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Help us uncover Yammer

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Sequel Group

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FOLLOWING ON FROM THE HUGE SUCCESS OF OUR LAST SURVEY ON THE MODERN INTRANET WE’RE ASKING FOR YOUR HELP FOR THE NEXT EDITION OF AQ MAGAZINE WITH A SURVEY ON YAMMER.

We’re looking to uncover how organisations are using Yammer and how successful it has been since it was introduced.

What we’re hoping to find out is how people are using the platform and what functions they find are the most and least popular within their organisations. Once completed the results will appear in the next issue of AQ along with an exclusive interview with Brian Murray, Director of Enterprise Strategy at Yammer.

To help us find out the answers and for us to be able to share with you another visual display of results like the one below please take five minutes to complete the Yammer uncovered survey.

To see an interactive version of the results please visit the last issue of AQ

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Posted in Internal communications, Intranets

The cost of not educating employees about Twitter

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Sequel Group

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Twitter celebrated its 7^th birthday last week but at the same time as the candles were being blown out in the Twitter office an employee from the Evening Standard was being suspended after prematurely revealing details of George Osbourne’s budget.

We’ve recently seen the dangers of good tools in careless hands, for example employees at HMV hijacked the company Twitter feed to vent their frustrations with the collapse of the business and there are countless cases of celebrities getting into Twitter trouble.

In a time where digital technology rules our every day lives and at the click of button we can distribute and connect with people from all over world, where should we draw the line?

The Evening Standard has – apparently – immediately suspended the person responsible for tweeting the front page of Mr Osbourne’s budget but it was too late – like a toxic virus it was pinged around news rooms and before he even took to his feet, Labour were waving the front page in front of him. So with an embargo broken, an employee in trouble and a newspaper under review – Twitter has made the headlines again. But is it really the fault of the social network or just user misuse?

Social media has become a normal function in most professionals’ lives; internal and external communications alike are using the platforms to collaborate and communicate messages across the web to get things done. That’s what it is about helping to get things done. The latest issue involving the Evening Standard is merely another demonstration that many employees are not educated enough on the power of social media, even if they are aware of how to use it. This is a problem that organisations should be addressing and not be assuming that employees already know this just because they use it in their personal lives.

Corporate policies can be used – especially in terms of offering guidelines and setting expectations – but it is more about engaging with employees on the functions and power of digital communication in a non-corporate way. Let’s face it – how many employees actually take the time to read the 100 policies that a company offers just because it’s on the server?

Policies may detail what is, and isn’t, acceptable behaviour for social media but the true power of social media and the impact a mistimed or misused piece of communication can have can only be shown in real life examples. The challenge for employers is that social media is embedded in to people’s everyday life away from the office and while some of us have enough common sense to know what should and shouldn’t be put online, a lot of us don’t and therefore the lines become blurred and mistakes happen.

It’s an exciting new digital world – but it’s surrounded by dangers. A normal day at the office can turn in to a PR disaster or thousands of digital impressions and a tidy pay rise. Employees need to understand what their corporate virtual profile has the ability to do – both intentionally and unintentionally, if they’re to make sure they aren’t leaving themselves, and their employers, vulnerable to attack or investigation.

Social media is no longer a separate part of marketing or communication, it’s just part of what we do on a daily basis. Used right, internal corporate processes can be shortened with improved working collaboration and external business can spike with timely communications like @oreo at the Super Bowl. Used wrong and it’s a whole different story.

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Posted in Internal communications, Sequel thinking, Social Media

Getting engaged in Essex

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Sequel Group

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FOR many years – way too many – internal communicators have struggled to prove their value. Even the very best company magazines and communications plans were often greeted with casual indifference. When recessions came long, these channels – and their authors – were often the first victims.

Now, of course, the whole world understands the importance of employee engagement and how people working in comms, HR and Organisational Development are vital to the progression of an organisation.

Or at least that’s the headline. Dig a bit deeper though and it’s easy to find many companies who pay lip service to engagement. Internal communications remains a mystery to a swathe of corporate leaders.

The work being carried out by Engage for Success, therefore, is so important in changing the mindset of corporate Britain; to empower communicators and convince the boardroom of the need for engaged colleagues.

Events like the regional forums – the latest of which takes place on April 26 in Essex – will raise the profile further of this valuable initiative. The publicity generated by Engage for Success is very welcome.

But, and it’s a big but, what is actually changing? For all the words and good intentions, too often engagement is still viewed as a nice to have, but not essential.

And if we’re being critical, are Engage for Success delivering solid, consistent and undeniable proof that a motivated and informed employee can make a difference to the bottom line? Is it all too much talking and not enough doing?

We’re willing and wanting to be convinced. But for many (and in the words of the old saying), it’s all a bit ‘fur coat and no knickers’ right now..

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Posted in Internal communications, Things we like

Gamification – an office Xbox or the answer to better internal communications?

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Sequel Group

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AQ magazine is out now and it’s one of the best yet!

Having spent some time in various virtual realities for ‘research purposes’, Steven Worobec, speaks to AQ about its place in the IC world.

Gamification only really took off around 2010 and since then, the geeks of the gaming industry and the marketing buzzword wizards have taken it to a whole new level.

So what is gamification? Previously known as game mechanics, gamification is the use of game, loyalty and economic concepts in order to engage and reward individuals, solve problems and boost learning.

Or to use an alternative definition from Urban Dictionary … “A cynical practice by corporate douches where workers are supposedly motivated to work even harder on menial, pointless tasks by rewarding them with lame titles, meaningless rankings, coupons or a variety of other real-life trash loot.”

However you feel about gamification, the hard truth – regardless of the sceptics (me included) – is that it’s working. And what’s more, it’s gaining momentum.

Doubter think it sounds like a new way to waste time, but supporters claim it can help organisations accelerate digital transformation projects by engaging, rewarding and motivating employees and customers.

Maggie Buggie, Vice President of Digital Transformation at Capgemini Consulting, is one such convert and believes that, “gamification offers a creative and innovative way to foster collaboration and secure engagement around strategic priorities.”

But all that said, what does it mean for the Internal Communications industry?

Towards the end of last year, the internal comms industry started to get bitten by the gamification bug and departments around the country started to ask whether it was right for them – and with good reason. With companies like Accenture, who released an excellent report on their experiences with gamification and Google adopting the technique to drive loyalty and employee engagement, other companies are wanting in.

The idea of gamification does offer us a creative and innovative way to bolster loyalty, foster collaboration and secure engagement and it is not something that should just be seen as a digital led tool but one that could be used offline as well.

But before you jump on the bandwagon ask yourself if it really is the right solution for your organisation. Gamification has been around for a long time and people are only sitting up and paying attention now that it has become a buzzword.

My question is whether gamification is enough to keep employees motivated at work. According to a survey conducted by Social Cast with 6,300 World at Work members [infographic] “There is a fundamental shift occurring in the workplace, and employers are beginning to see that the secret to long-lasting employee performance and satisfaction has more to do with attending to intangible enrichment rather than material rewards.” Although I disagree to an extent and will be keeping my gaming in the comfort of my own home, the evidence is stacking up.

Gamification’s a nice thought and one that I have no doubt will take off in the industry but may fall just as fast when employers fail to commit to the idea or employees simply get bored.

Do you want to read more? AQ magazine is out now and it’s packed with industry insights including first issue blues, social intranets and questions on how involved your CEO should be with your internal communications.

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Posted in Internal communications, Social Media

Sequel Group Highly Commended at the CIPR Inside Story Awards

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Sequel Group

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Sequel Group

A great night for Sequel Group at the CIPR Inside Story Awards

Sequel Group is celebrating a Highly Commended accolade in the first-ever Inside Story awards run by the CIPR Inside group. We won our award in the hotly contested ‘best agency’ category and were delighted to join organisations like Coca Cola Enterprises, Essex County Council and the NSPCC on the winner’s platform.

The awards were presented at a champagne-fuelled event at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden, London attended by nearly 200 people, representing the great and famous from the internal communication industry.

If you weren’t there on the night the live blog is here for a run down of the evening.

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Posted in Internal communications, Sequel thinking, Things we like

Just another Harlem Shake video… with a HORSE!

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Sequel Group

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Engaging employees with the Harlem Shake

Ok, so we know that there have been thousands of versions of a certain dance appearing all over the Internet recently: The Harlem Shake, an electric house tune released by New York Producer Baauer.

It once again demonstrates the power of going viral across the world. The song, released last year, has shot up the charts and continues to climb.

The original Harlem Shake has actually been around since 1981. It’s awesome. It’s fun and it’s a real dance move.

But what’s the point?. The biggest benefit we could see was that it brought people together, especially at work. Office employees have been creating their own versions for the last couple of weeks from BBC Radio One Newsbeat to the underwear girls at MeUndies.com

I’m not sure that the team in the Sequel office pulled off the official Harlem Shake, in fact I know we didn’t but we did have fun doing it and it was a great example of employee engagement. I mean, if an internal communications agency can’t demonstrate employee engagement then who can?

So here it is, the Sequel Harlem Shake – let us know what you think and feel free to share your attempts with us too!

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Posted in Internal communications, Things we like, Video

Design vs usability – creating email for mobile can be like a game of roulette

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Sequel Group

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Fear of missing out (FOMO) got you foaming at the mouth? Picture the scene, four business types in an uptown bistro. Next to the sparkling water is a pile of mobile phones… the first to crack and check their email picks up the bill. Email for mobile is as much about usability as it is design and it’s one thing everyone should remember.

Smartphone email is on the cusp of overtaking desk-based systems, so we communicators have had a look at the best way forward. I’m sure that if you regularly use your phone for email then you’ve experienced the huge quality swing from cracking to lacking.

What does the changing shape of email do to design?

There was a time when computers were getting more powerful and monitors bigger, emails (and websites) were getting more attractive, informative and attention grabbing. Communicating by email really makes the audience sit up and take notice. But spam and the changing face of technology has given designers cause to stop and think again.

Scene change, January 2013, the Sequel offices:

It was high time we created a new email layout. It had to grab attention, use every pixel of available space and say about a hundred things at once with everything above the fold (fold? really? it’s a monitor not a piece of paper).

So how to plan the design; one column, two, three, how wide, how long and how many stories should we have? It’s a usability question, how to get the perfect balance between platforms, content and the huge variety of screen sizes and resolutions.

We had some fantastic layouts, content down one side, images down another, hotlinks, social media – it’s fabulous – ticks every box, but how’s it look on the iPhone? Time to pinch and zoom – so #twothousandandten!

OK, so audiences want choice and they expect everything to work, on any device, Blackberry for corporate, Outlook for everyone, Gmail and iPhone; a total design nightmare, impossible right?

How does the web do it?

Responsive design is the solution. It’s harder to make but the only way forward for the modern web-user is a page clever enough to know how it’s being looked at and change accordingly. (Well at least that’s solved the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.)

And, while your average corporate computer running an older version of Windows doesn’t support all of the modern techniques, happily they ignore what they don’t like (to a point). This means that more modern devices can interpret layout that is aimed specifically for them. Success = intelligent emails that present your content in the right way for the right device.

There are tons of rules about what you can and can’t do, so if your users have an older version of Outlook then the width will be compromised and then sadly it all falls apart.

In conclusion

I’m sure it won’t come as a total surprise that when faced with lots of variables the best course of action is to understand the needs of your audience and then provide them with what is suitable. So keep an eye on your statistics and see what devices they use.

If it’s heavily mobile biased then best stick to the one column; if it’s desktop dominated then go for a decent sized multi-column layout; and of course if it’s a modern audience and you don’t have to worry about legacy technology then you can take advantage and create responsive layouts!

But if you have a typical corporate audience, containing older computers and lots of BlackBerrys. Then design email for mobile first and make compromises for the ultimate good of usability.

(FYI: the new Storyboard layout is a single column – but still quite attractive).

By Charles Fenoughty