Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Getting everybody on board when strengthening your brand is a very important part of the mix, it can be percieved as "another waste of money by management".

The benefits to everybody need to be stressed, get some excitement & ownership generated internally, and some key personel could be appointed to be evangialists about your brand.

If you create a forum for communication between empoyees it is vital issues raised should be adressed, and improvements made where they can. Stress that it is a forum for them, not imposed on them, and it is an instrement for improvement.

Your employees perception of the organisation can give some vital clues to how to strengthen your identity.

I don't think I'm saying anything you don't already know!

Try to consider whether what you're proposing could work in the offline world. If you can create an off-line model that works, say, like a Friday-night drinks session, or a product/brand FAQ forum, then turn the on-line counterpart into a 24/7, non-alcoholic, helpful, company-orientated version of that, and you should be onto a winner.

I would set out your objectives first, make them very clear and simple, mind you!

Then check whether what you're proposing will actually fulfil them. Easily. Even if only 10-15% of staff adopt it.

If not, it's just one more useless new online gizmo no-one will want to know about.

Somebody else said make the benefits clear. You need to identify the benefits to company shareholders, employees, customers, and managers. If everyone gets a benefit, it's tangible, and looks deliverable, then the project should get approved.

Good Luck.

ChrisB