Digi Digest | Success by a thousand likes

One of my clients is investing in their Viva Engage community. We’ve aligned what the community will do with the ambitions of the business, and it’ll soon be a hub for their people to connect with each other, share praise and best practice, and erode the knowledge silos that exist in the organisation.

But what’s always apparent in the long-term roll-out of digital communities like this, is there isn’t one ‘big fancy gesture’ or ‘special launch party’ that makes them successful.

It’s what I like to call ’success by a thousand likes’.

Little everyday things accumulate and can build your online communities into a place of safety, recognition, and a place where employees can feel welcome and comfortable enough to get involved.

Like weeding a garden, tiling a mosaic, or knitting a jumper; it’s lots of seemingly little things that result in something wonderful in the end.

What are the little things?

It’s seeing a great update and hitting the like button.

It’s reading a question and @ing someone who you think can answer it.

It’s seeing a post that probably should be in a community or group and suggesting so in the comments by signposting the community.

It’s seeing a ‘job well done’ post and reaching out to the senior manager of that team to suggest they login and interact with the post, too.

It’s seeing a story of success and forwarding it to the IC team to create a story out of it with a link to the original post.

It’s realizing that there’s a need for an innovation group, a leadership forum, or a wellbeing community, and seeking out the right person to run it.

It’s signposting the community again and again from other more established IC channels - Intranet, newsletters, digital screens, town halls, or posters in the lifts and bathrooms.

It’s making sure that every one of your big milestone IC stories has a presence on the platform.

It’s a quick comment of positive reinforcement every time you see something cool, joyful, or constructive on there.

Don’t forget to tend the garden.

Of course, you need governance in place, and a content plan, education, vision etc. But in delivery, the success is in the details and in ‘the thousand likes’, so make sure there’s always someone who can support this activity in your community.

And make sure this gardening is what your advocates are helping you with too. You can’t be in all places at once, and an engaged advocate community will be spending a little time looking after the community as well.

Gardening, tiling, or sewing - lots and lots of little bits to make something wonderful. And your digital employee experience needs the same kind of love.

If you’d like to explore more and talk about your own digital communities, you know who to call.