connecting a distributed workforce - originally uploaded by kolya

Physical spaces within large enterprises like IBM transforming to meet the changing demands of an increased mobile workforce. As employees work from home more often, or have a laptop and work on–site with their customer – they are less likely to have a permanent desk in the office. Groups of peers may be geographically dispersed. Additional demands in large global enterprises include:

• Global workforce
• Maturing workforce & retirees
• Gen Y attrition and retention

The greater sense of connectedness can occur through online communities. Individuals are enabled through access to social computing. They can create personal profiles on social networks and use social media to share and connect with others around the globe – behind the firewall and in the public domain.

Events provide opportunities for people from different teams and lines of business to connect. Virtual events, competitions and challenges give individuals the opportunity to innovate and use their skills. Online communities become a place for connection across the company. Communities may be based upon business unit, special interest groups, projects, skills or personal interests.

Online communities are enhanced with access to social media and social networking sites. For instance Secondlife, Facebook, YouTube, Podcasting, Twitter, Ning communities, Flickr, blogging, social bookmarking, BluePages and Fringe+1

Three key considerations for addressing the issue of segmentation:

Purpose. Workplace example – IBM Values, Innovation Jam events, Beehive (Internal Facebook) Events, Group projects.

• Decide on the types of initiatives for individuals, groups and larger events
• Determine the benefits to the organisation and the individuals
• Consider including strategic organisational issues and challenges for collaboration

Enablement. Workplace example – IBM Social Computing Guidelines. Give people access to the tools and and provide guidelines.

• Provide the tools/websites/learning environments
• Provide education “what’s in it for me?”
• Promote awareness

Facilitation. Workplace example – Voluntary social computing ambassador roles. Departments host and facilitate virtual and physical events.

• Nominate individuals as advocates and facilitators
• Decide on events
• Measure success of events

What do you think about the need for the creation of physical and virtual events, enablement and facilitation to connect segments in an organisation?

image originally uploaded by shapeshift

At the same time, we are getting better connected in a virtual sense. We can use blogs to share our journeys, share events and post items on Facebook, meet up in virtual worlds, chat on Skype, collaborate on wikis,  join communities, quickly connect using instant messaging, update on Twitter -the list goes on. Peer groups converge around the world, meeting online based on common interests, problem solving and the growth of social networks.

Do these virtual spaces enable individuals and groups to connect better? What is the impact on our physical spaces? How do you deal with it? What are the pros and cons?

And what is your experience?

“How do you deal with the increasing virtual world (web based interaction) and the resulting influence on your physical world?”

The working party for segmentation and integration (the Melbourne Uni and IBM Virtual and Physical Learning Spaces project) is looking for examples. We will be presenting at a public forum in November. We’d really appreciate reading about other experiences and thoughts. Please take a moment to share

Now I certainly don’t mean to trivialise the issue in Beijing, but it was the first thing I thought of when somebody at work mentioned a company wanting to approve blog posts by employees. What does this mean for Enterprise 2.0 implementation and governance? Are you really letting people have their say, or are you just keeping up appearances of providing a platform to speak? Do you provide guidelines or do you provide a process? What message are you sending your employees about trust, tolerance and personal value – or even the values of the company? How can you sing out loud when you’re told to tiptoe?

image originally uploaded by TruShu on Flickr
From Reuters - The International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday it would have liked to see protesters actually use designated protest parks during the Beijing Games.

Not a single permit for the 77 protest applications has been issued by Chinese authorities.

“We would welcome that these areas are generally used,” IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies told reporters. “(Other) Games organizers have used designated areas of the city for protests in the past.”

Weeks before the start of the August 8-24 Olympics, China had said it had set up three demonstration zones to counter criticism Beijing is crushing human rights to prevent disruptions to the meticulously planned Olympics.

Would-be protesters though had to a apply for a protest permit five days in advance.

No permits have yet been issued and park managers have not even made plans for handling demonstrators, because they do not expect any.

After a period of joy, angst, laughter, sleep deprivation parental leave you return to work. In a couple of weeks you settle back into the swing of things. Right? Err, not quite.

Not for the most obvious, life changing reasons. A lot can happen in six months or a year in a large enterprise. When you return you might have a new manager. A new job title. There could be a reorganisation. Maybe even a company acquisition. Some of your colleagues could change positions. New people might join the team. There will be different work methods and techniques introduced over time. If you are working part time so you might miss out on team events. Some days you may need to work from home. Suddenly, you are the new girl, again (and in my case, again…and again with the arrival of three precious little boy wonders.)

Throw social media into the mix and things start looking up.

It’s easier for people to know more about you. And for you to know more about them. Quickly.
Your network is now extended to a global “team”. You have access to the latest insights, techniques and thought leadership. Mentoring is no longer restricted to the people you see in the office. Your ability to find relevant information is significantly improved. You’re connected, baby!

When I returned to work after my most recent parental leave in June last year, I found it so much easier to connect. I could access blogs, wikis, communities, social bookmarks, search for people using tags on our directory, meet up with colleagues in a virtual world and see their photos on Flickr or Facebook. Very quickly, I felt much more connected to the company through the people I work with. I have also been able to be part of some fun and rewarding initiatives as a result.

Social media is a great way to connect with people in the workplace, especially for those returning from extended leave, working part time, in global teams and for people working from home or at a client location. Don’t you think?

1. The meeting of minds. Over the last year I have met up with some great folks through Twitter including Stephen Collins, Matt Moore, Brad Kasell, Michael Specht and Shane Goldberg (note to self..must meet with some great women Tweeple too!). I don’t spend all my time on Twitter, I don’t read every Tweet and some days I don’t read it at all. I use it sometimes at whim, sometimes strategically by dipping in on the web, my iPod or phone. But somehow through this seemingly odd interaction of shared status updates – and in some cases through blogging, we were able to have relaxed, conversation rich meetings when we met up in person. We have also been able to help each other to make sense of emerging technology trends.

2. Personal development. I’ve mentioned before how much I appreciate my mentors. Although none of them live in Australia, we know each other well through our blogs (also behind the firewall) and through other networks like Twitter, Facebook, etc. We use social media to communicate and they have all given me some great opportunities to develop my skills. I doubt I would ever have made the connection with them if it wasn’t for blogging.

3. Opportunities to make a difference. Blogging here on Wonderwebby has also helped me develop confidence in writing and practice my writing style. It meant that when Gavin Heaton (another person I follow on Twitter) announced the new Age of Conversation collaborative book on his blog, I didn’t hesitate in raising my hand to contribute. The best part – all the proceeds to go the Variety Childrens’ Charity.

The Age of Conversation 2 book cover

Those three things are important to me at work – connecting, developing and contributing. How has social media helped you in your career?

social computing input and output survival considerations

Were you wondering what was on my mind?

Noise & Focus

1. Identify the noise in your digital life.
2. Take time out and step back. Then you can pinpoint the noise.
3. Distinguish the “must read” vs “nice to read”
4. Determine what your focus is.
5. Have fun exploring and using social media, but have a goal if you don’t want to drift off into the ether.

Invest & Reward

1. Assess whether your time online feels like an investment (in yourself or others)
2. Make each moment count.
3. Consider what reward you want from your time online?
4. How is your online conversation time spent and how valuable is it?
5. Reward yourself. Make time to relax, and enjoy the conversation

What do these words mean to you in a social media world? Do you take time to reflect on the way you use the tools and time?

“In the 21st Century I think it’s really critical that we all have a well thought-out career plan that’s based on an assessment of our personal strengths and passions, a marketing plan that includes a blog and an online portfolio for selling our personal brand, and a personal learning environment for continuous professional development. These are the things that keep us nimble and adaptable and I think that they serve both us and our employers much better”

You can read more on how Michele created her own PLE over on her blog. I’ve been wondering about the (perhaps undervalued) potential for PLEs together with ePortfolios (and even lifelogging) to integrate web2.0 with existing workplace learning and personal development planning. I’m dreaming up a way to have an ambient PLE/ePortfolio utility or system to help me achieve my goals. I’m thinking of something that aligns my personal objectives with my actual learning and collaboration activity. Ideally I’d like an integrated life based learning model – a virtual coaching application perhaps. My mind buzzes with the possibilities. And while I’m still learning- I’m definitely going to keep watching this space with interest.

a) encourage people to think “out of the box”

b) provide the right tools and process

c) apply innovative thinking to everyday work (not just specific projects)

Although there may be times where teams are set up and dedicate themselves to specific research or projects, there is a wonderful opportunity for organisations to tap into ideas – globally – using web2.0 collaboration tools and techniques. In addition, employees could be better encouraged to see themselves as innovative workers and apply creative thinking to everyday problems.

Image courtesy of Alice Bartlett

Irving Wladawsky-Berger summed it up nicely in a post on Innovation Teams 2.0 this week.

“In today’s fiercely competitive, global world, how can you afford to take your best people out of their jobs for a chunk of time to work on innovation, no matter how important that might be? Many line managers will be against such a program. They need their best people doing their jobs, running operations, dealing with clients, developing products. They cannot afford to let them go for weeks at a time. They may even argue that if they let their people participate in such programs for the good of the company, it could seriously jeopardize their ability to make the quarter.

I think that we can address these valid concerns in a kind of Team Challenge 2.0. I have become convinced that most highly talented people, – especially those destined for high management and technical positions, – are essentially ambidextrous when it comes to their work. They are able to do their day jobs with flying colors, while simultaneously participating in innovation activities, as part of virtual teams working with their equally talented colleagues across the business and around the world on complex, strategic company problems.

In general, the teams only need to meet physically two or three times for a few days – when the project is first formed, when presenting the final recommendations to top management, and perhaps once in between, – but the rest of the time they are collaborating over the Web, while continuing to do their normal job.

Where will overworked employees, already straining to keep some semblance of work-life balance, find the time for these additional innovation activities? This is another valid concern, but in fact, most talented people are already involved in multiple work related activities. They somehow make the time to participate in professional organizations, go to conferences, give speeches, and make a name for themselves in their industry and discipline, while continuing to be top performers in their day jobs. It is a big part of why they are on executive and technical resources tracks. It is why they get noticed, both within their own company as well as by competitors that will undoubtedly try to hire them.

Talented people are full of innovative ideas anyway. That is what makes them so good at their jobs. The key question is whether their companies will be smart enough to provide the right environment to help harvest all this creative energy. Will the company capture and take advantage of all this innovation by providing the right technologies, tools and platforms, as well as a disciplined, well organized innovation process, along the lines of X-Teams or Team Challenge?”

I was also reading about an interview with AG Lafley of Procter & Gamble in the New York Times (hat tip to Rick Singer)

Q. And yet only half of your product innovations succeed. Why isn’t the rate higher?
A. I don’t really want it to be. Human nature is such that, if we push our people to drive the batting average up, they’ll try to hit more safely, take a shorter swing, go for the singles instead of home runs. But we try to set milestones that innovations must meet at every step along the development process. As soon as they miss one, we allocate the resources to another product moving through the funnel. That’s another difference from the old days, when P.& G. let bad ideas go too far.

Do you think innovation should be part of everything we do? Should we always be considering (risky?) new approaches, techniques for improvement and even radical changes to existing solutions?

For instance (from my Age of Conversation II chapter submission)

“It’s easy for people to talk and connect – when the boss is not around. Establishing a culture of trust is essential before ideas can naturally flourish in the Enterprise.”

You can read The Authentic Enterprise by the Arthur W Page society – really worthwhile. So is this podcast of For Immediate Release by Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz with Jon Iwata, who heads up IBM’s Marketing and Communications. Another hat tip to George Faulkner.

Are you expressing the importance of trust and authenticity in your social computing education and communication?

And of course it has to be said – when it comes to Trust...the expert is really Hal Hartley

RIP Adrienne Shelly

It’s an odd tale about Enterprise 2.0 and the ritual of the birthday cake. You can read it here.