1. CONTENTS
Internal
communications Here’s our annual summary of the areas
of internal communications which we saw
2012 summary grow in importance in 2012 and therefore
the areas which look set to be key in 2013
2. CONTENTS
CONTENTS
01 Digital Publishing
02 BYOD / In-house Corporate App Stores
03 Gamification
04 Digital Signage
05 Social Intranets
06 Video
4. CONTENTS 01 DIGITAL PUBLISHING 1.1
Digital Publishing In 2012 alone, it is estimated that some 118.9 million tablets will have been sold
around the world (gartner.com); an increase of 98% on figures recorded in 2011.
INTRODUCTION By 2014 it is predicted a huge figure of 370 million could be reached.
Further research conducted by
Click Software reveals that
The below words from Tim Cook put the growth of the tablet into context: enterprise tablet adoption is
expected to grow by almost
“
50% per year. As a consequence
Through the last quarter (Q1 2012), I should many organisations are
say, which is just 2 years after we shipped now publishing content as
applications for tablet devices.
the initial iPad, we’ve sold 67 million. It
took us 24 years to sell that many Macs
and 5 years for that many iPods and over 3 “ We thought we’d quickly
look at the benefits of digital
years for that many iPhones. publishing; for the employee
and the employer. And also
give attention to the preferred
publishing solution…
5. CONTENTS 01 DIGITAL PUBLISHING 1.2
Employee benefits:
Readers are able to experience rich media, such as video, audio and interactive graphics,
creating an enhanced reading experience.
Desired publications are simply a click away. Meeting employee expectations of always-available
information. There is no longer the need to request and wait for the delivery of a publication.
The tablet on which the digital publications are housed is portable, allowing employees
to become completely mobile.
Makes sharing information with fellow employees far easier (through email, social media). Also collecting/
book-marking articles to refer to later on, is much simpler than it would be for a printed publication.
6. CONTENTS 01 DIGITAL PUBLISHING 1.3
Employer benefits:
Save time and money by reducing production and distribution costs of printed materials.
Optimise organisational efficiency by delivering up-to-date content to employees. Very easy to edit existing publications.
Able to easily notify employees when new and updated publications are ready for download, through push notifications.
Increased level of reach. Not restricted by print run or delivery.
Able to use analytics to track usage and optimise content over time.
Able to add depth to articles, through videos or interactive features. Allowing more information
to be made available then would be possible in a printed publication.
7. CONTENTS 01 DIGITAL PUBLISHING 1.4
Preferred publishing solution
The dominant player in digital publishing is Adobe Digital publishing
Suite, with the likes of Wired, The New Yorker and Vogue all users.
Here are a few reasons as to why
Back in May 2012 at Adobe’s annual Digital Publishing Summit, Adobe revealed: Adobe DPS is proving so popular
with publishers...
“ Digital Publishing Suite is the industry-leading cross-
platform solution with 850 customers worldwide who
• he fact that Adobe DPS is built
T
around InDesign means that
have published more than 1,700 active applications Designers find it easy to use and can
and delivered more than 25 million digital issues to therefore maximise their creativity.
iPad, Kindle Fire and Android™ tablets since April 2011. • ublish once, deliver across all
P
“
Adobe is currently distributing 120,000 publications leading tablet devices (iPad, Android,
Blackberry PlayBook,
every day to tablet readers.
and Kindle Fire).
And it allows organisations to...
8. CONTENTS 01 DIGITAL PUBLISHING 1.5
…Publish content privately
Of course when publishing corporate publications and internal There are a couple of approaches you can take with Adobe DPS when
communications, security is a key concern. publishing privately. Both rely on the use of direct entitlement to control
access, with the difference being in how the publishers branded viewer
app is distributed. Either through an app marketplace or privately through
a corporate intranet/FTP server/dropbox etc.
For a more detailed understanding of publishing Without a shadow of doubt, digital
content privately with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, publishing is set to become a key feature
then this article will tell you everything you need to of internal communications. And Adobe
know. Click on the link below for the article. DPS looks set to continue to be one of the
wwwimages.adobe.com leading publishing platforms.
9. CONTENTS
02
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) /
In-house Corporate App Stores
10. CONTENTS 02 BYOD / In-house Corporate App Stores 2.1
BYOD / In-house Corporate App Stores
Introduction
BYOD must be the hottest acronym in the corporate world right
now. However, employees are not just bringing their own mobile
devices to the workplace; many employers are now equipping
their employees with them too. In fact, research from Forrester*
indicates that by 2015 about half of the devices on corporate
networks will be mobile.
This soaring uptake of mobile devices in the workplace has already
started to create a fragmented mobile application landscape, with many
different apps being used within a corporate environment.
Therefore it is of little surprise that many are suggesting that
organisations need to put in place better systems for managing apps
(in-house corporate app stores).
*Forrsights Workforce Employee Survey, Q2 2012
11. CONTENTS 02 BYOD / In-house Corporate App Stores 2.2
So what are the key benefits of an
in-house corporate app store?
Once up and running, app stores are less of a burden on I.T departments. Instead of I.T needing to install
applications to individual devices, an app store creates a central hub from where employees can download
the apps for themselves. Making it far easier to distribute applications.
Employees are empowered to quickly access and install applications from wherever they may be.
This also increases work productivity.
It ensures an organisations intellectual property is not available to everyone in a commercial app store.
App installation and usage can be measured.
12. CONTENTS 02 BYOD / In-house Corporate App Stores 2.3
app store security
Often technological change in organisations is met with initial concerns over security.
However it would seem app stores have the answer for this too.
Should a user leave the organisation, lose their device, or even have it stolen, the apps
can be wiped remotely without effecting any personal information on the device.
Apps that contain inappropriate content or malware can be blacklisted.
Users download apps based on access rights.
Not to forget, more hacking takes place on PC’s than mobile devices.*
*Information Week, 2012
13. CONTENTS 02 BYOD / In-house Corporate App Stores 2.4
The revolution has started…
There are a number of organisations that already have their own internal app stores.
GE AND IBM
ARE TWO OF THE
WhirlWind is the name of IBM’s. Since EARLY ADOPTERS OF THE
CORPORATE APP STORE
launching in late 2010, more than 31,000
employees have used the system. The store
General Electric launched their store in
has also delivered a healthy return on
investment, with marked improvements in
2009 called GE AppCentral. They’ve had BUT RESEARCH
more than 350,000 app downloads.* BY SYMANTEC REVEALS
the speed with which employees can access
information, connect with users and perform
other collaborative tasks.*
71%
OF COMPANIES ARE
CONSIDERING
BUILDING ONE.
It’s definitely an exciting
area with huge potential
for growth.
*Why businesses are creating their own internal appstores, Venture Beat, 2012
15. CONTENTS 03 Gamification 3.1
TYPES of GAMIFICATION...
In essence, really all it’s about is applying gaming techniques to non-gaming
uses in an attempt to motivate participation, engagement and loyalty.
We see there being 2 main forms of gamification:
1. Indirect / Soft gaming:
Many intranets have adopted this form of gaming technique by using
a points and reward system (status, badges etc.) that reflect a users
behaviour and contribution to the network/business. You’ll find seven
good examples of this here
Badgeville is the leading provider of this type of gamification. In Late 2012 they
teamed up with the huge enterprise consulting firm Capgemini to accelerate
the adoption of gamification in the workplace. A clear hint that this form of
gamification is moving beyond its experiential phase to widespread adoption.
16. CONTENTS 03 Gamification 3.2
TYPES of GAMIFICATION...
2. Direct / Hard gaming:
These games are comparable to the digital games you’d play in the
consumer world (e.g. Angry Birds). An example is Yahoo who created useful
yet fun interactive games for their Ethics training, experiencing phenomenal
results. You can read more about the campaign, along with other examples
and information on gamifying communications, in Melcrum’s useful article
here www.melcrum.com
And not wanting to blow our own trumpet, but we created a set of digital games for
Shell as part of a global information risk management campaign.
So, we’re going to focus more on the design of direct games,
given the experience we’ve had…
17. CONTENTS 03 Gamification 3.3
Why use games for
internal communications?
Most, if not all people enjoy playing games.
Increases employee’s level of involvement with a campaign, as they are able to interact with the message itself.
Ability to measure and track who has played the games and thus viewed the message.
Great learning aid. If employees fail a certain element of the game they are given immediate feedback, information that they can
then use when playing again, so will remember. This feedback is often as valuable as getting the answer right in the first place.
Engages the younger generation of the workforce.
18. CONTENTS 03 Gamification 3.4
Things you should consider
when developing games...
Challenge: Too easy or too hard and employees will switch off.
Progress: Incorporate levels, giving players the chance to unlock different sections.
This keeps the games fresh and motivates players to play.
Status: The use of leader boards can be incorporated. Often it’s best to show teams rather than individuals.
No one wants to let their team members down.
Reward: Ideally employees should experience the intrinsic reward of completion. But extrinsic
recognition of their achievement is also needed, even if it’s just a congratulatory email or certificate.
Avoid using games as the sole method of communication. They work best when introduced with other channels.
Ensure the games are compatible with the various platforms that employees will try to access them on.
20. CONTENTS 04 Digital Signage 4.1
REASONS for DIGITAL SIGNAGE
in INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONs:
It can help communicate with those of the workforce that aren’t well connected to emails/intranet. Think of
staff in production facilities or field technicians, or office based staff that are always in and out of meetings
who find it difficult to check intranet/email updates.
Can be updated easily and quickly with up to the minute information, whereas information in printed
materials can quickly go out of date.
The signage will broadcast dynamic, moving images that grab employees’ attention.
Allows companies to tailor information to different audiences. Such as displaying performance details,
training information or news relating to a specific department.
Reduces the level of printed materials. Making it more cost effective and environmentally friendly.
21. CONTENTS 04 Digital Signage 4.2
How will this medium
develop in the future?
Whilst digital signage will grab employee’s attention, in order to truly engage
the viewer with the message, the platforms needs to move away from displaying
static messaging and looped videos, and focus on interactivity. Such as:
a more natural user signage could be the use of Microsoft a viewer should be digital signage could
interface, such sensitive to the viewer’s Kinect technology can able to share the recognise the employee
as touch screen proximity. Adapting the allow the viewer to content on the digital as they approach and
technology. content to the viewer interact and dig out signage to their smart display content that
the closer they get. deeper content through phone or PC. is relevant to them.
the use of hand Use of NFC or RFID
gestures. technology can help
achieve this.
Clearly it is the interactive element of digital
signage that will now be given focus in 2013.
23. CONTENTS 05 Social Intranets 5.1
Social Intranets INTRODUCTION
The goal of an intranet is to provide employees But social networking on Sharepoint has never been
with a place to locate relevant resources, great, as it requires extensive customisation or use
content or people. The problem with a of add on products. That is supposedly until now…
traditional intranet is that there is just too
Sharepoint 2013, now with the integration of
much information and inefficient processes
Yammer, has become more of an enterprise social
in place for employees to find what they are
network in its own right.
looking for. So employees tend to give up and
never return. Yammers co founder Adam Pisoni explains briefly
To help solve this intranets have now evolved into
social intranets. The 2011 Social Intranet Study
by Prescient Digital Media found that 61% of
how their integration with Sharepoint is going to
change things, and it brilliantly sums up what a
social intranet is all about. “We’re going to flip the
organisations are using at least one of the following
social media tools; blogs, wikis, discussion forums, way businesses are
social networking, instant messaging, RSS and
user comments.
working today – from top
Of the above tools, social networking is the one
where demand is the highest, as this is where
down to bottom up “
organisations can improve collaboration in their Adam Pisoni
workforce. At present, Microsoft’s Sharepoint is the
leading collaboration software platform, with 70% of
large organisations using it.*
*AIIM Market Intelligence, The Sharepoint Puzzle, 2012
24. CONTENTS 05 Social Intranets 5.2
key ingredients FOR SUCCESS
But even if Sharepoint is not used, for a social intranet to
be successful it must comprise of three key ingredients…
People: Executives need to Process: One of the main reasons Technology: We’ve already
support an intranet more, primarily why organisations are reluctant to mentioned the key tools that are
through active participation. Executives introduce a social intranet is the perceived available. A mix of them is best, but they
are often the biggest barriers to success. risk. Therefore guidelines and governance must be right for the organisations needs.
And for an intranet to be truly social, all are crucial. Also it must be easy to use and Blogs, forums and instant messaging
employees should be given access to all/ accessible to employees from a range of are the dominant three at the moment.
most of the social media tools. devices. And undoubtedly, things will go And there should be metrics in place to
wrong in the early stages, but remember measure the success of each tool.
this is just part of the process.
It is still surprising just how few organisations have truly embraced
a social intranet. The evolution of the intranet will prove to be a
revolution in the way organisations communicate internally.
26. CONTENTS 06 Video 6.1
Video Introduction
Whilst you might be thinking, “video? That’s not really a new trend, it’s been used for ages!” The other main benefits are:
It’s included because undeniably it is growing in popularity due to the increasing ease of
distribution. A video can be sent to employees via email, which if they want, they can view Far easier and quicker for the recipient to view
on their phone. Videos can be placed on a companies website, intranet or a video sharing site the communication when compared to lengthy
written communications. And therefore there’s a
such as YouTube. And of course videos can be shown in meetings and presentations.
greater chance of recipients fully taking in and
Video has never been more accessible. understanding the message.
A recent study from UK-based research firm Melcrum found that:
“ 93% of IC teams now see video as
an important tool, with two-thirds of
The content of a video can be far more affecting,
therefore increasing engagement levels.
respondents planning to increase
their budgets for video in the
“
coming months.
Video is cited as feeling more personal; therefore
people tend to react positively to it.
27. CONTENTS 06 Video 6.2
Videos should try to be:
Short and sweet. This is a key benefit of communicating through a video, so make sure
you are taking advantage of it.
Engaging. Yes the message within the video is key, but make sure the video grabs the viewers attention
and keeps them watching. Humour, music, animation, anything from the norm can help achieve this.
Easy to find. We talked about the ease of distribution earlier.
So organisations should try different distribution strategies to see what works best.
But… Clearly the effectiveness of videos will be greatly reduced if they are over
used for the wrong things. There is a fine line.
And you must be sure that video is the correct channel for the communication.
28. CONTENTS
CONCLUSION
We hope you found our annual summary of internal communications helpful.
You can keep up to date with all of our internal communications thinking at our
blog (rimadesign.com/blog). We post every Thursday, so you know when to About us…
check in to find something new. We’re a 25 year old
But to make sure you never miss a thing you can follow us on independent design agency
Twitter @rima_design And linkedIn who specialise in corporate and
internal communications.
It’d be great to know what you thought about our annual summary. And of We work with a number of large
course, if you’d like any further info or help on any of the topics covered then corporate clients and for a couple of
please don’t hesitate to get in touch. them we are also responsible for their
in-house design function.
To find out a bit more about us then
simply take a look at our website or
Thanks! get in touch.
info@rimadesign.com | Tel: +44 (0) 207 902 1310
29. CONTENTS 7.1
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