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Enterprise Social Network: 10 Mistakes That Can Derail Your Project
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Successfully deploying an enterprise social network (ESN) is a real challenge in itself for any organisation. Several obstacles can hinder adoption by your teams.
What are they?
How can you avoid them?
Here are 10 mistakes that can derail your enterprise social network project, along with our advice on how to address them proactively:
1. You haven't clarified your vision
You've followed the deployment instructions to the letter, yet nothing sticks: your employees simply don't see the added value of an internal social network.
The reason? You haven't clearly defined your vision — the "why" behind your project. This is one of the most common mistakes that can undermine an ESN rollout. Until you give your initiative a clear purpose, it will be difficult for employees to understand the rationale behind the project.
To build this vision, ask yourself the key questions:
- What problems should the ESN solve?
- For what use case(s) do you need it?
- Who is it for?
Read also: [White paper] Building your collaborative project
2. You don't have a sponsor
The second mistake that can hinder your ESN deployment: your project has no executive sponsor. Without one, it becomes very difficult to convince managers and employees of the ESN's relevance and "essential" nature.
This sponsor (who should be a heavyweight within the organisation) will bring legitimacy to the project. It will allow you to communicate more effectively about the platform's benefits and encourage employees to use it.
This evangelisation effort, when backed by a senior sponsor, greatly facilitates ESN adoption.
At Groupe Foncia, communications director Frédéric Fougerat served as project sponsor. The result: 100% of invited users created their profile within two weeks, and 89% are active every month.
3. Your managers are anything but role models
According to an IGS-RH study, employees are 8.5 times more engaged in groups created by their own manager than by other managers. The conclusion: employees are more likely to use the ESN if their manager leads by example.
Unfortunately, experience shows that managers are not always the most active users on the internal network. According to a Lecko study, only 25% of managers use the enterprise social network every day. At the same time, it's not uncommon to see some managers continue using other tools for tasks the ESN is already designed to handle.
Of course, this shift in tools and ways of working won't happen overnight. Don't hesitate to support your managers through this transition period so they build the right habits and learn to lead by example.
4. You're not communicating enough
A lack of internal communication can be a barrier to ESN deployment and is therefore one of the mistakes to avoid. When in doubt, it's better to err on the side of too much communication rather than too little.
Start by involving all relevant stakeholders from the very beginning of the project: IT, HR, Internal Communications and Senior Management.
Once the project is defined, develop a communication plan with concrete actions, for example:
- Present the project at a dedicated event where the sponsor takes the floor
- Send an invitation and a welcome message to employees
- Ask managers to relay information to their teams
5. Your ESN lives in parallel to your workflows
Is your ESN not connected to your business applications ? Have you not integrated it into your work processes? That's probably why your employees don't see its day-to-day value.
Indeed, if the internal social network is not connected to your business tools (CRM, file storage tools, project management solutions, etc.), users will see it as just "another tool" — a nice-to-have that wastes their time — and will default back to their usual alternatives.
Before anything else, it is therefore important to ensure the ESN is integrated with the applications you use every day, either natively or via an automation tool like Zapier.
Read also: Talkspirit integrates with over 1,000 SaaS applications
6. You haven't defined a governance model
Establishing a governance framework is essential to clarify how the enterprise social network will operate. Without this foundation, users won't know what they can and cannot do on the platform, or what it is meant to be used for. Many will therefore hesitate to post content or send messages, for fear of making a mistake.
Defining usage rules for the ESN will clarify:
- Who can access the platform?
- Who is the content intended for?
- Who can post what, in which group(s), and when?
- What is the ESN's role alongside the other tools used in the company (emails, instant messaging, video conferencing, etc.)?
With all this information at their disposal, employees will feel more confident engaging on the ESN, making it a more vibrant platform.
Read also: How to set up effective governance
7. You haven't prepared your platform
To save time, some companies rush through the ESN preparation stage. The impact this has on project success can be disastrous — making this one of the mistakes to avoid at all costs during your ESN deployment.
Indeed, if employees arrive on the platform for the first time and find it empty, disorganised or filled with uninteresting content, there is a strong chance they won't log back in. "You never get a second chance to make a first impression", as they say…
Before inviting your employees to your ESN, don't forget to define your group architecture and populate it with relevant content. Try not to duplicate content from other platforms, but rather post original content dedicated to your ESN that will make it stand out from your other tools.
8. You're not animating your ESN enough
Ongoing community management is just as important as the initial preparation of the ESN. After all, no one wants to log in to a platform where "nothing is happening".
To maximise your chances of success, appoint one or more people responsible for animating the ESN.
Their role? Highlighting news and events on the homepage, or sharing different types of content (webinars, tutorials, FAQs, contests…) in the groups you've created, for example.
With regular animation, it will be easier to generate interactions on the platform and encourage employees to post content in turn.
9. Your ESN doesn't meet employees' expectations
Do you often hear users complain that "a lot of features are missing" or that "it was better before"? If so, here's the translation: the ESN doesn't meet their expectations.
To avoid this mistake, carefully analyse your employees' needs before choosing your enterprise social network — in terms of usability, user experience and features.
All these elements play an important role in ESN adoption. Take the time to compare them carefully and pilot the tool with an initial user group before making your decision.
Read also: Choosing the right enterprise social network solution
10. You're not supporting your users enough
Even if the platform you've chosen is easy to use, onboarding and team support must not be overlooked.
On the vendor side, it is important to explain to administrators what they can do with the platform, provide practical resources (getting started guide, best practices articles…), and above all remain attentive to users' needs.
On the company side, several initiatives can ease first steps on the ESN:
- share video tutorials on the platform (here are some examples)
- organise training sessions dedicated to the ESN
- create a FAQ document that will be regularly updated
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You now know all the mistakes to avoid when deploying your enterprise social network. For more best practices, we invite you to consult our white paper on the subject:
Access the White Paper
Our white paper "Successfully deploying your enterprise social network" brings together our best practices for identifying engagement drivers, securing management buy-in, organising onboarding and measuring the impact of your actions on ESN adoption.
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Author: Emmanuelle Abensur
