The topic of social networks in business – including social intranets and the use of tools such as Yammer and Jive – has been popular for several years now. With billion-dollar acquisitions in the frame, it’s clearly become a giant business segment too. While there’s an overwhelming number of case studies, books and proponents clearly arguing why an organisation should ‘go social’, there’s far less insight into how to successfully do so – and even fewer people asking whether ‘going social’ is the right objective at all. This presentation focuses on the realities of designing successful social networks in the enterprise, including the promises and challenges of going social, woolly objectives to watch out for, and leadership and employee behaviours that can make or break a deployment. Images: Flickr: AmberdeBruin (cover) Bigstockphoto.com

1. Alex Manchester // alex.manchester@obs.com.au // @alex_manchester
enterprise social networks
Designing successful

2. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013

3. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
150+enterprise social network
offerings on the market
There are 200+ enterprise social products

4. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013

5. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
Organisations are struggling with
enterprise social networks.
CIO magazine

6. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
Over 70% of enterprise social network
initiatives fail or disappoint.
McKinsey

7. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
Just 18-35% of Microsoft employees are active
on Yammer.
CNET

8. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
There are a lot of reasons why enterprise social
initiatives fail…

9. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
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1. Understand what you’re working with:
… collaboration spaces…
Social networking interactions…
… document collaboration…
… available on mobile
… ideation and problem solving…

10. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
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2. Don’t settle for woolly objectives

11. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
This enterprise twitter thing will help us
collaborate more.

12. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
We’ll use this to break down silos!

13. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
We can use this to crowd source ideas
on how we can we save $1.7m in the
next financial year.

14. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
How about sharing when we’ve been to
councillor meetings so we don’t keep
doubling up on them?

15. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
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3. Recognise and address cultural gaps

16. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
I’m not a Facebooker, or a Twitterer
and I never will be.
Mr Anonymous CEO

17. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
Do not use that social thing… ever…
… under pain of death.

18. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
We’ll be completely transparent during this
change process.
But… we’re not going to show you the
results from that recent employee
engagement survey, way too awful.

19. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
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4. Avoid lethal experimentation

20. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
We have a Yammer ‘pilot’ running…

21. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
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Our Yammer pilot died 

22. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
5. Do real user research

23. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
How would you use wikis and blogs in
a project?

24. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
How would a project typically begin?
What stops you working effectively?
What do you need and what’s missing?

25. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
I don’t really like the idea of a ‘Facebook for
business’… Facebook’s my personal life.

26. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
I’m not sure I’d want my school details
up there, or stuff like that.

27. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
5. Do real user research
Senior leaders
Managers
Staff…
6. Engage at all levels

28. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
If I saw my manager filling in their social profile,
I’d do mine. I’m not so bothered whether the
CEO does hers.

29. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
Only 22% of middle managers support the idea of
going social.
IBM

30. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
7. Strive for a great user experience

31. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
We don’t need it to be on mobile devices.

32. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
That 17-step sign-up wizard? Yeah, it’s fine like
that.

33. OBS (www.OBS.com.au) Designing successful enterprise social networks • August 2013
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5. Do real user research!
2. Don’t settle for woolly objectives!
Design for success:
7. Strive for a great experience
6. Engage at all levels
4. Avoid lethal experimentation
3. Recognise cultural gaps
1. Understand what you’re working with

34. Alex Manchester // Senior Consultant // OBS
T: @alex_manchester
E: alex.manchester@obs.com.au
W: alexmanchester.com
Thank you.