Learn how employee social networking tools can improve retail performance. This presentation attempts to strengthen the business case around how an internal business network can help increase efficiencies and what these tools can bring to retail organizations. http://leveragesoftware.com

1. Leveraging the Power of to Improve Retail
Employee Social Networks Performance

2. What is Enterprise 2.0?
Web 2.0 technologies ‐ including social
networks, blogs, wikis, discussion forums
and micro‐blogging ‐ applied inside the
Poten0al Ties enterprise to improve communicaTon and
collaboraTon among:
Weak Ties Strong Ties
• Employees in the same department,
store or district who collaborate on a
Strong Ties common business process
Weak Ties
• Extended Network
• A source of significant value, fresh
ideas, non‐redundant informaTon
Poten0al Ties
• RelaTonships that do not exist but have
potenTal to provide significant benefits
Sources:
Mark Granove6er ‐ "The Strength of Weak Ties", American Journal of Sociology 78 (6): 1360‐1380, May 1973
Andrew McAfee, Harvard Business School, How to Hit the Enterprise 2.0 Bullseye ‐ h6p://andrewmcafee.org

3. Power of Employee Social Networks
OPPORTUNITY
help your smart people
in locaTons across the
globe connect, share
and discover relevant
knowledge, faster and
more efficiently than
your compeTTon
OUTCOME
improve employee and
retail performance, and
gain a compeTTve
advantage

4. Why Should Retailers Care?
Retail Challenge Impact
• Same problems are solved many Tmes
Large number of employees
• Same mistakes are made
performing the same job in
• Inconsistent performance
different locaTons • Inconsistent customer experience

5. Why Should Retailers Care?
Retail Challenge Impact
• Same problems are solved many Tmes
Large number of employees
• Same mistakes are made
performing the same job in
• Inconsistent performance
different locaTons • Inconsistent customer experience
Many layers in organizaTon • Valuable insights and ideas at store level are
between corporate and store‐ not shared with corporate decision makers
level employees

6. Why Should Retailers Care?
Retail Challenge Impact
• Same problems are solved many Tmes
Large number of employees
• Same mistakes are made
performing the same job in
• Inconsistent performance
different locaTons • Inconsistent customer experience
Many layers in organizaTon • Valuable insights and ideas at the store level
between corporate and store‐ are not shared with corporate decision
level employees makers
CommunicaTon tools to • Knowledge and informaTon remains in
connect employees do not employees’ heads, and rarely travels
exist or are inadequate outside of the store or district

7. Why Should Retailers Care?
Retail Challenge Impact
• Same problems are solved many Tmes
Large number of employees
• Same mistakes are made
performing the same job in
• Inconsistent performance
different locaTons • Inconsistent customer experience
Many layers in organizaTon • Valuable insights and ideas at the store level
between corporate and store‐ are not shared with corporate decision
level employees makers
CommunicaTon tools to • Knowledge and informaTon remains in
connect employees do not employees’ heads, and rarely travels
exist or are inadequate outside of the store or district
• High cost of training
High employee turnover
• Lost knowledge and experTse
• Difficult to establish consistent culture

8. Benefits of Employee Social Networks
CONNECT
company workforce
who otherwise would
not communicate
• expand network and
resource of average
employee
• enable easier
discussion and
problem‐solving
• be6er serve
customer and sell
more stuff

9. Benefits of Employee Social Networks
SHARE
make valuable
knowledge and
informaTon readily
available
• allow quicker transfer
of informaTon
• capture criTcal
insights long‐term
• make be6er business
decisions faster

10. Benefits of Employee Social Networks
DISCOVER
new informaTon and
ideas that can help
employees perform
be6er
• greatly increase the
resources and
knowledge available
to each employee
• help employees take
iniTaTve and be
more proacTve
• make your company
even smarter

11. Employee Social Networking Features
collabora0on social newsfeed status updates
ra0ngs repor0ng interest and expert matching
visualiza0on tools RSS profiles commen0ng
search APIs real‐0me conversa0on groups
file sharing tagging wikis blogs calendar
subscrip0ons live chat polling discussions
targeted messaging top contributors and content
11

12. Value for Retail OrganizaTons
Store Opera0ons Customer Experience
Increase Store Profitability by improving Increase sales conversion by understanding
producTvity and product flow. and addressing customer needs.
• Share Best PracTces • Capture & share
• Find answers to customer insights
Store Customer
quesTons ‐ FAST Opera0ons Experience • Provide informaTon
• IdenTfy & engage top store‐level employees
performers Employee need to help customer
Social Network • Streamline operaTons,
• Get field management
on the same page and allowing associates to
Product
working together as a Merchandising focus on the customer
Development
team & Planning • Create a common
& Sourcing
culture built around the
customer

13. Value for Retail OrganizaTons
Merchandising & Product
Planning Store Customer Development
Have the right product in OperaTons Experience Deliver products with
the right place at the improved innovaTon,
right Tme. Employee speed, quality and value.
Social Network
• Understand local • Spark innovaTon by
markets Product tapping new idea
• Collaborate to ensure Merchandising sources
Development
successful program & Planning • Gain rapid feedback on
& Sourcing
execuTon new product concepts
• Improve Supplier
Management through
be6er informaTon

14. About Leverage Sonware
• Founded in 2003
• Headquarters in San
Francisco, CA
• Well‐funded and profitable
• 400 clients ‐ 100%
referenceable
• 100 new clients per year
Learn more:
www.leveragesonware.com
www.twi6er.com/leverage

15. Our Clients
Trusted by 400 of the smartest organiza0ons in the world, including:

16. We like when people share and remix our work.
Feel free to cite us (but you don’t have to).
For an easy‐to‐edit PPT or Keynote version, email Amber at amber@leveragesonware.com.
She’ll hook you up. 16