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ESN Deployment: Tools and Methods for Driving Change
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It is now widely agreed that deploying an ESN (enterprise social network) does not happen on its own — it requires active support. Getting an entire organisation on board with a new tool and new ways of working is a genuine shift. You need to drive change.
To push past the theoretical "tipping point" of change, large-scale support is essential. Research suggests that you first need to shift the habits of 10 to 15% of employees to create a ripple effect that carries change to the remaining 85%. And since most company budgets cannot sustain an army of consultants, and digital teams are rarely resourced to handle this challenge alone, a significant part of the solution lies … in-house. Here are several tried-and-tested methods validated by our clients.
Building an Ambassador Network
User guides and tutorials address the training needs of employees learning the mechanics of a social network, but these online resources are primarily suited to those already comfortable with digital tools. Moreover, they are not always enough — even when built around real use cases — to help employees picture their daily work through the lens of the social network and imagine new ways of getting things done.
In short, to scale change from within, organisations frequently turn to ambassador networks. These ambassadors serve as the frontline support, that employees actually need.
An Inspiring Role
Ambassadors, acting as local relays for the digital team, run social network promotion initiatives and cascade key announcements to their colleagues. Beyond this important communication dimension (the voices of peers carry more weight than those of management, especially distant leadership), ambassadors are above all tasked with inspiring their colleagues through concrete examples — and notably their own usage. They do not need to be tech enthusiasts; what matters is their ability to highlight the benefits of the social network in terms that resonate with each colleague's role.
Volunteer Participation
Ambassador recruitment is built on voluntary participation. Organisations run open calls for applications while also proactively approaching individuals they have identified — typically employees who showed enthusiasm and a natural ability to bring colleagues along during the pilot phase. These are ideal ambassador candidates. Tools used to build digital culture (serious games, digital passports, etc.) also surface profiles who are collaborative by nature and comfortable with technology. Community managers and internal mentors — though still rare in French organisations — can also strengthen the ambassador team.
A Few Privileges, but No Official Status
The ambassador role is not formalised in job descriptions and no dedicated hours are allocated for related activities. It comes with only a few privileges: advanced training on the platform and early access to updates, giving ambassadors a consistent head start. Those who take on this role do so out of genuine conviction and the satisfaction of helping their colleagues.
Read the article: Internal Communication: Interactivity or Nothing
Leveraging Tooled Methodologies
Tools are playing an increasingly important role in scaling the support process. One of the most common is the video conferencing tool, used to run webinars. It is built into the Talkspirit social network platform. Organisations use it to train teams at remote sites. These online seminars frequently expand into very operational discussions, reflecting users' need to translate the tool's potential into their specific professional context.
Smarter Tool Selection
A defining trend in recent years is the tooling of change management methodologies. Consultancies are formalising their approaches in software products made available to clients. This began with benchmarks designed to guide decision-makers in choosing a collaborative platform. It has since expanded to include applications for team leaders and initiative owners, helping them identify the collaborative building block best suited to their context and needs. These benchmarks (on Capterra or Appvizer for example) compare available solutions, both American (e.g. Workplace and Teams) and European (e.g. Talkspirit).
Tooling Across Every Stage of the Project
The consultancy software offering is progressively extending to cover every phase of a deployment project: from requirements gathering through platform management, encompassing cultural change, training, and change management. That said, you will need to think carefully about convergence and integration of disparate tools — serious games, learning resources, editorial content, analytics, enterprise social network, etc. — within a single platform.
Case Study \ Ambassadors to Supercharge Usage
Ambassadors often guide new users through their first steps on the platform. In organisations that have had a social network for several years, they are also tasked with helping to unlock its full potential. The Pearson Group adopted an enterprise social network back in 2010. It now boasts 27,000 active users, representing three-quarters of its workforce. However, most of them log in, read, and react — but do not post. In 2017, the educational publishing specialist launched an ambassador programme with a target of recruiting 500 ambassadors. Their mission: supercharge usage and develop collaboration — in other words, get more users to actively contribute by sharing information and posting on the enterprise social network). Takeaway: ambassadors are a lever for change at any stage of your project. One prerequisite: give them a clear objective.
Case Study \ 90 Coaches at Suez France
In 2017 and 2018, Suez's digital team relied on a network of 90 coaches to support the development of collaborative practices. The initiative was limited to France. Internal recruitment was conducted via email campaigns and physical posters. Applications were validated by HR, who were closely involved in the initiative, and then confirmed with line managers. Any employee could apply, provided they did not work in IT. The change management lead wanted relays who could speak to usage benefits rather than technology. There was also a clear desire to distinguish between support and coaching roles. A coach's job is not to answer technical questions about how the software works, but to advise colleagues on the benefits of collaborative practices. A new recruitment campaign was already planned to improve geographic coverage.
Case Study \ The Initiative Champion as a Key Driver of Change
The proliferation of initiatives on the social network contributes to transforming the organisation and popularising new ways of working. Those who drive these initiatives deserve to be encouraged, supported, and recognised. The digital team and its local relays are called upon to step in at various stages: at launch to provide methodological support for setting up and populating the space; subsequently to remove blockers (particularly managerial ones) that might hinder the community's development; and downstream to recognise initiative champions. Sharing practical case studies, written up from field initiatives, is one of the levers used by Air France–KLM and Agence Française de Développement to bring more employees on board — and more effectively — with their enterprise social network.
Two Best Practices
- Give visibility to ambassadors through signage they can display on their laptop, in their email signature, and on their directory profile.
- Bring ambassadors together within a dedicated community to help them grow through peer learning and the sharing of best practices.
Further Reading
Want more practical guidance on driving change within your organisation? Download our white paper on the topic!
Access the White Paper
In our white paper "How to Drive Change Effectively in Your Organisation," you will find:
- The key challenges of change management in organisations
- Examples of models and strategies to address those challenges
- Practical best practices for driving change in your company
- Case studies showing how 7 organisations successfully navigated change
