Big changes within a company are often not easy, but necessary. So how do you ensure that you facilitate the people within your organization to work differently themselves? Monique van de Beek from the Consumers Association talks at the Digital Workspace Event by Frankwatching how their organization is undergoing a transformation and how the social intranet facilitates this.
In recent years, the Consumers Association has transformed from a traditional hierarchical organization to a self-organizing organization based on holacratic principles. This focuses on self-organization and works from roles and goals instead of functions.
A strong social intranet was an important part of the strategy. The new working agreements, based on the core values, formed the starting point for the brand new intranet. If you, as an organization, want to be entrepreneurial, collaborative and honest, the intranet must offer the opportunity, for example, to take ownership, help each other, share progress and communicate transparently.
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The new intranet SAM (that stands for Working together for an Attractive Brand) was created to give substance to all this, and more. It saw the light of day just before the first Corona wave. The birth of SAM was still traditionally celebrated, but people soon had to work from home.
Intranet as a home office
Just like in many organizations, the intranet provided the first care for employees. The team set up a Corona group. Within that group, ownership was claimed by the many initiatives that were undertaken and everything that was communicated. So the intranet was not only there for news, but also as a place to share information. Especially in this online time, SAM provides the connection between employees that is so necessary.
If you want to grow as an organization and let employees grow, giving feedback and asking is important. Especially in times of working primarily online. The social intranet can provide a platform for this. It does require something from employees. They may already be very open, critical and transparent in real life, but how does this work in an open online environment?
Monique found the answer to that question in a surprisingly simple and direct way. Not by extensively testing or looking at predictions based on complex data, but by asking questions straight out. She put it to the test by asking herself “What do you think of the intranet?” Of course, there were positive reactions and ideas for improvement, but the growing sense of belonging was clearly a recurring element.
And what about the future?
The Consumers Association still has big plans for the future with their brand-new intranet. It all starts with activating employees to actively use the platform. And a nice step has been taken by simply starting to give and ask for feedback online. In addition, the system's capabilities should attract more and more people to SAM.
One of those options that makes us incredibly enthusiastic ourselves is the connection with Microsoft 365. The link with a commonly used system opens up an awful lot of new doors, and we look forward to making optimal use of these opportunities together with the Consumers Association.
Curious about the possibilities that a connection with Microsoft 365 offers? Then keep an eye on Frankwatching for an article from us about exactly this topic!
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