IBM’S BlueIQ Ambassador Programme - A worldwide community of social software evangelists with a mission to energize and enable every IBM employee to use social software, both internally and externally. The BlueIQ ambassadors support the BlueIQ program’s mission to transform IBM into a showcase for the business benefits of social software adoption.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16055310

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/01/luis-suarez/

http://mashable.com/2010/09/03/world-without-email/

http://www.elsua.net/2012/01/13/blueiq-at-ibm-finally-goes-external/

https://www-304.ibm.com/wikis/home/wiki/BlueIQ?lang=en_US

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/offer/adoptioncouncil/

 

A resolution we can help you keep

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

Refreshing our skills, acquiring new ones and keeping up to-date with best practice are all items that commonly feature on our professional agendas. However another common pattern is the fact that they rarely make it to the "completed" pile as you find yourself distracted by more "urgent" matters that demand your immediate attention.  

But before you let your professional development slip to the bottom of the pile, here’s a solid reason why it really should be your priority…

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) yesterday revealed that UK unemployment is set to keep rising in 2012, hitting 8.8 percent (2.85 million) by the end of the year and making it the highest number of people unemployed since 1994 and the highest unemployment rate since 1995. What’s more, this trend is predicted to continue into 2013 with unemployment forecast to rise even further, to a peak of 2.9 million in the first half of 2013.*

In response, organisations will continue to focus on streamlining, while simultaneously striving for productivity and innovation. It’s the talent of their people that’s key to achieving these goals and ensuring competitor differentiation.

Now more than ever before is the time to raise your game, prove your worth and reinforce your value-adding ability to ensure you stand out from the crowd. How? One way is by future-proofing your skill-set.

Whether you need a comprehensive overview of the IC function, want to discover how to maximise the role of video in your IC strategy,  succeed with SharePoint, or advance your writing skills – our extensive portfolio of executive education will keep you at the cutting edge of your function.

Not only that, but our courses also give you the chance to benchmark with like-minded communicators and build up your professional network to ensure you remain up-to-date with industry best-practice. 

However, if time out of the office just isn’t an option for you at the moment, kickstart your new year with this article by Sue Dewhurst on eight resolutions that can help you make a bigger difference in 2012 and beyond.

Happy New Year!

* Source: HR Magazine, Employment figures could drop by 120,000 this year, CIPD's chief economic adviser predicts, David Woods, 3 Jan 2012. Accessed 4 January, 2012.

Ten reasons why you can’t afford to miss our 10th anniversary!

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

The 10th Annual Strategic Communication Management Summit takes place in just two weeks! And for those of you who haven’t booked your place yet - here’s ten reasons why you really can’t afford to miss out...

1. Future foresight - be in the know
We all want to know what’s around the corner. And while predicting the future is a challenging and unenviable task, having that foresight means we can plan ahead and make provisions to not just meet future challenges, but to successfully overcome them. This year our focus is on the future for internal comms, and the Summit is set around four key trends set to shape the business world over the next 3-5 years.
 
2. SCM Summit legends pack
As well as lots of new inspiring ideas, you’ll also receive an SCM Summit Legends Pack, containing a handpicked selection of case studies and opinion pieces from past Summit speakers - available exclusively for delegates.
 
3. SCM Awards
The SCM awards dinner takes place on 12 October, the evening of the first day of the Summit, so after a day of inspiring case studies, relax and enjoy a drink with fellow delegates at the champagne reception before sitting down to a three-course meal and an evening of surprises and entertainment, as we announce the winning entries. 

4. All bases covered
Our programme leaves no stone unturned. It covers up-to-the-minute issues facing communicators across industry, as well as fresh, cutting-edge approaches to recurring challenges: line manager comms, the digital workplace, measurement, employee value proposition (EVP), agile working, communicating with a global workforce, CEO comms, ROI and cost efficiency, culture and behaviour, employee engagement and intranets.

5. Trusted by many
Benefit from over 15 years of Melcrum’s research with Fortune 500 companies to share examples of best practice and emerging trends set to shape our industry. We’re the trusted source of advice for senior level communicators at Global Fortune 100 and FTSE 100 largest organisations, so you can be sure you’ll be in expert hands.  

6. Unrivalled benchmarking and networking opportunities
with fellow IC professionals from across industry facing the same challenges as you, in a practitioner-focused environment. Delegates already registered include those from RBS, Rolls Royce, Nationwide Building Society, Essex County Council, HSBC, GE Capital, Centrica, Adidas, BP, Orange and Shell, and many more. 

7. Expert-led panel discussion on “The Digital Workplace”
with senior reps from Yammer Inc., Microsoft UK and the Intranet Benchmarking Forum (IBF) who will address your questions and key challenges around the digital workplace, it’s evolution and role in IC strategy. 

8. Macleod and Clarke
As IC rises to the top of the national agenda, we’re keeping you at the forefront. David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, two names truly synonymous with the words employee engagement after their hugely influential report to government in 2009, will present a keynote session on day one, providing exclusive first-hand insight to their next steps, the launch of a new government sponsored employee engagement taskforce.

9. Diverse, refreshing and inspiring 30+ speaker line-up
With over 30 speakers, this year features our largest speaker line-up to date. Over just two days, you’ll hear from top-level communicators from a broad range of organisations who’ll provide in-depth insight into the work they’re doing. You’ll hear case studies from senior leaders at Nationwide Building Society, Ericsson, NHS Blood and Transplant, eBay Europe, first direct, Harrods, TUI UK & Ireland, Tata Global Beverages, Chartered Management Institute and many more.

10. And our final reason?
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the UK Strategic Communication Management Summit, and to celebrate, we’ve gone all out to make this event as exciting, inspiring and valuable as possible. It’s more than just a conference, it’s an annual meeting of the best minds and leaders in IC - make sure you don’t miss out. 
 
Full programme and booking information available at:
http://melcrum.com/scmsummit_2011/index.html

A glimpse into the "mysterious unknown"

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

In last week’s poll, we asked:

"When you consider the future for the internal communication function in your organisation, what needs to be your highest priority over the next 3 years, to make this a reality?"

Results revealed:

1. 44% The Drive for Productivity
   Creating an agile organisation that can drive for productivity and increase efficiencies.
2. 29% Corporate Structure, Management and Sustainability
   Building a sustainable corporate culture and ensuring leaders are equipped with the ability to navigate through any economic climate.
3. 14% The Diversifying Workforce
   Meeting the challenges of a diversifying workforce: global/local balance and cross-generational differences.
4. 13% The Post-Recessional Environment
   Addressing the "people-related" implications in a post-recessional environment.

These four trends represent the key findings from a recent research report, "The Future for Internal Communication", which we produced exclusively for members of our Strategic Communication Research Forum, and began based on the premise of the following quote from UK think-tank, The Work Foundation:

 

"Trying to predict the future is an unenviable task. The mysterious unknown becomes the blindingly obvious through the course of time, yet it is usually hindsight not foresight that provides us with that clarity of vision… Even if predictions do not come to pass, anticipating the future helps us to plan for the changing expectations of employers and employees and the implications of change on the working world and wider society".

After extensive research and interviews with business analysts, futurologists, sociologists, behavioural psychologists, senior business leaders and comms experts, we were able to establish these as the four key trends set to shape the business landscape over the next three to five years. From these, we’ve been able to predict the likely implications for internal comms in terms of business demands, and propose solutions and recommendations accordingly.

 

The programme for this year’s 10th Annual Strategic Communication Management Summit was inspired by this report and is interwoven with each of the above trends, providing delegates with foresight and practical examples of approaches from leading companies who are successfully meeting these challenges.

 

"The Drive for Productivity" was indicated as the highest priority for the majority of our poll respondents, and this trend of  “doing more with less” is very much set to continue across organisations over the next few years. Therefore, achieving maximum productivity will be the defining factor for differentiation and growth - especially in the developed world as the markets for people and innovation slow down.

 

The challenge here for IC is in creating an agile organisation that can strive for this productivity and tap into internal intelligence by building a better-connected workforce and maximising collaboration.

At Unilever, the team have already begun increasing workforce efficiencies with their "Agile Working" approach. Through changing work practices, new technologies and creating new working environments, they’ve created a culture which allows maximum flexibility and minimal constraints while importantly increasing productivity and employee engagement. Michelle Pattison, global agile working programme director at Unilever will be sharing her experiences first-hand at this year’s SCM Summit.


Also sharing their stories around the drive for productivity will be senior leaders from:

• Ericsson on developing their corporate intranet into a collaborative, informative space where employees across the globe are exchanging knowledge and ideas;
• NHS Blood and Transplant on using inexpensive tools to maximum effect in the face of drastically reduced budgets;
• Yammer, MS SharePoint and the Intranet Benchmarking Forum, leading a panel discussion on "The Digital Workplace" - covering key areas such as the evolution of the digital workplace, the impact on productivity and day-to-day behaviours, and what works, what doesn’t and what’s yet to come in terms of collaborative platforms. 

 

The other three identified trends will also feature heavily throughout the Summit, with case studies and workshops from leading organisations including TUI UK & Ireland, Harrods, SSP UK, AkzoNobel, MacLeod and Clarke (authors of the 2009 report to government, "Engaging for Success"), Nationwide Building Society, Towers Watson, eBay Europe, first direct, and Great Place to Work Institute.

Rebecca Richmond, group director of content and research at Melcrum will be kick-starting things at the first of two interactive pre-summit workshops with a "future forward" exercise which will see delegates conducting an audit of the current state of IC in their organisation, considering the desired future state, and then identifying ways of "closing the gaps".

And tying things up on day two of the Summit will be Sophie Sheppard, european research and training delivery manager at Melcrum, who’ll discuss the findings from our "Future for Internal Comms" report in-depth, and address key questions around the identified trends. 

If you’d like to read more from our report, "The future for internal comms" you can download a free extract along with the 2011 Summit programme here.

 

“I believe that the effort of communicating, the effort of listening, the effort of respecting each other will be key to actually strengthen the institution…

…I will do my best. To do so I will count on you. You will be able to count on me. Confidence, trust, and energies are reciprocated values"

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum 

The above is taken from the transcript of a video message* where Christine Lagarde is speaking to IMF staff on 30 June 2011, shortly after her election to head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). And as communicators, you’ll know all too well the far-reaching impact that such clear leadership visibility can have on establishing a line of sight and engaging employees.

Since her appointment to this position was announced, she has been making headlines globally. Not least for being the first female to hold this position since the inception of the IMF in 1944, but also as a result of the circumstances and economic climate under which her appointment took place.

Lagarde has begun her five-year term in the midst of talks regarding a second bailout for Greece, and a growing risk that Portugal may soon require the same, and she must also deal with the legacy left by her predecessor, Dominic Strauss-Kahn, and the sorry state of internal affairs his abrupt departure left for some 2,500 employees following his highly publicized arrest in New York in May. His behavior may however have come as little surprise to employees given that in 2008, the IMF censured him after they discovered he was having an affair with a Hungarian economist.

 With this in mind, it’s perhaps an understatement to say that challenging times lie ahead. However, her dedication to unifying staff and restoring confidence in their employer is clear, as she sets about rebuilding employee morale and engagement and regaining their trust in leadership, while the rest of the world watches her lead the IMF into a new era:

"The staff is the Fund’s key asset. Its independence must be protected now more than ever. I am well aware that recent events have left open wounds… the incoming MD must take pains to show the outside world that this great institution is not only leading in terms of expertise, but also in terms of integrity and work ethics. We must consolidate and, if needed, restore staff pride in working at the IMF, to get us through the healing process". 

- Christine Lagarde, Statement to IMF Executive Board, 23 June 2011

Similarly, while a change in leadership is without a doubt challenging for the IC function, the intrinsic opportunities such circumstances can present for communicators are tremendous.

At this year’s SCM Summit, our 10th anniversary, Niall Ryan, head of internal communication and employee brand at Harrods, will discuss how his team used the departure of their long-standing chairman and "father figure" to employees, Mohammed Al Fayed, and the arrival of a new chairman, Michael Ward, as an opportunity to collaborate with leadership and focus on delivering the organization’s brand values, drive business performance and boost employee engagement and satisfaction levels.

Ruth Spellman, OBE, and CEO at Chartered Management Institute will also discuss the importance of partnering with and better supporting leadership as we move into a new era of economic activity, provide a vision of management in the future, a roadmap for meeting identified challenges head on and consideration into how the internal comms function is uniquely positioned to take the leadership role to the next level, in her opening session on day one. 

Those of you who attended last year’s Summit will have heard from Rosie Mowatt, head of internal communications at RWE npower, who discussed how her team were able to successfully seize the arrival of a new CEO to put in place strategy and tactics to move the organization in new directions and raise the visibility of the comms function.

This year, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the SCM Summit, all delegates will receive an "SCM Legends" pack featuring this case study from Mowatt, as well as a hand-picked collection of other powerful and pioneering case studies from the last decade of both our SCM journal and past Summits.

If you’d like to check out the full programme for this year’s Summit, complete the form below to receive an electronic pdf of our conference brochure, or alternatively, visit the website.

Going back to the fundamentals to make an impact

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

I recently discussed a finding from a Melcrum poll survey conducted across our network of comms practitioners – where one in four communicators have, over the last 12 months, been focusing their efforts on corporate intranet development.

But what the findings also revealed was that one in three internal communicators have actually gone back to the fundamentals and are revisiting their internal comms strategies.

And given the persistent wave of uncertainty being experienced by organisations across both industry and sector, it’s little surprise that strategy redevelopment has been one of the biggest investments and achievements for communicators.

Now more so than ever before, a communication strategy must be built to weather any climate - with a team that’s agile, adaptive and proactive in implementing it.

For the comms team at PricewaterhouseCoopers, this concept is all too familiar.  

In 2008 both PwC’s strength and strategic comms capabilities were put to the test when they were forced to devise a robust crisis comms strategy under both intense pressure and media scrutiny, after the organisation was called in to deal with the most complex administration in history, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. 

In our free case study download, Communicating through crisis at Lehman Brothers, discover how PwC’s Angela Mohtashemi and Kate Watkins, who had less than 30 minutes to pull together a team of communicators and devise a strategy, tackled this highly public situation over many difficult months.

If you have a similar example of where you and your team have added measurable value through a determined solution, which required creativity, flexibility and innovative thinking, while delivering clear ROI - then share your story with us by entering the business impact category at our upcoming Strategic Communication Management Awards, and reaffirm the value of your work not only to yourself and your team but also more importantly to senior leaders.

We’ve now extended the submission deadline to 1 July - so there’s really no reason not to enter and take advantage of this unique opportunity to bring both internal and external recognition to your achievements.

Good luck!

Are your employees helping to put a man on the moon?

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

I recently attended a UK Black Belt 1 course where I met a diverse group of communicators from various backgrounds and sectors, and had the opportunity to hear first-hand about the challenges they’re facing.

What was most inspiring for me over the four days, and something I was perhaps unprepared for, was the dramatic difference in the conversations I had with delegates at the beginning of the course compared with the second half of the course. In fact, these conversations, coupled with the written feedback I later read, were proof enough for me that no matter what level of experience these delegates had initially walked into the course with - they most definitely walked out as more confident, competent communicators.

While the course left me with plenty of food for thought, there was one thing in particular that course trainer Sue Dewhurst shared with the group, which I believe encapsulates the true value of a high performing internal comms function to its business.

I’ve no doubt many of you will have heard this story before, but for those who haven’t, here it is. The story goes that back in 1961, when former President John F. Kennedy visited NASA’s headquarters, he came across a cleaner with whom he stopped to have a chat. When the president asked the man what he did at NASA, he is said to have replied: “Sir, I’m helping to put a man on the moon”.

It’s fair to draw the conclusion from this story that the cleaner had a firm and genuine understanding of his role in contributing to the wider strategic aims of NASA and felt a direct connection to them, regardless of how large or visible his contribution was.

And while the establishment of a line of sight that extends to all levels within an organisation is a notable achievement - to what extent can you say the same about your employees? Is there a clear sense of collective person and emotional commitment to the organisation in every individual, regardless of how big or small their role is?

There’s no question that achieving this is most definitely not straightforward, but Black Belt 1 is the first step in this process. It equips you with an understanding of the necessary framework, tools and competencies to get you a seat at the top table, taking you from being a tactical to strategic communicator. The course covers all angles by mastering the basics such as; setting objectives, choosing channels, making your strategy measurable, audiences and segmentation and message development. 

We run our Black Belt courses across the globe and have over 1,500 graduates worldwide – for dates in your region, visit our website. 

Intranets remain top of the agenda for IC practitioners

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

We recently asked our audience of internal comms practitioners what their biggest investment or achievement has been over the last 12 months, and while results varied, a clear front-runner was corporate intranet development, with one in four communicators having invested substantially in building and redesigning their corporate intranet.  

For me this comes as no surprise - working at Melcrum means I often hear inspiring stories from a wide cross-section of IC practitioners on a range of topics. This includes the way intranets are being used to transform IC; from the way leaders are communicating with their staff, and how employees across the globe are connecting with one another, to the way teams are tapping into internal intelligence where they would previously have turned to external suppliers.

It’s important that such great work continues to be recognised, and for this reason we’re hosting the Strategic Communication Management Awards 2011.

If you’ve been busy building an intranet that’s bringing about real organisational benefits, launched new employee collaboration tools, implemented a new social media strategy or have any other examples of delivering tangible results through use of technology - enter our excellence in technology award category and find out how you stack up against the best in the industry.

And in an effort to inspire you and get you thinking about where you’ve made the biggest impact, we’d like to share a powerful case study with you from Mark Morrell, intranet manager at BT Group, who heads up a team in Group Communications, on how they’ve successfully transformed their intranet into an “online environment” for staff instead of just a website surrounded by other applications.

There are seven categories to choose from so if you think you’re more of a rising star or leader of the year – there’s a category to suit everyone. But with a fast approaching deadline of 24 May, we’d suggest you get started soon.

And to set you off in the right direction, we’ve compiled a list of ten top tips to writing a winning entry!

Best of luck! Also, look out for next week’s give away on revisiting strategies and making an impact.

Switching off the communication autopilot in preparation for the challenges of 2011

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

Economic uncertainty is far from over - not least for the public sector who are entering a period of significant change as a result of budget cuts in 2011.

A report from the CIPD and KPMG* last week warned of the rise in redundancies set to take place over the coming months. Nearly eight in ten local government employers plan to slash staff numbers this year, and one in three companies intend to employ fewer people thanks to the comprehensive spending review.

Private organisations are also fighting their own battles; with squeezed communication teams facing the aftermath of lay-offs, morale of employees left behind and generally having to “do more with less”.

But whether public or private sector - in the face of financial challenges - the internal comms function is often one of the first to be dealt a blow through a lack of resources, when in fact, relaying difficult messages to staff, keeping them informed and maintaining engagement is more important than ever.  

Creating a “line of sight”

When faced with such difficult times, employees need their line managers to turn to for reassurance, answers and vision. It’s easy to forget the importance of face-to-face communication and the powerful line of sight managers can establish for their team members to connect them to the overall business strategy, especially during tough times.

But with line managers being hired for their own specialism’s rather than their explicit communication abilities - what remains a worry and issue is that the second you step away from owning the communication space - the risk of managers not conveying messages correctly and not performing the role as well as you becomes all the more real.

This fear was brought to life for internal communicators at BBVA Compass, a top 15 U.S. bank, when managerial communication was highlighted by employees as being inadequate. However, rather than simply attributing the low ratings as a result of the communication shortcomings of managers, they instead considered the position of managers at a time of large-scale organisational restructuring.

In their response to dealing with line manager communication issues, BBVA acknowledged that the task of making their managers highly effective communicators needed to go beyond team briefings, emails, slick PowerPoint presentations, "selling the company-line" and putting a "positive-spin" on things. They revisited the concept of the cascade, reinvigorated it through technology and pushed managers to embrace it.

Switching off the autopilot

Managers need to be guided by communicators to switch off the communication autopilot and remove the corporate mask when it comes to communicating with and engaging their team members, as well as be given access to tools, techniques and resources that allow them to find and embrace an authentic communication style that works to their individual strengths - allowing them to communicate effectively, whatever the message may be. 

To get your free copy of the compelling BBVA Compass case study, and read about how they tackled issues surrounding line manager communication delivery, visit the website for our upcoming event, Bridging the gap: Making managers better communicators, which takes place on 29 March. 

*Labour Market Outlook, http://www.cipd.co.uk/research/_labour-market-outlook/current-report.htm

 

SharePoint: Creating the connection

By Tanya Batra, Melcrum

Investing time and money in intranet tools and features without creating a connection as to how this investment can help employees do their job better, rarely amounts to little more than an expensive bill for a poorly used portal.

And for communicators, the frustration often stems from a poor connection with the IT function. Communicators often complain that much of the intranet functionality created by IT is done so with little understanding of what the day-to-day internal communication requirements may be.

Across our portfolio of case studies, we’ve repeatedly seen that the most successful intranets are those that:

1. evolve in response to a comprehensive understanding of end-user requirements and experiences;
2. are managed effectively and;
3. are the result of a partnership between the IT and internal comms function.

At our upcoming User Forum: SharePoint for internal communicators, Didier Thomas, change & communication manager at Siemens will be sharing his SharePoint challenge.

Having previously worked in internal communication before moving to IT, and now acting as an interface between the two, Thomas is particularly well placed as a presenter. He’ll discuss how his team managed the imposition of a decrease in corporate travel by successfully positioning SharePoint as a solution to 28,000 employees, and encouraging them to use “virtual workspaces” as an alternative.  

Also on hand will be Greg Kerchhoff, SharePoint project manager, who will cover the practical steps taken by the BBC towards generating better SharePoint launch and adoption strategies. He will explain how this led to the creation of SharePoint collaboration tools that were right for the organization, and team sites that were successfully adopted by business units. 

Our keynote speaker, Richard Dennison, principal business partner at BT plc, will be discussing how the social media features of SharePoint are driving a transformation program in this global firm. Other case studies on the day will come from organizations including Standard Chartered Bank, Aviva plc and Maersk Line.
 
In the meantime, take a look back at how BT first implemented a range of social media functionality, such as BTpedia wiki, resulting in real organizational benefits. This feature-length case study, “How social media fits into BT's business”, by Mark Morrell, intranet manager, BT, is available for download, for the next five days. To download your free article and view the full event program, visit the website. 

   
We hope to see you in London on 8th February!