Employee yellow page directories continue to be one of the few killer intranet applications. I’ve not come across an intranet or portal (that is undertaking proper log analysis metrics) where the directory isn’t in the top three most visited pages or intranet sections.

 

 

Unfortunately, there are very few really good employee directories. IBM, Cisco, and Mastercard have really good ones. Microsoft has an incredible employee yellow pages on their intranet. Among the standard contact information provided in the average directory entry, Microsoft employee profiles also showcase:

 

·    Employee photo

·    Shared links

·    Related (featured documents)

·    Backup contact name and information

·    Reports to...

·    Direct reports...

·    Team site link

·    Professional and technical interests

·    Industry experience

·    Language fluencies

·    Years at Microsoft

·    Personal interests

·    And more...

 

 

 

“None of us can personally know more than around 250 people, yet we want our companies to be smart, learning organisations where it's easy to find the right person to talk to,” writes Chris Collison, co-author of a new book "Learning to Fly - Practical knowledge management from leading and learning organisations" (Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell). “This is why many organisations create "yellow pages" applications, which enable employees to find and contact other staff with particular expertise and skills.”

 

Collison warns though that employee directories can be fraught with problems and “often end up as out-of-date, glorified intranet telephone directories.”

 

To traverse the slippery slope of creating an effective yellow pages application, Collison suggests in his book 10 key steps (adapted from Knowledge Management – Creating A Sustainable Yellow Pages System):

 

1- Maintain a clear and distinctive vision.

Be clear about what you are trying to achieve and avoid compromise. Beware of becoming ‘all things to all men' - particularly those in the HR and IT departments! Everyone will want a slice of the action - don't lose sight of the overarching aim of your system - making it easy to find people that you don't already know.

2- Strive for personal ownership and maintenance.

Create a process whereby only the individuals concerned can create and update their entries. This will drive a far deeper sense of ownership across the population.

3- Strike a balance between informal and formal content.

Encourage people to share non-work information about themselves in addition to valuable business information. Consider prompting for this with ‘fun' questions such as: "what was the first single that you bought?", "what is your favourite film?", or even "what makes you happy?".

4- Support the photographs wherever possible.

Nothing is more powerful and personal than a photograph. It speaks volumes about the person, raises the interest levels of others and generates personal ownership of the content. If possible encourage people to include an informal photograph. The security-pass-rabbit-in-the-headlights shots rarely show people in their best light! Better to have a photograph which says more about the person and what motivates them.

5- Ensure that your product design is flexible and inclusive.

Recognize that different people relate to templates, prompts and structure in different ways. Use focus groups to test opinion.

6- Start with a customer-facing pilot.

Critical mass is all important, so start with a group of people who have a natural need to be visible to internal customers. This might include supporting functions, existing networks or communities, or even business areas with new leadership.

7- Deliver through local enthusiasts.

Centrally-driven push isn't always the best way to engage the workforce. Tap into local enthusiasts and champions if possible - they will know how best to "sell" the concept locally.

8- Use success stories as a marketing tool.

Reinforce the usefulness of the knowledge directory at every opportunity. Publicize any examples or successes widely, and early, to reinforce your project. This is a culture change project, and culture change happens one story at a time!

9- Encourage use, but lead by example rather than edict.

Avoid mandating the population and use of the knowledge directory. People will provide better quality content if they feel that they are volunteering the information. At the end of the day, you can't ever conscript knowledge - you can only ever volunteer it. And let's face it, there's little point in finding the one person with expertise or experience that you need, if when you call them on the phone, they're unwilling to talk!

10- Embed into people processes.

Look for process and intranet ‘hooks' that could initiate and sustain the use of your knowledge directory (e.g. recruitment or induction of new staff, the launch of new networks, any reference on an intranet site which mentions a person's name can become link to their personal page.