Global Medical Technology Company (Company X) Case Study
Viva Engage Powers Associate and Senior Executive Engagement Increases at Company X
Company X is a global medical technology company that focuses on improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. With 35,000+ employees worldwide, COMPANY X provides innovative solutions that help advance medical research and genomics.
COMPANY X wanted to revitalize its Viva Engage network and drive increased platform use among its Associates worldwide. COMPANY X’s Internal Communications team wanted to educate employees about value social networks create as well as bring company-wide use back to prior levels of engagement. Strategies for institutionalizing employee engagement best practices and skills, were needed to help business units map specific organizational goals into Viva Engage communications.
Challenges
- COMPANY X had implemented Viva Engage previously, but efforts to sustain engagement over time had not been successful. New learning strategies and a stronger “why” were needed to give Associates continued interest in using Viva Engage as a viable communications channel. The solution was to offer professional development.
- Executives also needed help envisioning the benefits Viva Engage could bring to their respective business areas. And with very limited time to dedicate to the social network, they needed strategies to convey presence and send “executive listening” signals.
- COMPANY X’s Viva Engage network included more than 400 groups with little to no engagement. Search results portrayed a network that was under-utilized and not business relevant. Do fewer groups well offered a solution.
- Many COMPANY X Associates curiosity about the possibilities of Viva Engage but lacked the skills and knowledge for how to maintain groups as real-time centers of business information.
New CHRO Employee Engagement Perspective
“I initially kickstarted my Viva Engage habit by taking a few minutes with it every morning along with my coffee. I like the ‘ground-level up connections’ it enables between Associates who are part of different COMPANY X business units. Viva Engage makes communicating a more dynamic and real-time experience. It’s also great for expert search and idea generation.”
– Chief Human Resources Officer
Engagement Results
A 70% increase in employee engagement: Interactive user engagement growth was catalyzed by Talk Social to Me’s Viva Engage Academy trainings. Participants were issued community certifications, along with direct use case coaching.
A 450% increase in COMPANY X executive engagement: COMPANY X executives in 4 business units convened interactive, time-bound chat events to amplify employee voices and close the organizational communications divide between senior leaders and knowledge workers.
A 48% increase in content creation: Associates gained comfort level and increased their use of Viva Engage for frequent, job-relevant communications. Growth in posting behavior and a decrease in response time indicated significant behavior shifts, including faster time to answered questions.
Scope
The Talk Social to Me team (which I was part of) delivered Viva Engage Academy training sessions targeting general users, group owners and strategies, “Ask Me Anything” chat practices, and a social networking training. Attended by over 200 COMPANY X Associates, Academy trainees learned about the unique ways social networks make exponential ROI possible for companies.
Attending up to three training sessions and completing interactive assignments made COMPANY X Associates eligible to become Viva Engage certified. Throughout the learning cycle, Talk Social to Me hosted a dedicated Viva Engage group (Community of Practice) where Associates could share experiences, voice ongoing challenges, and exchange perspectives with each other.
Individual coaching sessions with COMPANY X’s leaders helped 5 VP-level and above individuals understand their current levels of Viva Engage engagement in comparison to industry benchmarks. After coaching sessions, the leaders have shifted from a moderate to exceptional levels of engagement. In addition, their behavior is a model to their peers and direct reports and has helped reinforce Viva Engage’s viability as an important communications hub.
Results
User Post, Reply and Like Activity
The hosted Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) chats on Viva Engage allowed associates to have direct interaction with leaders and provided an opportunity to share ideas and give direct input on problems that need to be solved. The I&D chat on talent acquisition and diverse interview slates kicked off two sessions intended to accommodate COMPANY X associates in various time zones around the world.
During the course of the chats, replies on posts increased 3x from normal levels. The average activity per user (a combination of posts, replies and likes) was 5x greater than the enterprise average for the same period during the previous year.