The document discusses 10 steps for encouraging employee participation in a company community. The steps include having empathy for employees, providing guardrails and clear processes, making participation easy and rewarding, helping leaders lead by example, creating conditions for ownership and participation, using online workspaces, and focusing on developing good habits rather than just goals. The overall aim is to engage employees and scale the community while uncovering knowledge and finding better solutions.

1. how to…
encourage employee
participation
in your commun ity
Maria Ogneva
@themaria!

2. What’s all this engagement talk about?

3. And why is it good for community ?
1
. Scale community & lead by example

4. And why is it good for community ?
1
. Scale community & lead by example
2
. Uncover hidden knowledge

5. And why is it good for community ?
1
. Scale community & lead by example
2
. Uncover hidden knowledge
3 .
Increase legitimacy of answers

6. And why is it good for community ?
1
. Scale community & lead by example
2
. Uncover hidden knowledge
3 .
Increase legitimacy of answers
4
. Find beEer solutions

7. And why is it good for community ?
1
. Scale community & lead by example
2
. Uncover hidden knowledge
3 .
Increase legitimacy of answers
4
. Find beEer solutions
5
. Happier people

8. “87% of American workers are
disengaged or highly
disengaged”
-­‐‑ Gallup Poll, 201 3
How can you ask them to do more ?

9. Here’s how
hEps://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelheiss/8710606842

10. 10 steps to employee
engagement in your
commun ity

11. 1
. Have real empath y
What’s in it for me ?

12. 2
. Provide guardrai ls
Rules give freedom to do what’s right

13. GeEing everyone on the same pag e
• Align with team leads first
• Team-­‐‑specific, relevant training
• Bake it into onboarding
• Hands-­‐‑on challenges
• Maybe even gamification?
• Get clear on mutual expectations and roles

14. 3
. Have a clear proces s
Escalation
What to do in times of crisis / outag e
Mutual expectation s

15. 4 . Make it easy, bite-­‐‑size
d
How do you eat an elephant?

16. 5
. Celebrate and rewar d
“They tried to kill us. They failed. Let’s eat”
- Jewish proverb

17. Make rewards meaningful

18. 6
. Help leaders lead the way

19. Formal leaders
Execs & team leads
What’s important to them?
How will this reach their
objectives?
How will this make them the
hero?
How can you make it easy?
How can you remove risk?
Informal leaders
Take cue from existing
behavior
What do they value?
How can you make them
the hero?
Tap into their influence
Help them expand it

20. 7 .
Create conditions for
ownership & participation
Let teams own the outcomes & methods

21. Strike a balanc e
Can’t be too loosely
structured… or too rigid

22. 8
. Use the backchannel
PSST…

23. Hold each other responsible
But don’t throw each other under the bus

24. 9
. Have a digital workspace
Source: Adobe

25. 10 . Focus on method, not just goals
Deprivation diets
Focus on creating good “keystone” habits
hEps://www.flickr.com/photos/thelivelygirl/5261389796

26. Your employees will be like this :

27. Remember to let your customers breathe!
Caveat:
Don’t overwhelm the
customer J

28. Community is a leadership discipline…
"ʺA leader is best when people barely know he exists; when his
work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it
ourselves. ”
-­‐‑ancient Chinese philosopher Lao hEps://www.flickr.com/photos/63493383@N02/6355268177/

29. THANK YOU!
KEEP IN TOUCH!
@themaria!