Last week, PR News discussed a number of ways in which communicators can engage employees and customers to stimulate innovative thinking (see PRN 06-11-07, "Innovation
as the Key to Success? Yes, If Communicators Lead the Way") within their organizations. IBM Corporation serves as a prime example of a company that puts innovation at the
center of its engagement efforts, and its "Jam Sessions" - online communications initiatives that implore employees and the general public to post ideas and comments on a specific
prompt - are an integral tool in doing so.
Below is the company's step-by-step guide to creating and launching a Jam session, culled from its "Redefining Manager Interaction at IBM," report by Lynn Dorsett, Michael
Fontaine and Tony O'Driscoll:
1. Understand the objectives. As with most large projects, Jams begin with a clear set of objectives. Stakeholders need to consider what they expect to change as a
result of the Jam. For ManagerJam, there were five objectives: Begin non-hierarchical dialogue among managers; begin the behavior change (collaboration, networking, open sharing
of ideas); begin to build a sense of community among managers based on management issues; get managers to think differently about solving company-wide management issues; build a
knowledge library based on manager insights.
2. Select engaging topics. The best results seem to come from including a number of varied topics rather than a few focused ones. Employee surveys, executive strategies,
focus groups and other communications vehicles can help shape the Jam topics. Crafting the topic statements with care is key; the statements need to be both engaging and
provocative.
3. Conduct topic research. Once the topics have been selected, each one needs to be researched to fully understand what the organization already knows about it. The
research can take as long as a month to compile, depending on the number of topics selected.
4. Select facilitator teams. Facilitator teams are a combination of people with prior Jam experience, those who are subject matter experts and people who in some way
embody the desired Jam results. Facilitators are not 'announced' in the Jam as the moderators are. In this role, facilitators have the freedom to guide the dialogue as
participants. A facilitator team supports each moderator who is the more formal discussion leader. For global Jams, facilitators should be located around the world.
5. Engage the moderators. Moderators are selected based on their recognized expertise or leadership in the topic area. These tend to be busy individuals who are fully
engaged in their day-to-day work, and their time can be difficult to schedule. To ease this problem, a lead facilitator may be assigned to each moderator. This person, who has Jam
experience, acts as right-hand person for the moderator, coordinating the facilitator team and providing focused communication to the moderator during the Jam event.
6. Transfer skills and build the facilitator teams. About one month before the Jam event, facilitators and moderators meet for a day to be briefed on the Jam's
objectives and to be trained on Jam best practices. In this meeting, they also clarify roles and begin building the facilitation teams. Globally dispersed facilitator/moderator
teams also launch a collaborative space in which they continue the Jam preparation. The collaborative space is also used along with Instant Messaging and telephones for
communication during the Jam event.
7. Prepare to Jam. During the month prior to the event, facilitator teams review research materials for their topic, develop work processes for the Jam event, discuss
possible directions the dialogue on their topic may take and align on possible facilitator actions.
The Jam research teams begin to design the research to be conducted at the conclusion of the Jam. Communications teams develop campaigns designed to pull participants into the
Jam and to sustain participation throughout the event. Time is scheduled on the calendars of key executives who will participate in the Jam event.
8. Jam! During the Jam itself, the well-prepared team executes its plan. Topic facilitation teams stay in constant contact via Instant Messaging and occasional telephone
calls. Cross-topic discussions and geographic hand-offs occur in collaborative space.
9. Mine the knowledge. Since the entire Jam transcript is preserved, all the work done during the event becomes part of the organization's knowledge library. Throughout
the months following the Jam, the event continues to inform the organization.