Tag Archives: Social Business

Driving engagement Loyalty through Gamification.

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Gamification is about using game mechanics into non gaming contexts like business processes- to enhance employee productivity, customer retention, partner engagement etc. Gamification is about using game elements & techniques for better engagement. It could help to motivate participation, engagement, and loyalty of any website, social community enterprise application etc. 

Gamification Value adds

  • Better Engagement, Better sharing & collaboration
  • High-value interactions with customers, employees and partners.
  • Stronger collaboration, Better ROI, Deeper loyalty,
  • Engage employees, partners & customers

Benefits of Gamification

– Stop your communities becoming virtual Ghost towns. Engage better.

– Design process to make product, service, project or business process more   engaging, fun, sticky and viral. Make engagement loyalty a success.

– Enhance consumer, partner  and fan engagement

– Sales motivation, Social Commerce & Marketing

– Training and learning management

– Recruiting, Referral Programs & Employee onboarding

– Help/service desk efficiencies

– Crowdsourcing content & ideas.

– System adoption etc…and many more!

Poor gamification design could lead to failure. 80% of current gamified enterprise applications will fail to meet their objectives, largely due to poor design (Gartner). So its not just about the platform, the technology, badges or leaderboards  but also about a clear understanding of what people want and how the business imperatives could be addressed and driven to success.

I am all pumped up to share more on how gamification could add value into your business processes, communities- the enterprise and enhance the over all productivity of the organization. Let’s clear the farrago and help the enterprise leverage on gamification to enhance engagement loyalty. Am sure the idea intrigues you too. How about giving me a shout?

Social Project Management- Engaging for success

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Only 2.5% of the companies successfully completed 100% of their projects- PWC survey on 10640 projects in 200 companies in 30 countries.

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Project Management is one of those critical functions which need lot of dedicated efforts across different rungs of the organizational ladder. Success is a function of time and cost and any slip could result in the failure of the project. It’s often surprising that companies follow best practices, use PMBOK®– A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, have an array of techniques for controlling quality, risk, budget, schedule, and scope,2

use techniques like Critical Path Analysis, Planning & Scheduling methods but still projects fail. The reason for project failure could often be attributed to ‘Stakeholders’ disengagement’.

Using Enterprise Social Network, all parameters of project management could be kept in context: Conversations, key deliverables, content/ documents and major milestones. This would help to-

  • Collaborate across team (s) to decide on project scope, deadlines and deliverables.
  • Delegate tasks and define timelines.
  • Coordinate and complete tasks with teams
  • Identify issues & solve problems collectively
  • Monitor/ Track progress/ and update the tasks to prevent overrun of time & cost. Use analytics, data visualization to get better insight on the project status.
  • Less of email ( so less of mess), Fewer project meetings & phone calls
  • Ease in locating experts based on skill levels/ on recommendation by others
  • Easy onboarding of project members, knowledge sharing & Learning.
  • Engage better with teams, partners & customers through vibrant social communities. Use game mechanics for better engagement.
  • Content collaboration- Safe, Compliant & secure file sharing & sync (EFSS)
  • Enabling Mobility- Project teams have access to project resources on their tabs & Smartphones. Helping in building a mobile workforce which has flexible hours and could freelance.
  • Enable innovation through ideation. Crowdsource ideas to get the project done more efficiently.

Social collaboration could help in better project management- reduce cost and time overruns through better engagement, sharing & communication.

I am all pumped up to share more on how Social could change the way we work. Let’s clear the farrago and help the enterprise perform to utmost. Am sure the idea intrigues you too. How about giving me a shout?

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Sanjay Abraham is an ‘Enterprise Solutions Consulting, Product Marketing & Business Development’ professional. He staunchly believes, ‘Digital Transformation’ could radically change the way business is done today and that presently Enterprises get just 43% value from existing technologies. His areas of expertise & interest include Enterprise Collaboration & Mobility, EFSS, Analytics, Enterprise Social- Social Business, Social Intranet, Social Onboarding, Social Communities, Enterprise Innovation Management, Social Product Life Cycle Management PLM, Social Project Management, Gamification & Engagement Loyalty. Sanjay holds a Bachelors in Engineering (Computer Science) and a PG Diploma in Business Management. He has worked with top names in the IT sector like Avaya GCL & Mahindra Satyam.  His client list includes top bracket names across Banking, Insurance, Retail, Telecom, BPO/ITeS, Public Services and other verticals. His contact coordinates are:

Linkedin:in.linkedin.com/in/sanjayabraham. Twitter: @asanjay100 email: abraham@ctprd.com

Driving “People Excellence” through Social Onboarding

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Any company trying to compete must figure out a way to engage the mind of every employee– Jack Welch

People are the most valuable asset of any organization. There could be buildings, machines, assets worth millions of dollars but if the right talent is not available, organizations could never scale the pinnacle of success. “Talent shortages” takes priority over “operational execution” reveals a recent survey involving 780 CEOs. Today, any initiative around people excellence is no more a cost item, its survival.

For any enterprise, addressing the people’s issues is of prime importance because it directly impacts its performance and growth. ‘People Excellence’ department is always on a quest to make employee’s performance optimal so that every employee is able to contribute his maximum to the organization. Inspite of such sincere efforts, the culture, practices & technologies used within the organization often hinder performance. Organizations make massive investments in building HR policies & systems but a shouting contrast to it is that the manpower still remains largely untapped.

We could use some ludicrous euphemism- but reality is work still sucks!

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IDC estimates that the average worker spends up to 35% of their time just looking for information. 89% of new hires say they don’t have the optimal level of knowledge to do their job. The typical mid-level manager takes 6.2 months before they start to add more value than they have consumed. What a waste!

Initial 45 days are critical for any new Hire. This is when 1/3 of the employee-churn happens. The cost of losing an employee is 3x the annual salary. Traditional onboarding adds lot of chaos to work. The induction program organized for new hires does not add much value. The new hires are bombarded with dozens of PowerPoint presentations in the 3 days program and are then expected to understand all of it and start performing next day onwards. When asked for more information they get numerous email forwards which only fill their inboxes up. When they need experts help, it’s really hard to find any.

If we have the right digital transformation strategy, we could barrel through all employees related problems. A better way of onboarding could be the social way by building strong internal employee communities. The employee could join a group relevant to his role & his interests. The news feeds give him constant updates on the activities taking place on a project, event or topic. Experts are added to the group where they could collaborate with the team, share ideas, best practices and the entire team could be in sync. Views/ comments could be corroborated & fast actions could be taken. Eventually, the load of unwanted emails is eased, there are lesser numbers of meetings, less time wasted and productivity shoots up.

Let’s accept the fact that the days of ‘9 to 5’ jobs are over. Employees today want more flexibility at work. Millennials who use Smartphones & Tablets at work want a more flexible & freelancing work environment. No wonder 60% of them are leaving their companies in less than three years. A recent ‘Millennial Branding’ report also found that 45% of millennials will choose workplace flexibility over pay. It’s a radical shift in priority. So what we see written on the wall is, it should not be just about how much time an employee spends in the office but how much value add he does. Unlike the baby boomers, the millennials don’t mind taking work along on their smart devices. For them there is a thin line between their personal & office lives. In order to ensure longevity of today’s ‘thumb-typing’ workforce its important to make work more engaging,  mobile, increase freelancing & make work hours flexible.

61% of CEOs worldwide say that Innovation is a primary concern within their business according to PWC. Where from these ideas for innovation come? Social could provide a platform for Ideation too where employees could share ideas on policies, projects and other topics of interests. Innovation often comes out of ideas of normal employees NOT always the top bracket. Crowdsourcing of ideas could help a lot in making better policies, products and contribute into over all organization’s growth.

Social Onboarding could improve employee productivity & reduce churn through better collaboration, sharing & communication.

I am all pumped up to share more on how Social onboarding could change the way we work. Let’s clear the farrago and help the employees perform to utmost. Am sure the idea intrigues you too. How about giving me a shout?

sure the idea intrigues you too. How about giving me a shout?

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san1smallSanjay holds a Bachelors in Engineering (Computer Science) and a PG Diploma in Business Management. He has worked with top names in the IT sector like Avaya GCL & Mahindra Satyam.  His client list includes top bracket names across Banking, Insurance, Retail, Telecom, BPO/ITeS, Public Services and other verticals. His contact coordinates are:

Social Business/ Social Intranet explained in HINDI. सोशल इंट्रानेट – कार्यकुशलता को नए आयाम दे सकता है. (Social Intranet could add new dimensions to work efficiency)

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Imageहम सभी फेसबुक, ट्विटर  इत्यादि का उपयोग करते हैं  लेकिन ये ज्यादातर अपने निजी उपयोग  लिए होता है। अपने दोस्तों से संपर्क करने, नए मित्र बनाने, वीडियो / फोटोज शेयर करने में यह सोशल नेटवर्क्स काफी मददगार हो रहे हैं।

भारत में फेसबुक उपयोग करने वालों की संख्या करीब 12 करोड़ पहुँच चुकी है। जहाँ ये उपयोग निरंतर बढ़ रहा है, सोशल नेटवर्क्स  का एक नया रूप ‘सोशल इंट्रानेट’ जिसे आप उसका औद्योगिक ( Enterprise) रूप भी कह सकते हैं,  काफी प्रचलन में आ रहा है। सोशल इंट्रानेट किसी भी व्यापारिक संसथान में जहाँ बहुत सारे व्यक्ति काम करते हैं उपयोग में लाया जा सकता है. आज जो ईमेल सिस्टम का  हम उपयोग  करते हैं वह 1 9 7 1 में बनायी गयी थी . पिछले 4 0  सालों में उसमे कोई परिवर्तन नहीं आया है जबकि व्यापारिक क्षेत्र  और हमारा कार्य दोनों पूरी तरह बदल चुके है। विभिन्न संस्थानों  में काम करने वाले व्यक्तियों से पूछिये  की ईमेल का उपयोग कर अपना काम बेहतर तरीके से करना अब कितना मुश्किल हो गया है। दिन भर में सैकड़ों इमेल्स आती है. बहुत सारी  ‘फॉरवर्ड्स’, जंक मेल्स  इत्यादि सब इनबॉक्स में आकर भर जाती हैं। इन में से अपने काम की मेल कौन सी है यह सब खोजने में घंटों लग जाते है। जब एक मेल बहुत सारे लोगों को भेजी जाती है तो यह पता करना मुश्किल हो जाता है की ‘किसको क्या करना है’. इस कारण कार्य करने में अकारण देरी भी होती है. विभिन्न शोधो से भी पता चला है की अपनी समय का एक बहुत बड़ा हिस्सा लोग  इमेल्स  खोजने में व्यर्थ कर देते हैं.

क्या कोई ऐसा तरीका है जिस से व्यक्ति कार्य को बेहतर तरीके से कर सके। वो  बेहतर तरीके से अपने सह कर्मियों के साथ सम्बद्ध ( Engage)  हो सके.  उनके साथ बेहतर सहयोग ( Collaborate)  कर सके ?

इसका जवाब है हाँ .

–  सोशल इंट्रानेट कार्य क्षेत्र को बेहतर बनाने में इस तरह बहुत मददगार हो सकता है.

–  व्यक्ति अपने सह कर्मियों के साथ बेहतर सम्बद्ध होता है और सहयोग कर सकता है

–  उपलब्ध संसाधनों का और समय बेहतर उपयोग कर सकता है.

–  ग्राहकों को बेहतर सेवाएं दी जा सकती है

–  पूरे संसथान को एक धागे में पिरो कर कार्य की गति को नया आयाम दिया जा सकता है.

अब आप पूछेंगे की सोशल इंट्रानेट यह कैसे कर सकता है?

 

– सोशल इंट्रानेट मैं सब लोग किसी भी डॉक्यूमेंट, प्रोजेक्ट, कार्य पर अपना दृष्टिकोण, अपने विचार  तुरंत व्यक्त कर सकते है. उसके लिए बार बार इधर उधर मेल भेजने की ज़रुरत नहीं। वास्तव में सोशल इंट्रानेट सभी सम्बंधित व्यक्तियों को एक साथ जोड़ कर जल्दी निर्णय लेने और कार्य करने का प्लेटफार्म प्रदान करता  है.

– मान लीजिये 5 व्यक्ति एक ही डॉक्यूमेंट पर कार्य कर रहे है। ईमेल द्वारा अद्यतन डॉक्यूमेंट की उपलब्धता सुनिश्चित करना मुश्किल होता है. हम खोजते रहते हैं की सबसे लेटेस्ट डॉक्यूमेंट कौन सा है. जबकि सोशल इंट्रानेट में हमेशा लेटेस्ट डॉक्यूमेंट ही उपलब्ध होता चाहे कितने भी लोग उस पर कार्य कर रहे हों।

–  कम्युनिटी Communities) द्वारा हम किसी खास विषय/ प्रोजेक्ट चर्चा कर सकते है/ उसकी प्रोग्रेस को मॉनिटर कर सकते हैं/ आवश्यक संसाधनों को साथ ला  सकते है ।

– ग्राहक सेवाएं कम्युनिटी के माध्यम से काफी सफल तरीके से की जा सकती है। ग्राहकों के साथ निरंतर संपर्क में रहना, बेहतर सम्बद्ध रहना कम्युनिटी  के माध्यम से संभव है. ग्राहकों  और एम्प्लोयीज़ दोनों को GAMIFICATION के माध्यम से बेहतर रूप से जोड़ा जा सकता है

– सोशल इंट्रानेट/ सोशल बिज़नेस  के द्वारा किसी भी एंटरप्राइज को बेहतर कार्य क्षमता दी जा सकती है। शोधों से पता चला है की सोशल बिज़नस के द्वारा कार्य क्षमता में का इजाफा हो सकता है. अर्थात प्रति सप्ताह एक दिन का कार्य ज्यादा किया जा सकता है. इस तरह बहुत से आयाम हैं जिस पर सोशल बिज़नस के माध्यम से उत्कृष्टता  लायी जा सकती है

क्या आपको सोशल बिज़नेस  बारे में और जानना है तो कृपया निम्न फॉर्म भरें …

Retail should be dataSmart!

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Reaching out to the right customers at the right time is very important in the retail industry. With the rising cost of real estate, manpower, transport etc, running retail stores have really become a challenge. Natural footfalls are not sufficient to make a store profitable anymore.

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While most of the retail stores have ‘loyalty cards’, ‘reward points’ ‘promotional offers’ etc, few are able to use customer data intelligently. We know, Loyalty points aren’t too exciting and promotional offers are also too generalized.
I would share a personal experience. I had purchased some ‘dresses’ for a new born baby in December 2012 from a well known retail giant X. After that also, I have shopped for number of baby items like pram, dresses, feeder, rocker etc. but all from different retailers. The retail giant X could get all information about me and my purchase when I visited their store first. They could have sent me relevant offers based on this data. If I had received a tweet/ call from the retailer in March (that is when I bought a pram from a rival retail stores). “Howdy, how’s the baby doing? Now since the baby is 3 months old would you like to try some of the exclusive collection of prams we have in our stores? We offer you a 5% discount too”. I would have just loved this offer. Toys, books, walker, cycle, play mat, games the list is endless all offered at different stages as the baby grows.
Similarly, If someone comes to buy a ‘walking stick’ or ‘adult diapers’ chances are he would need other products too meant for the elderly. Idea is to draw valuable insights from data, to know the customer & his behavior better and then do a more targeted positioning of products. This is where Big Data, Traditional & Social CRM could really help the retail industry. Marketing augmented by data insights could add a lot of value.Want to know more? Give me a shout!

About the Author:
Sanjay Abraham is an Enterprise Social Consultant. He comments & blogs on the Enterprise Social Space on regular basis.

ImageHe also provides consulting & training to organizations in Social Media Marketing, Social Commerce, Social Business, Social Intelligence, Big Data, SoLoMo and other topics.
Sanjay holds a Bachelors in Engineering (Computer Science) and a PG Diploma in Business Management. He has worked with top names in the IT sector like Avaya GCL & Mahindra Satyam.  His client list includes top bracket names across Banking, Insurance, Retail, Public Services and other verticals. Consulting & Business Development through ‘Solutioning’ are his personal areas of passion.

Linkedin: in.linkedin.com/in/sanjayabraham. Twitter: @asanjay100