2012 Digital PR Awards: Employee Communications Online

Winner: Capstrat - Diversified Information Technologies Facebook Group

 

DIT had a problem. Internal communications were not serving the needs of employees. The only lines of communications took place through conversations with a supervisor and sporadic messages from the CEO. It created an environment in which the employees knew their individual responsibilities, but had little grasp of what the company was doing or what their role in the big picture was. The intranet wasn’t used as a communications tool.

So how could the company increase engagement and help improve employee communications? They needed an outlet and Facebook was targeted as the tool that would best engage employees. It was chosen because of its casual nature and that it would allow employees to showcase both their personality and work.

To make it work, the first obstacle was getting those who weren’t even on Facebook to register. To encourage others to become involved and generate excitement around the company, the strategy was to have the CEO appoint employees from each DIT location to help spearhead the initiative.

The company page on Facebook was only accessible to employees of the company.  Unexpected engagement opportunities included the ability to alert employees about severe weather on the way and even photos of the company building following a massive snowstorm.

The goal was to have 20 % of the company utilizing the Facebook page in the first four months. That goal was shattered as it was achieved in half that time. With the creation of a company Facebook page collaborations and relationships were sparked which has added value to the company.  The winning team included Angela Connor, Jon Weiner, Kathleen Linder, Allison, Eckley and Hannah Harrill.