Intranet Blog

Employee engagement and the intranet

Toby Ward — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:39:53 -0700

Employee engagement is often a misunderstood term; to many managers confuse it with employee satisfaction. In short, engaged employees aren’t just happy ones, but have a strong emotional bond to the organization that employs them and proactively look to improve the position of the organization.

An engaged employee is more likely to:

• Understand and support through action a company’s vision and goals
• Recommend the company’s products and services to friends and family
• Work smarter and longer hours without being asked twice
• Enjoy challenges and problem solving
• View their own personal growth as linked to the company’s performance

How do you make an average employee and engaged employee? Well, it’s one of the many topics we’ll cover in a special seminar on October 8th in Toronto, The Employee Engagement Imperative: Proven Techniques for Securing and Sustaining Employee Engagement. This is a 90-minute, breakfast seminar if you are in Toronto or can make the trip. We'll be marrying the latest Ipsos research to leading intranet and communications practices... Register here.

Of particular note, Intranet 2.0 tools are massively engaging if used correctly. Giving employees a chance to express their opinions – and seeing them count and contribute to change – are tantamount to highly engaged employees. To that end, make sure you please take 10 minutes to take the Intranet 2.0 Global Survey and you’ll get a copy of the full results including the good, bad and learned lessons.

Understanding the new breed of intranet managers

Toby Ward — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:35:10 -0700

(TORONTO, ON) According to an inter-generational survey of workers, the younger generations of workers are set to dominate the workforce, but have slightly different motivations. The study reveals that by 2012:

Gen X workers will comprise 33% of the workforce (Xers are presently 32 – 43 years-old)
Millenials will be 37% of the workforce (millenials are presently 24 – 31 years-old)
The older generations, the Boomers and the Silents (ages 44 – 75 years-old) will drop from 54% of the workforce to only 30%

In short, the older generations are retiring in droves and the kids are taking-over (disclaimer: this writer finds himself smack dab in the middle of the Gen X cohort, and am only too thrilled to be loosely classified as a ‘kid’… my own kids are uproariously laughing at my expense). Understanding the younger, emerging workforce will be paramount to employing, motivating and retaining the most capable Internet and intranet managers (and intranet consultants).

The study of 1,000 workers of various ages was conducted by The Learning Café and among other things reveals:

The top motivator for all ages was challenging, stimulating and varied work
The number one de-motivator for millenials was “boredom, no challenge”
The number one de-motivator for Gen Xers was the inability to learn, grow and develop
The number one de-motivator for boomers was lack of appreciation, respect or recognition
A bad boss was the number two demotivator for every generation except millennials

While there are plenty of similarities in the motivations and demotivations of the various generations, we all know that there are key differences. For example, I use Facebook (sparingly), but not like the typical 24 year-old does. I send the occasional text message on my Blackberry, but the volume pales when compared to that of the new generation of Crackberry profligates.

The principal of the study, Devon Sheef, explains some of the important, subtle differences to ITBusinessEdge.com (see Generational Differences Challenge Managers on):

“What you notice in the survey, regarding millennials and motivators, is millennials are alone in having a motivator around pay. That makes complete, life stage sense to us. When you’re younger, what you need is money. Considering that, combined with the fact that the average millennial graduates from college with about $20,000 in debt, that makes sense.

A healthy work/life balance was a big one for the Xers. It distinguishes them just a bit from the other common motivators. We attribute some of that to how Gen X has been growing up, very independent. They pioneered work/life balance, pushed on us all for more flexible hours, and they are more determined than previous generations to spend time with their children.

We found that, specifically looking at the younger portions of the work force, when Xers were asked what makes a bad boss, they said things like “the boss micro-manages me,” “the boss is in my face,” “the boss doesn’t just give me a goal, the boss outlines everything and does everything but go to the bathroom with me around it.” The Xers say they are mid-career, almost mid-life and they know how to do these things themselves.

The other piece that Xers were quick to point out was around work/life balance. What supported the data we found was that Xers are spending more hours per day with their children than boomers did at equivalent ages, and they are defining good parenting as “being there” and not just “providing things.” So we saw that Xers were the quickest of all four generations to say that a bad boss was someone who tried to make them feel guilty or someone who placed nuanced pressure on them. Things like calling meetings very late in the day during Little League season, for example.

Millennials have none of those concerns. When millennials were asked to identify characteristics of bad bosses, quite a few of the bosses they were talking about were Xers. That was kind of intriguing, because we find that millennials have come into the workplace and they actually like us. They’re looking for structure, looking for how to integrate into an organization. They’re looking for us not just to be their boss and say, “Here are your three goals for the year,” but also for personalized work. They want their boss to take interest in them as a person. Those two (generations) are a great contrast.”

So, why is this stuff important to intranet managers? For starters, if its not the most important communications vehicle (though a replacement for face-to-face communications), the intranet should be your most important (or one of the most important) communications vehicles. And human resource and employee engagement considerations should be a priority for any intranet manager or intranet owner. More importantly, it is critical for intranet managers and owners (and intranet consultants) to understand the target audience -- particularly their information habits, and how they navigate and digest that information.

Shreef has a number of recommendations, but none bigger than taking the time to understand the motivations and demotivations of employees through conversation: “It’s helpful to be able to have conversations that count. So a simple perspective about what’s important to a generation overall can help managers have more meaningful conversations,” says Shreef in his IT Business Edge article. “The second skill is to be engagement minded. That means really thinking about the motivators and de-motivators”

ADDITIONAL READING:

How to hire an intranet consultant

10 things to ask your intranet consultant

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Talent Management seen as key Issue by HR professionals

Carmine Porco — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:15:08 -0700

As part of the leadership team for the Strategic Capability Network, I participated in developing and analyzing a survey conducted in the fall of its 500 plus senior HR practitioners to determine what they see as the top HR priorities for the next year or two.

The overriding themes to come out of the survey: talent management is a “peak” issue and the most pressing priority. More than 90% identified all areas related to talent management and acquisition as highly urgent items. When looking for new talent, many respondents stated they are attempting to solve talent problems by hiring superstars from outside the organization.

Tony Duckett, an owner of xiB/OSS Corporation, a boutique contract recruiting agency in Toronto says, “We recruit highly skilled people on a global basis, and it is becoming increasingly evident that the demand for these folks is growing dramatically”.

Personally, as a quickly growing small entrepreneurial company (Prescient Digital Media), we have experienced the same issues. Finding the right individual to fit our specific requirements is not an easy task. To deal with this issue we have instituted a few strategies.

One of those strategies is to always be looking. Although we may not be in the hiring stage this month or next, we will be soon and having a stable of good available candidates is essential.

One other tactic we have employed is to look outside of our local geography. In fact, we just recently hired a great individual from the U.K (welcome aboard Jed)!

A final tactic, and the one employed for our recent hire, is to ask for a referral. Your network is a great source of candidates and sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook are also a great way to find potential candidates.

Some of the other highlights from the survey include:

- HR professionals are feeling extremely bogged down in transacational issues.

- Engagement and leadership development show up as very strong areas of focus

- Change management, team development, compensation, governance and communication are also rank solidly, however HR metrics and work-life balance are emerging as higher priority.

- Ethics, outsourcing, diversity, globalization and employment branding emerged as being less significant

- Two other popular write-in themes consisted of 1) unrealistic workloads and 2) building greater credibility with CEOs and line managers

- A very high majority of respondents emphasized their need for both more time and more expertise on strategy work as opposed to the tactical side where they seem fairly comfortable with the time available

The respondents were evenly split between practitioners and consultants as well executives and managers at large and small organizations.

When asked what the most important issues required:

- 60% cited more time on strategy is necessary

- 60% cited more expertise on strategy is needed

- 37% cited more expertise on tactics is necessary

The full report can be downloaded at Carswell.com.

Serena Software Adopts Facebook as Corporate Intranet

Toby Ward — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:09:43 -0800

Well, sort of... The headline in the SDA Asia magazine reads Serena Software Adopts Facebook as Corporate Intranet, but Serena is instead formally encouraging and scheduling time for employees to use Facebook at work:

"Serena Software is breaking out of the corporate mould by announcing today that its 800 employees around the globe will participate each week in a company-wide program called “Facebook Fridays,” which encourages employees to find fun and personal connections in the workplace.

Each Friday, employees are granted one hour of personal time to spend on their Facebook profiles and connect with co-workers, customers, family and friends. This initiative will start today and will be rolled out in 18 countries where the company has offices."

This is intriguing. Most corporations, up to 50%, are blocking the use of Facebook. Serena is pushing the opposite:

"Serena President and CEO Jeremy Burton who is an avid user of Facebook, uses it to keep in touch with employees, friends, and business partners from wherever he is in the world—in Japan visiting customers or racing cars at Laguna Seca. He wants to bring the benefits he gains from using Facebook to his company, and allow employees to have more fun combining their personal and professional lives and is doing this by making Facebook his company’s intranet—a place where employees can find everything from a list of company holidays to the CEO’s favorite movie.

Burton believes that colleagues who get to know one another on a more personal level will work together better. The company already has more than 50 percent of its global workforce on Facebook prior to the launch of Facebook Fridays.

Burton believes that colleagues who get to know one another on a more personal level will work together better. The company already has more than 50 percent of its global workforce on Facebook prior to the launch of Facebook Fridays."

Hmmm, I’m not sure I totally agree with Burton on this one. I have encouraged my own staff to join Facebook, and I personally established the Intranet Global Forum on Facebook, but I’m not sure that establishing a formal Facebook “day” to the work week establishes a work benefit. I’m just thinking out-loud here because I’m not certain that it doesn’t establish a work benefit… it just might.

Establishing a “Facebook Friday” might benefit an organization suffering from culture problems and it could boost sales in others… The thing is, call me a skeptic, but I wonder if this has more to do with "limmiting" time spent on Facebook (we want you to use Facebook! But only for one hour, only on Fridays).

What do you think? Post your comments below.

Please join us and become a member of the Facebook Intranet Global Forum.

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10 dumbest interview blunders

Toby Ward — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:00:35 -0700

How many times have you said, or hear, “I can’t believe they hired that guy…” We’ve all been connected to a bad hire (or sometimes been that bad hire).

CareerBuilder.com recently asked pollsters Harris Interactive to survey hiring managers about the worst resumes they’ve seen. Some of the interview comments heard and resume statements were quite zany to say the least. Among them, some razor sharp candidates…

· Specified that availability to work Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays is limited because the weekends are "drinking time."

· Drew a picture of a car on the outside of the envelope and said the car would be a gift to the hiring manager.

· Listed hobbies that included sitting on a levee at night watching alligators.

· Explained an arrest record by stating, "We stole a pig, but it was a really small pig.”

I suppose there are worse hires. I once had a client’s employee come to me (13 years ago) with a wad of cash that a customer used to pay (rather than a cheque or Visa) and said, “So, let’s split it.” My client was a charity.

HIRING AN INTRANET CONSULTANT OR MANAGER

In honor of these bright lights and some of our own favorites, I’ve compiled my own fictional list of those potential comments you don’t want to ever hear from a prospective intranet manager or consultant:

1. “I’ve used the Web and that’s the same as an intranet.”

2. “It doesn’t’ matter what management thinks, it’s users that count.”

3. “The intranet is just a communications tool… like a newsletter.”

4. “You don’t need Sharepoint, my cousin designed the local Hooters site for only $900."

5. “I think it would be cool to take the Velvet Revolver website concept to the intranet.”

6. “What’s IBM?”

7. “What a CMS?”

8. “Wiki…? Is that the hot receptionist in HR?”

9. ”I write a lot better if I get a couple of crantinis in me!”

10. “I personally believe… that U.S. Americans…. And the Iraq, and such…”

I wonder what Alberto Gonzales will say during his next job interview?

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Intranet change management

Toby Ward — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:35:14 -0700

For many organizations, an intranet makes a fundamental change in organizational communications, and also, business process. A change management communications program is a requisite for any intranet launch.

“Even for logical change, many people will be offside,” adds Harris, the author of Change Leadership: Inform, Involve, Ignite! “Don’t underestimate the normalcy of “resistance” and find ways to integrate that resistance into change efforts.”

In short, intranet change management becomes an exercise in “selling” or communicating not only the reason and purpose for the change, but especially anticipating and directly addressing the spoken AND unspoken fears (or apathy) of employees.

Read my complete article: Intranet change management

How to talk to IT

Toby Ward — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:34:09 -0800

Communications folks see the world a tad differently from IT. And if men are from Mars and Women from Venus, then IT is from Pluto and Human Resources from Mercury. All very, very different individuals with greatly differing jobs. Yet all are expected to work together on the intranet and do so with effectiveness. Yeah right...

I know a lot of communicators and IT read this column, but probably a few more communicators than techies. And if you communicators want to redesign the intranet or build a better tool or get things done faster, then you need to learn how to talk the talk.

So in the spirit of cooperation and team building here are some of Catherine Elder’s recommendations for working with and talking with IT:

Put yourself in their shoes
Set project goals and communicate them
Involve IT in your project
Respect. Ask. Listen
Be prepared and do your homework
Become friends, or at least friendly, with your IT staff
Build a business case
Adjust expectations
Keep informed and share what you know
Appreciate

Good advice.

Read Catherine’s full article How to talk to IT staff.

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Hiring an intranet consultant or manager

Toby Ward — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:58:59 -0800

“8 of 10 hires are hired for their knowledge and technical skills,” says Edgar Papke, CEO of Living Change. “9 out of 10 fires are for poor teamwork and interpersonal skills.”

As I’ve said time and time again in the column, the biggest challenge facing intranet managers and consultants is not technical, but political. Specifically, the politics of what I call ‘competing priorities.’ IT, communications, and HR all have differing priorities and focuses, yet have to work together to build and manage an effective intranet.

Technical knowledge and skills are nice to have, management skills are a necessity for an intranet manager or intranet consultant.

When interviewing a perspective hire, here are five very telling and important questions that Papke recommends:

Tell me when you were part of a high performing team. How did the leader lead?
What was your contribution to the team?
Tell me when you were part of a team that didn’t /wasn’t a high-performing team?
What was your contribution to that team?
How will you contribute here?

In particular, question three is a critical one, says Papke: “If someone answers ‘no’ to question three then say ‘goodbye.” For two reasons: either they’re lying or they haven’t any experience with conflict. In short, you want to hire someone that knows how to manage conflict.

See How to hire an intranet manager

Another hiring tool to use is Ed Ryan’s MPR Competency Model. In short, the MPR model focuses on ranking three key traits required for a typical job:

T = Talent (skills to do the job)

E = Experience (job related experience)

C = Chemistry (cultural fit & personality)

The most important trait is talent, followed by chemistry. A strong trait is exemplified by a capital letter (T); a weak trait symbolized with a small case letter (t). The ideal candidate is a strong T-E-C, but a close runner up is a T-e-C (someone with talent and is a good cultural fit, but has limited experience).

The best combinations (in descending order of preference) are:

· TEC

· TeC

· Tec

· tEC

All of these tips and learnings are equally applicable for hiring an intranet consultant. If you’re hiring in an intranet consultant, then you’re likely benefiting from their ability to cut through some of the organization’s red tape and politics. If this is true, then having a skilled diplomat (C) is perhaps one of the most valuable traits a consultant can bring to the table.

Aniisu (with a good blog from an India perspective) also has a good perspective on hiring an outside firm: Evaluating intranet management firms.

Whether a manager or consultant, it obviously behooves the hiring person to use the right tools to hire the right person.

ADDITIONAL READING:

How to hire an intranet consultant

Hiring an intranet consultant

Why is the intranet so political?

About the author: Toby Ward is an intranet consultant (Internet consultant too) and the founder of Prescient Digital Media He has worked with and improved many, many company intranets including Amgen, HSBC, Mastercard, Manulife, PepsiCo, Royal Bank, etc. Toby and his company are consultants for hire and can help improve your intranet… if given the right amount of time and motivation J Toby is also available to watch or play just about any sport – including the culinary sports J You may contact this intranet consultant directly.

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Nokia's bad business is good communications

Toby Ward — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 13:27:35 -0800

Scandinavian cell phone maker Nokia recently reported record-breaking fourth quarter results. The company is making money hand over fist (approaching $6 billion in 2006). Senior management is predictably getting big bonuses this year. However, employees are not getting the same bonuses and Nokia is not paying out a special “Connecting People” bonus despite the good results.

The Helsinki Sanomat reports “…a further cause of annoyance is the fact that the missed targets also translate to cuts in the bonus systems paid by individual business groups. Such bonuses are based on the net sales, business profit, and cash flow, among others. Nearly all of Nokia's 68,000 workers belong to the scope of bonus systems as well other than the Connecting People plan.” (See Nokia personnel fume over bonus cuts).

"Nokia workers have expressed their disappointment in regard to what they feel is an unjust situation on the company's intranet chat groups, where the company directors have also answered some of the questions.

Nokia President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo explained the bonus criteria in a Friday video speech, which has since been available on the Nokia intranet.

The personnel representatives have already held talks with the management over the development of the Connecting People, bonus system, which is the most controversial. Nokia has promised to continue to discuss the development of the system world wide."

Well I can understand and sympathize with the employee’s frustration over this decision. Frankly, I don’t think this is the greatest decision in a climate where employee recruitment and retention is quickly becoming one of the top priorities of many European companies.

However, I am impressed that the company’s communications machine has responded so effectively including the use of directors to respond to concerns and comments on the company’s intranet chat rooms. The video speech is also quite progressive.

I’d like to see how the directors have responded and how quickly. Anyone have any information on this case? Or a similar case study?

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© 2006 Toby Ward - Prescient Digital Media