The Impact of an Internal Online Community

Photo source: Tim & Selena Middleton on flickr.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I can remember being asked that more than a few times as a child, and probably more recently than I care to admit. When I was a kid, it seemed simple. There were the obvious choices: a doctor, a lawyer, a nurse, a teacher, a police officer; and there were the slightly more out-of-the-box answers: an artist, an astronaut, a rock star, or a marine biologist.

At least those were the answers when I was growing up. Now, it might be different. A YouTube sensation? A developer of the next great iPhone app? A Facebook employee? It seems like it’s not just the answers that are changing, but also the questions, as more and more, it isn’t just what you want to do, but how, where, and when you want to do it.

The Changing Nature of Work

Photo source: User wrumsby on flickr.

As a remote employee for DNN, one thing that particularly interests me is the changing nature of work: and not just the job, but more so the environment in which work is done. It used to be that most people went to their company offices and worked from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and although that may still be the case for some, more and more companies are recognizing that as diverse as their employees are, the environments in which these workers thrive also vary. 

I’m not a morning person, and in a previous job, my manager’s attention to arriving in the office by 8:30 am on the dot was a source of frustration.When I’d work late, and most often alone in the office, I was more productive, so why did I need to be there at exactly 8:30 in the morning?

An increasing number of employers allow their workers to have flexible hours, in part due to the increasing demands for employees to be available outside of traditional business hours. Often receiving work email to their smart phones, employees not only can stay connected outside of the office, but are expected to stay connected. 

With the rise of social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, people increasingly demand immediate gratification. Business is global and a time difference isn’t always an adequate reason for not receiving a quick response.

A Distributed Workforce

Photo source: Mike McCune on flickr.

One large advantage of this globalization, however, is the ability for companies to hire the most qualified candidates, regardless of geography . For example, DNN has offices in Langley, British Columbia, and San Mateo, California, but also employs workers who work remotely from cities in Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia, as well as Australia, the Canary Islands, and Europe.

Since joining DNN in August, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and get to know many of these people from across the United States and across the globe. By not being restricted by location, DNN has been able to hire skilled and passionate employees who are often leading teams to create, sell, and support our exciting product line, products that would not be the same without these employees, and thus would not be the same without such a geographically diverse workforce.

Expectations of Today's Workers

Flexible hours and the globalization of the workforce (and customer base) are only a few trends in the changing work environment. Companies are also recognizing the importance of providing creative and comfortable spaces for their workers and are building a sense of community among them by sponsoring team-building activities during business hours.

As a new generation of workers think not only about what they want to do, but how, when, and where they want to do it, it becomes increasingly important to think about how these businesses will communicate internally, and DNN understands that. With employees located in such diverse locations, it is important to offer a centralized way of communicating knowledge and building a strong corporate culture. For DNN, there was no better way to do that than through our own online community solution, Evoq Social.

Our Intranet at DNN

Evoq Social powers DNN’s intranet, Catalyst, which has become the hub of communication within our company. Sales, marketing, product, and engineering team members post updates, ask questions, upload documents, and share ideas with each other, essentially creating a searchable knowledge base for everyone in the organization.

Sharing ideas is an important element of Evoq Social, and at DNN, the sharing and discussing of ideas is encouraged by management and facilitated through Catalyst. We allow all employees to submit ideas, which can then be voted and commented on by other members of the DNN team.Once an idea receives a certain number of votes, it is more formally discussed by management.Earlier this year, I proposed an idea for a DNN Employee Book Club.

Although the idea didn’t exactly take off, you can see that it received a few votes and likes. But the important part here is not whether my idea came to fruition, it’s that I had the ability to easily share my idea, that others could discuss it, and that ideas created, shared, and voted on by employees are thoughtfully considered by management. Employees are empowered in knowing they have a voice, a voice that can be heard whether sitting at a desk ten feet from the CEO, or across an ocean from him.

To read more about an idea that did take off, check a post from my colleague Megan:

Helping a Family During the 2013 Holiday Season

Increasing Our Organizational IQ

Photo source: Jay Gooby on flickr.

Catalyst also provides an opportunity to ask questions of each other. Using a Q&A feature, employees submit questions, which can then be answered by others. Answers are up- or down-voted by end users. Recently, a co-worker asked a question about how to generate more reviews of products on the DNN Store.

As the DNN Store Manager, this employee could have emailed or called me directly to get more information; however, that conversation and that information would have stayed only between him and me. On the other hand, he posted the question to Catalyst; I was able to share our current efforts, and several others chimed in with their ideas.

Within a company, or any community, the experiences and expertise of the group are greater than that of a few individuals. Q&A allows knowledge to be easily collected from many and shared with many. This is not so easily done through email or phone conversations, which can be even harder to coordinate across time zones. In the example above, key members of the conversation were located in California, South Carolina, Australia, and Amsterdam.

Sharing Stories

In all honesty, I am not among the most frequent contributors to the content on our intranet; however I am a daily consumer of this content. I primarily work with a pretty specific area of our company, and the time I spend on Catalyst helps me stay informed of what is going on in sales, marketing, product development, and other areas of the company.

We all joined in the excitement when a sales engineer recently shared feedback from a successful training, or in seeing news about an upcoming release, but we don’t just share the good news. For example, learning of less positive feedback provided by a customer is just as beneficial, and we discuss important questions around that feedback:

Have we heard this before?

What are some solutions?

How do we move forward?

Through conversations like these, whether as a participant or a reader, the group as a whole is reaffirmed of our commitment to growth, improvement, and customer satisfaction.

But beyond the business uses, I would say that the connections that are created across teams and locations are just as important. As a remote employee, I don’t have the opportunity to come to the office and interact with others on a daily basis, so Catalyst has helped me get to know the team I work with.

I read blogs about DNN’s intramural soccer team. A co-worker recently shared pictures of his wedding. There was a little friendly banter over who would win the Super Bowl, as well as who would claim victory during the USA/Canada Olympic hockey games. When it was snowing in Canada, our Australian co-worker reminded us it was hot and sunny in his neck of the woods.

Conclusion

And although these things might seem trivial to some, there are few that would argue that a work culture where co-workers are personally connected fosters open and honest communication regarding work-related matters, builds loyalty to each other and to the team, and makes us even more passionate about contributing to the success of our company.

Sound like something you can get on board with? Try Evoq Social out for yourself!