How can I “know who knows” None of us can personally know additional than about 250 individuals, however we want our providers to be wise, mastering organisations exactly where it is quick to find the appropriate person to talk to. This is why lots of organisations generate “yellow pages” applications, which allow employees to uncover and contact other staff with distinct knowledge and skills. Nonetheless, these systems can be fraught with difficulty in their implementation, and typically finish up as out-of-date, glorified intranet phone directories. This article, drawn from a finest-selling understanding management fieldbook by its author, identifies ten crucial steps involved in building and sustaining a profitable, employee-owned yellow pages system.
The recommendations below are drawn from the book “Finding out to Fly – Sensible know-how management from leading and learning organisations” (Chris Collison and Geoff Parcell), and sets out ten essential methods to building a yellow pages systems which genuinely functions, and has the positive obtain-in of its user neighborhood – that is to say, its shoppers.
1 Retain a clear and distinctive vision. Be clear about what you are trying to realize and prevent compromise. Beware of becoming “all factors to all males” – specifically those in the HR and IT departments! Absolutely everyone will want a slice of the action – never lose sight of the overarching aim of your program – producing it quick to uncover people that you never already know.
two Strive for personal ownership and upkeep. Produce a procedure whereby only the men and women concerned can develop and update their entries. This will drive a far deeper sense of ownership across the population.
3 Strike a balance in between informal and formal content material. Encourage persons to share non-function info about themselves in addition to valuable business data. Take into consideration prompting for this with “exciting” questions such as: “what was the 1st single that you bought?”, “what is your favourite film?”, or even “what tends to make you pleased?”.
4 Help the photographs wherever feasible. Nothing is a lot more effective and private than a photograph. It speaks volumes about the particular person, raises the interest levels of other individuals and generates individual ownership of the content material. If achievable encourage people today to include things like an informal photograph. The security-pass-rabbit-in-the-headlights shots hardly ever show people in their finest light! Much better to have a photograph which says additional about the person and what motivates them.
five Ensure that your product design is versatile and inclusive. Recognize that unique men and women relate to templates, prompts and structure in distinct methods. Use focus groups to test opinion.
6 Begin with a client-facing pilot. Essential mass is all vital, so get started with a group of people today who have a organic need to have to be visible to internal clients. This could possibly contain supporting functions, current networks or communities, or even company locations with new leadership.
7 Deliver by means of local enthusiasts. Centrally-driven push isn?t always the very best way to engage the workforce. Tap into nearby enthusiasts and champions if doable ? they will know how most effective to “sell” the idea locally.
8 Use results stories as a marketing tool. Reinforce the usefulness of the understanding directory at each opportunity. Publicize any examples or successes widely, and early, to reinforce your project. This is a culture change project, and culture adjust happens 1 story at a time!
9 Encourage use, but lead by example rather than edict. Stay away from mandating the population and use of the information directory. People will deliver greater high quality content if they really feel that they are volunteering the data. At the end of the day, you can?t ever conscript information – you can only ever volunteer it.
And let?s face it, there is tiny point in discovering the 1 individual with knowledge or knowledge that you have to have, if when you call them on the phone, they are unwilling to speak!
ten Embed into folks processes. Appear for procedure and intranet “hooks” that could initiate and sustain the use of your information directory (e.g. recruitment or induction of new staff, the launch of new networks, any reference on an intranet web page which mentions a person’s name can become hyperlink to their individual web page.
Developing and marketing and advertising a yellow pages program inside an organisation is a extremely rewarding project – seize the chance with both hands. You are going to have to have a network of champions, the cooperation of the IT and HR functions, tenacity and some marketng flair. The actions outlined above should assist you on your way. Bon voyage!
Chris Collison Chris Collison is a renowned professional in information management and an seasoned practitioner in the leadership and implementation of organisational change from a people today viewpoint.