Recent Discussions
Can IC work without SharePoint savvy?
I've seen a few posts on LI recently around the use of SharePoint in IC and associated frustrations. Full disclosure, I'm a diehard advocate of SharePoint but would be the first to admit what it does well - perhaps best - is information management. That said, SharePoint Online is a huge improvement on earlier iterations. To fully exploit the features of SharePoint you need to understand the nuances of audience targeting and Microsoft groups, metadata to increase your search capabilities and lifecycle retention so the Christmas Jumper competition circa 1997 doesn't surface in your feed. In-house SharePoint training has become a unicorn and online tutorials are rarely targeted at specific problems. So, just how technically savvy do communicators need to be to use their SharePoint based intranets effectively - and more importantly - is this something they see as part of their role? Should SharePoint (out of the box) provide more intuitive features or bells and whistles in the way third party "wrappers" do, or is there just a huge gap in training offerings? I'm writing an article for Reworked on this topic and would love to get the Microsoft and communications community perspective. 🤲When, if ever, should we use the S word?
In many organisations “SharePoint” is a loaded word. It could mean a document library, often poorly managed, which people are required to use. It could be painfully out-of-date team sites, or multiple generations of failed intranets. With that in mind, I worry about using the word SharePoint when launching an intranet or hub of communication sites. I’ve noticed stakeholders like to use a product name in an engagement and launch process, and aren’t always aware that employees may have had negative experiences with that product. Do any of you have strong opinions or strategies for using the name SharePoint in public?Internal communications wrote with the help of Chat GPT
I'm conducting a survey these months via LinkedIn. The survey is for all the people in my network with a role as Internal Communicator and I'm asking how many of them already used AI for writing their internal communications. I would like to understand this information for our work as developers of new solutions for the digital workplace. Using AI for internal comm at this moment means using Chat GPT and sending outside the company all internal information and content. Without the possibility to start using Microsoft 365 Copilot (for companies that are using Microsoft collaboration technologies), there are very few companies out there that are giving AI tools for employees that can keep information internally, so people are using the free tool from Open AI. The results are amazing because the majority of people that answered already used Chat GPT for internal communications, with no fear (or understanding) about compliance and security issues of this action. What do you folks think about this?Learn Viva Amplify: 8 lesson walk through
Hey communicators. With the release of Viva Amplify I recorded a 1 hour walk through to help us all get started. Or help organisations considering using Amplify to see what it's like. Whether it's your full-time role or one of the functions of your position, Amplify provides a way for us to create, coordinate, publish and report on our communications across multiple channels. As first release, it's quite functional. It makes smart use of a team for your campaign, the Amplify app for creating and coauthoring publications. The distribution channels help us reach our audiences where they are. We can only publish to the places we have access to. Reporting gives us views and some information about how people have responded to, reacted to, or promoted the publication. If you have access to Amplify, what do you think of it? Share your first impressions. If you are interested in seeing the walk-through, you'll find a playlist with 8 lessons to step through in your own timing.
News page measurement
Hello Friends Has anyone found a Microsoft or third party solution for measuring news pages? I know I can see it in the page, and via the library - hovering on the page name. When creating monthly reports on views it is really quite the task to get the data. Managed to use Content Search in SharePoint classic to get the data. Any successes with data beyond the 90 day cycle? Also considering where a page has been translated, pulling the page view totals together?The Increasing Vitality of Communications Leaders in Successful Business Transformation
Edelman's latest Future of Corporate Communications Report is worth of reading for those of us who support corporate communications and internal communications. Our role is increasingly valued and interrogated all at once. ...the manner in which organizations communicate in the face of change has evolved into a competitive advantage. And still, despite the increased call on communicators, against an increasingly complex backdrop of uncertainty, communicators are being asked to do more (with less), while the investment in the function has stalled. This is why investment in tools like Viva Amplify are so critical. And the role that Copilot will play is going to be increasingly important. How well are your teams keeping informed and engaged on AI? How can this community help each other in this era of AI?Comms videos - Process. Tools. Skills. Let’s talk.
Video is a powerful communication medium. Now that creating and editing and publishing videos can all be done from our phones, it opens up the possibilities for authentic, engaging content in our orgs. I have seen some fantastic examples shared on Viva Engage. We have TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to thank for this. How are you approaching video in your organisations? Are you encouraging your people leaders to whip out their phone and record a quick thought in-situ? Some comms videos require a higher production standard, equipment, editing tools, scripts, lighting… How are you creating comms videos in your organisation? Do you have some go-to formats that have been effective at getting your message across? How do you plan your people-leader videos? How are you finding the new Stream as a video publishing platform, in combo with SharePoint? Or are you using a different combo of tools? A survey was shared earlier in this community that asked the same questions. But I thought it would be interesting to have a discussion about it too. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/corporate-communications/do-you-create-videos-or-screen-recordings-for-work/m-p/3933509/highlight/true#M76SharePoint for frontline workers?
Is anyone out there really pushing SharePoint as a tool for non-office workers (I'm thinking corporate sales staff, customer service, distribution or manufacturing)? Is the mobile SharePoint app good enough to bring news to the right people, or to bring people to the right documents?Who leads your EEx? Or do you just have DEX+HCM?
In my experience, most Enterprises have or are trying to run these programs: "Digital Employee Experience"(DEX)led by IT. (1) Manage performance and reliability with devices and programs. (2) Mobile work-related tools andwork-from-anywhere policies. (3) Effective collaboration with team members. "Employee Experience"(EEx)led by??????(1) Nurture a positive work environment that fosters employee satisfaction, learning, engagement, productivity, and advocacy. (2) This is not just about making employees happy but creating an empathetic culture where staff thrive and contribute to success. "Human Capital Management" (HCM)led by HR. (1) Architect traditional HR into opportunities that lead to increased efficiency. (2) Spans workforce planning, compensation planning, recruiting, hiring, and onboarding, etc. It appears the grey area is(2).IC supports business strategy, crisis, and change management news and strategies. HR exists to lead people and HR policies. Neither is focused ondigital assessment or improvements. The objective is to improve productivity and company culture - unless you are lucky enough to have a Digital Comms Department - or similar. "Bringing the outside in" is disregarded and neglected, with barely anyone providing support functions with assessment, guidance on what tool, when, why, and keeping a keen eye on the future that truly understands the business strategy and cloud technology. IT buys tech licenses, often not fully appreciating what they have, and doesn't inform the business of performance benefits. When the company does not have a good partnership with IT, they turn to shadow IT like WhatsApp, which contravenes most HR Policies as it captures PII to create groups. Or use the same old products or features that are old-fashioned in how they collaborate and communicate outside of work daily with friends and family. (Note: When did you last arrange an event with email, e.g., a party? We use networking apps like Facebook or WhatsApp. Email is still needed for formal comms like buying a house or financial management). Please share your insights if you have overcome the above and have a great employee experience culture. Where do the roles sit in the business? Thank you.Perspectives on intranets
We have just published a report on SharePoint Intranets based on analysing how a group of nearly 100,000 employees from different organizations are consuming content on the intranet. One of the things we wanted to look at was the when is the best time to post a news item. The results was relatively clear. We found the most popular times for reading the intranet is 7am-9am or 11am-1pm on a weekday, with Thursday being the best day. However, news is being consumed any time during normal working hours of 8am–6pm. We also looked at the link between content quality and consumption, how much the intranet is accessed via mobile devices (hint = not a lot) and many other areas. We asked 8 industry experts we consider thought-leaders about their perspectives on the findings. We also wanted to know if the finding resonates with their own lived experiences and they largely did. I'd like to say a big thank you for your contributions to: -Chris HarrerfromComcast -James RobertsonandRebecca RodgersfromStep Two -Jamie StokesfromCox Enterprises -Jonas Bladt HansenfromNext Level IC -Sharon O'DeaandJonathan PhillipsfromLithos Partners -Susan Hanley -Suzie RobinsonfromClearBox Consulting Ltd If you don't already follow these amazing people, then I'd warmly recommend that. Finally - we're already planning for an update to the report in May 2024 and if you can recommend people that really inspire you then we'll see if we can get their perspectives added.Meeting event coming up
Sept 20th will kick off the meeting events at 11am EST/8am PST. Come join the discussion IN PERSON! Ok, well as In Person as a Teams meeting can be! Click here to take a look at the upcoming meeting and reserve or add to your calendar:https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/corporate-communications-events/corp-comms-community-meet-up/ev-p/3911920 These will be interactive discussions, not presentations. Come and be willing to share your thoughts and ideas with the group.What is "intranet" for you these days?
Hi friends, What comes to mind when we talk about "intranet"? Traditionally it would be a website with static information, such as policies and procedures, etc. I see intranet as a wider concept where "intranet" is the ecosystem of e.g. Teams, Engage and SharePoint together. Check out my blogs about what to think about and how to plan for a "new" intranet and where to communicate and collaborate: How’s your intranet doing these days? – MeretheStave (merethesharepointstave.com) Files, files and files; lost in space or is there a way? – MeretheStave (merethesharepointstave.com)Request Access to Viva Amplify
I'm part of the GTM Strategy for Worldwide Enablement & Readiness Communities at Microsoft. I was reviewing Viva Amplify, and this is an amazing tool that would greatly simplify my team's ability to consistently manage and communicate with our field members. How does one go about requesting access to be able to Create Campaigns? I have reviewed the demo AI Campaign, but do not have ability to create new campaigns? Any assistance with this would be greatly appreciated!Community Discussion today! Make sure to join us!
We are doing our monthly Corporate Communications Discussion today. Starting in just over an hour. Head over tohttps://lnkd.in/gJqWegy6to register for the discussion and join in.Annette Corbettwill be leading us on the very interesting topic of "What does great couture and internal communications have in common?"
Webinar recording: Demystifying Microsoft Viva: How to Enable a Connected and Engaged Culture....
Hi all, Sharing this here as the feedback from many IC professionals is that they found the session so insightful and it was refreshing to have plain language used to talk about the Microsoft Communications and Communities bundle capabilities + how important Viva Goals is in the context of alignment. This webinar was in association with the Institute of Internal Communications in June 2024. Hope you find it useful as a share! Demystifying Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva for Internal Comms (siliconreef.co.uk) Alex
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