How to Map Out Your Journey Towards a Social Organization

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1 How to Map Out Your Journey Towards a Social Organization Mike Clark, Managing Director, Really Connect December 2014 In a world where customers and employees have become social and mobile, leading companies are taking ever- bolder steps. They are rethinking customer intimacy and employee collaboration to define their path to a truly social organization one that redefines interactions and relationships. Today 57% of the decision making process is complete before a prospect officially speaks to your company, whether that contact is with your sales force or a recruiter. 80% of employees say they would rather work for a social CEO, and 2 out of 3 customers say that their perception of the CEO impacts their perception of the company. With realities like these, competitive advantage hinges on a successful, fully implemented social strategy that engages every individual within your organization. But becoming a social organization is more than simply learning how to use the latest social media fad it s about adopting the culture to become a social business, and like all things worthwhile this takes time, and a plan. Having consulted and trained over 500 Enterprise, SMB and Corporate clients across Europe, we have identified 7 critical stages every organization goes through whilst on their journey to creating a socially empowered workforce. The 7 Stages of Your Social Journey Stage 1: Awareness Help all employees to recognise the potential of social media to attract the right people into your business, whether it s prospects, candidates, suppliers or buyers. The process is exciting, but also raises many questions and concerns. If left unaddressed these concerns will sabotage your efforts. Becoming a social organization requires the buy- in of senior executives from HR, Marketing, Sales and especially the C- Suite, all of whom will initially be sceptical because they ve heard all the hype before. These are the important outcomes to achieve before your organization is ready to move to Stage 2: Educating the naysayers (every company has them) about what is possible with social media by referencing proven case studies rather than hype and hyperbole; Educating key executives on the difference between Passive, Active and Proactive social media strategies; Sharing the 7 stages of changing a corporate culture to a social culture and ensuring expectations are set that this never happens overnight; Identifying and agreeing on which of the 7 stages of the social journey your company is on, and what the most effective next steps are.

2 Stage 2: Aspiration Once it has been identified that the benefits of a social business far outweigh the drawbacks of wasting time on social media, the next step is to identify goals, outcomes and roles. These are the important outcomes to achieve before your organization is ready to move to Stage 3: Identifying which departments need to get involved; Engaging all key stakeholders to agree every element of the communication strategy, particularly to ensure alignment with offline communication strategies; Engaging stakeholders to jointly explore the different possible ways to roll out a Social Business Strategy, since this ensures buy- in and ownership; Identifying key business targets or metrics that social media activities will help attain. Stage 3: Strategy Once clear targets have been established and boundaries are in place, key stakeholders work with advisors to define the best way to achieve your outcome, based on the internal requirements and budgets. These are the important outcomes to achieve before your organization is ready to move to Stage 4: Unpacking and documenting all the organizational objectives which will form part of the social strategy; Discussing all elements of the communication strategy with key stakeholders, interviewing the heads of HR, Legal, Sales and Marketing to ensure a coordinated approach; Taking a snapshot of current social media activities and online presence across the organization, and agreeing initial steps to take for improvement; Seeking objective recommendations and feedback on current content creation and distribution; Assessing possible communication channels that will achieve your objectives; Assessing the current competency level of the team to identify which skills are required, either through training or on- boarding the skills which are lacking. Stage 4: Content Creation With a clear strategy in place, a content plan is created working with internal and external parties to define the corporate message you d like to convey via social media. Typically, a template LinkedIn profile is created, which employees can use as an example for their own profile. The idea is not to create cookie cutter profiles, but to convey a sense of your company culture through every employee s profile and their unique voice. In addition, a Content Plan is developed for the following 2-6 months. These are the important outcomes to achieve before your organization is ready to move to Stage 5: Completing a template from which all future profiles can be developed; Obtaining agreement and sign- off from each affected department, for example: HR, Marketing, Legal, Sales; Creating uniform yet personalized model LinkedIn employee profiles that are fitting with the company s overall strategy and brand (usually limited to between 10 and 20);

3 Identify and creating a library of content from which individual employees can choose to include on their profiles (such as slideshows, video clips, audio s, portfolios, white papers and other available media). Stage 5: Rollout Every rollout strategy is unique, but the key requirement is organization- wide training to build a solid base of understanding. Depending on your requirements, this might include classroom- based training, coaching, online sessions or a blended mix of all types of training. The final stage is to track, measure and complete the completion of everyone s profile. These are the important outcomes to achieve before your organization is ready to move to Stage 6: Interviewing each C- level executive to capture their story ; Converting the recorded interview into a succinct LinkedIn profile; Uploading the text into each exec s profile; Using the unified executive profiles to encourage mid- management and all staff to follow suit, bearing in mind that each individual s profile is not company property i.e. it s necessary to achieve buy- in at every stage. Stage 6: Measuring As with any new programme, tracking and measuring the correct metrics is imperative. Results must be continually analysed to ensure that the strategy delivers the expected outcomes. These are the important outcomes to achieve before your organization is ready to move to Stage 7: Setting social media goals that complement existing business and departmental goals, for example: Reach, Site traffic, Leads generated, Sign- ups and conversions, Revenue generated; Identifying and implementing the tools and processes required to measure the ROI on your social media. This may involve adding tracking codes to URLs, building custom landing pages, and more; Actually tracking your social media ROI. The ability to track should be built into everything you do on social media, so you re never left scrambling to try and prove the success of a campaign; Adjust the social strategy. The point of tracking your social media ROI isn t just to prove your social campaigns are valuable, it s to increase their value over time. Stage 7: Scale Up With your proven business case, it is time to take the programme to the next level. If you started with a pilot group, their results champion the cause to gain internal excitement and buy- in for the next phase/s. If you ve only been working with Passive or Active strategies, perhaps now is the time to consider Proactive strategies.

4 If you re ready to commence the Social Journey, this is how we can help We ve rolled out the exact strategy above with over 500 companies across EMEA, in 9 different languages, and we have a programme to meet your unique requirements. Although every company is different, the process for rolling out a social strategy is similar and requires a co- ordinated effort from the top of the organisation. For any strategy to be successful, it requires the buy- in of senior executives from HR, Legal, Marketing, Sales and especially the C- Suite. These are some of the factors that will influence which option is best suited for you: How many people do you want included? What levels of seniority will be involved? Which departments will be included? How do you want to roll the programme out? (1-2- 1, small group or online) Who gets access to which training? e.g. Will your senior executives prefer personalised coaching, or would they prefer group interaction? We provide a variety of different training options to meet your unique requirements. As we spend time getting to know you and you re organization, we ll be better positioned to advise you of the best solution to match your requirements For SVPs, VPs and Directors who have busy schedules, we recommend training is delivered , as it gives the Executive a thorough understanding of the approach and allows them to give comprehensive input as to what should be included, and excluded, from their profile. Approximate time per delegate is 90 minutes.

5 To save time, we recommend the Executive s assistant to be involved in this process too. Time: 90 Minutes per Executive We can facilitate up to 5-6 sessions per day Group Classroom Training Each delegate has access to a laptop/computer so they can update their profile during the training session. This allows them to dedicate concentrated time into crafting their profile ensuring it gets done. The added benefit is having experts on hand to answer questions, give feedback and share insights. Time: ½ or Full Day Sessions Train the Trainer (TTT) Depending on the demand within your company, a viable option may be to form an internal training group. This is a perfect option if you have a high volume of new recruits entering the business, since we equip your staff to deliver the training on our behalf. We have trained more than 50 internal trainers for our clients across Europe. Training includes 3 days classroom delivery, plus one day of training during which the internal trainer has the opportunity to be assessed and receive feedback on their delivery. Time: Total 4 days Online Once stages 1 through 5 have been completed, it is possible to move to an online training format, where staff are trained via 2-3 short webinars. However, we normally only recommend this after a core group have begun championing LinkedIn within the organisation. This is because a behavioural shift is required to achieve lasting results. This shift is typically more difficult to achieve virtually. The online option allows you to include remote staff or shift workers who may not be able to allocate time for face- to- face training. Sessions are also recorded for your internal use. Combination / Blended We understand priorities and pressures continually change in business and one size does not fit all. Therefore, once we have a clear understanding of your business, we will suggest the most appropriate method of training for your organisation according to your objectives, timescales, budget and work load. As part of your Social Business Journey, we appreciate sometimes you will have time to invest in your LinkedIn strategies, and other times, you may not. We want this to be a long- term partnership between our companies, so we are happy to be flexible according to your needs, and go as fast or slow as is needed. Consider us your Trusted Advisor on your Social Journey. Ready to start your Social Business Journey? You now have our entire blueprint everything you need to get started on your journey. Naturally, we re happy to help when you need us. Here s what we suggest:

6 1. Free Social Business Strategy Consultation: Get one of our consultants to talk to you to discuss your unique situation. Book your session now at 2. Come to one of our Employer Branding Workshops: Register for one of our upcoming workshops in Central London to learn about the various ways to implement your Social Business Strategy. To see upcoming dates and to register, visit events/ Who are Really Connect? Really Connect are a LinkedIn training & results company in EMEA, who help organizations to become more successful by embracing the power of LinkedIn, social selling and social recruiting. Our services range from educational presentations, training and workshops to a corporate programme, including a certified Train The Trainer Academy. We have 18 trainers who can deliver LinkedIn training in the following 9 languages: English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Czech, Russian, Slovakian, Italian and soon even more. We have published multiple books covering LinkedIn, including a bestseller called How to REALLY use LinkedIn and it is available in 5 languages. In over 10 years, Really Connect have worked with over 500 of EMEA s top corporate clients from over 15 different countries spread over 3 continents. The reason our training is in so much demand, is because what we teach works. Really Connect has a longstanding relationship with LinkedIn as well. We have been delivering LinkedIn training sessions since A small selection of our clients: T: E: Naomi@ReallyConnect.com