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By Alex Manchester
alex@steptwo.com.au
September 29th, 2008
Live blog sessions at the Department for Families and Communities
Welcome to Melcrum's Social Media Newsletter.
At the South Australian Government's Department for Families and Communities (DFC), CEO Sue Vardon has stepped up to the social media plate with her intranet blog, "Spe@k e-asy".
E-asy communication
Launched in October 2007 and created with the purpose of a being a "call to action", the blog is run as a monthly and live online communication session between Vardon and her staff.
Key aims of Spe@k e-asy are to:
- Improve organizational communication by providing an online space for staff to discuss their ideas directly with the CEO.
- Provide an online forum for sharing views and opinions, which lead to business improvements and better service for customers.
- Foster the building of strong and trusting relationships between staff and their CEO.
- Trial the use of innovative technology to improve organizational communication and inform strategy development for the future.
The metrics
The blog session topics have ranged from, "How can technology help you do your job", to "Health and wellbeing of staff" and in five months participation has grown almost five fold:
In Vardon's first post, entitled "The challenge of caring", 120 people viewed the site and 22 people made 56 comments. In the fifth post, "How can technology help you do your job", 470 people viewed the site and 155 comments were left from 57 people.
Top Tips
The organizational benefits of Spe@k e-asy are clear. As a "transparent forum" the blog has "Removed many of the barriers which exist in traditional organizational hierarchies. All staff, from trainees upwards, can raise their issues directly with the CEO."
And, my favorite recommendation from this case study? Don't ghostwrite: "The blog needs to be genuine - it's no use having someone else doing the typing for the CEO."
Best regards,
Alex Manchester
Senior Consultant
Step Two Designs
alex@steptwo.com.au
Humor will win over workers
Annie Waite, the Internal Comms Hub, September 26, 2008
You'd be forgiven for thinking that an office at Michelin Americas Small Tires wouldn't be the most illuminating of settings for a "fly-on-the-wall" docusoap, but communicators at the company actually proved otherwise. Read more
A simple and easy way to communicate with your virtual team
Sona Hathi, The Source for Communicators, September 25, 2008
Chris Gay's 5-step guide to setting up a "virtual buddy" technique that delivers great working relationships and maximum productivity from your virtual teams. Read more
Do we have to raise the bar when it comes to 'two-way communication'?
Graeme Ginsberg, The Melcrum Blog, September 26,
2008
A lot of companies say they're engaging in two-way communication with their employees, inviting feedback, building relationships and so on. This is all very well, but I would ask the following questions to these companies... Join the discussion
The Source
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