Yammer. The Microsoft tool on the tip of everyone’s tongues lately. As Microsoft’s social network for business, this highly-inclusive platform allows for sharing and educating in the most organic way. Even though 85% of fortune 500 companies use it, so many of us are still uncertain of Yammer’s potential. We discuss Yammer specifics with our account director, Craig Keenan.
What exactly is Yammer good for?
Yammer is an excellent community building tool. The ability for people to connect socially either through an app or desktop directly to colleagues worldwide is vital in the modern business. It brings a sense of togetherness through sharing, commenting and liking content. It brings elements of what you experience outside of your work on social platforms into the work environment. Using Yammer really does increase productivity and employee satisfaction and people can see great work being done right in front of them. Decisions being made and outputs delivered through a digital community. Using some of the tools such as polls within those communities is also a great way of crowd sourcing information quickly to gain key insights across the organisation. It changes people’s behaviours towards adoption of a digital ecosystem.
Why would you recommend Yammer to a company?
Yammer has been a key enabler with many digital transformation programs I have worked on. It drives adoption, communities and is a powerful platform which has the capability to bring in more innovative technology to leverage the connections between people, data and conversations.
In your experience, do you think adoption for Yammer is easier or more difficult than other Microsoft apps?
Easier – Yammer is the tool that brings your outside ways of working inside your organisation. People are already familiar using social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and leading lives where they share online and communicate openly with others. Adoption is easy once people realise they can work with the same social culture inside their workplace as they do in their personal lives. I have seen communities build in yammer groups from zero to 500 people in the space of weeks.
What are a few simple steps to take when implementing Yammer within an organisation?
- Address the “Why” with your employees – tell people why it’s important to collaborate in a social manner. Show them how this technology platform can help people in their roles. There has got to be something in it for them.
- Create a community feel
- Social is good – Really drive that behaviour people have outside of work on social platforms and give people the freedom to use that in the workplace – Have fun, create a baking or pets community… they are crowd pleasers in some organisations we work with.
- Have leadership involved – people like being liked. It’s a great feeling having a story you have posted liked by a leader. People feel empowered and others will follow to post and be liked and share.
Have you seen any new rollouts to note for Yammer?
I have recently rolled Yammer out within Unilever R&D across 2 major divisions to over 5000 people successfully. This has been integral within the wider digital transformation objectives.
CRAIG KEENAN, Account Director
As an account director, I have a keen interest in consulting with global organisations on how digital ecosystems can be implemented within their business to enrich and empower employees. Together we unlock capacity for growth, future-proof their environment and ways of working. Through really understanding their business and employees needs I take great pride in creating long lasting partnerships.
