International Employee Communications Summit 2008

Slide 1: Making social media work in a corporate context Richard Dennison Senior manager - social media richard.dennison@bt.com http://richarddennison.wordpress.com/ http://twitter.com/RichardDennison

Slide 2: Agenda • About BT today • The BT intranet story • It’s all about ‘participation’ • Why is social media important to BT? • Enterprise-wide collaboration • Potential impact in corporate environment • Lessons learnt © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 3: About BT Today BT is a global communications services company – operate in 170 countries; offices in 50 countries We are dedicated to helping our customers thrive in a changing world. What makes us We are committed to using the power of communication to different? build a better, more sustainable world. Our global 21CN platform allows us to deliver software-driven services that are faster, more reliable and simpler to use. What are our Being number one for customer service. goals? Being a company that is recognised for innovation and great service, and for delivering value to shareholders. © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 4: BT Intranet • We started 12 years ago • Information vision, not technology • Decentralised ‘franchise’ model • Central control where necessary • Overall ROI not measured • 100% access • Symbiotic relationship to culture change • Business critical – unstoppable. © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 5: It’s all about ‘participation’ Communications as a conversation not channels self-expression Employees as people being opinionated having personality Trust us to be responsible participants Enable participation social media Encouraging every employee to believe they can make a difference … © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 6: Impact of participation on communication/collaboration • people are interacting differently – more informal (cold-calling culture; no respect for organisational status) • relationships are more fluid, dynamic and far-reaching • growth of peer-to-peer trust at expense of institutional trust • balance of power shifting to communities • democratised communication (communication/collaboration … what’s the difference??) • importance of information is determined by user not author A social media environment does not lend itself well to ‘managed’ communications … but ‘facilitated’ communications © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 7: Why is social media important to BT? Social media is about: communications technology social networks …these are BT’s giving power to users global data business drivers! networks making technology simple building sustainable communities – from local to global © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 8: Collaborating across the enterprise Making connections; building knowledge © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 9: BTpedia © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 10: BTpedia © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 11: Collaborating across the enterprise © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 12: Web 2.0 news © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 13: Your space Your Space hits 120000 100000 80000 Your views 60000 Your photos 40000 Your announcements 20000 0 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 14: RSS powered news Over 150 feeds on corporate news desk alone © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 15: RSS powered news © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 17: Podcasting © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 18: Podcasting © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 20: Blog Central © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 21: Employee blogs © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 29: Social networking • manage • do • …er… that’s it! • create • innovate • change © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 32: Potential impact in a corporate environment • Governance …community editorial control … • Wisdom of crowds with no crowds • Losing control of the message • What if …? • Mixing business and personality • Process challenges • RSS © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 33: Lessons learnt • Focus on value not risk! • Start anywhere … start immediately • Start small and build slowly – follow the energy of yes through the network • We learn what works by doing the work … so … • … let users try as early as possible – ‘warts and all’ – succeed or fail quickly … and cheaply! • Engage legal/HR/security early … and emphasise evolution not revolution • Have realistic expectations … the intranet is not the internet! • Harness the enthusiasm of the enthusiastic … especially if senior • Sometimes … ‘the only form of transportation is a leap of faith’! … proceed until apprehended! © British Telecommunications plc

Slide 35: “We were together … I forget the rest”. Walt Whitman richard.dennison@bt.com http//:richarddennison.wordpress.com/ http://twitter.com/RichardDennison

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