Yammer: Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions by Senior Executives

I was recently asked to compile the Top 10 FAQs I get from Senior Leaders about Yammer... here are mine:

1. Why should I care about Yammer?

As a communications channel, Yammer breaks traditional siloes across functions and geographies. It connects senior executives with the pulse of the organisation, and enables the coal-face to feedback valuable intelligence in real-time.

2. Do senior leaders need to participate?

If we want to realise the extraordinary business benefits of this amazing tool, then we need leaders. Senior leaders define the organisational narrative, set the behavioural agenda and provide visible reinforcement of their personal and business priorities.

3. Can my EA or the communications team write my posts?

No way; people can tell when senior leaders post – People posting on behalf of a senior leader always spend more time polishing their words than the original leader. Allowing someone else to post on your behalf is a big no-no and erodes the trust people hold for you.

4. What should I write about?

The most effective leaders integrate their activity as part of everyday business. As a result, their posts communicate a variety of topics including progress on the objectives they are focusing on; the teams and people they are working with; and personal insights and updates on life as a senior executive.

5. What’s the right way to engage with people on Yammer?

To get maximum value from enterprise social, its even more important for senior leaders to engage in the ideas of others. People new to social often make the mistake of broadcasting their opinion without ever building on the ideas of others; this looks disingenuous; the mantra for leaders is its to “Be interested, not interesting”

6. How much time should I allow each day?

Doing a little, a lot, is the trick to mastering Yammer. Doing three sets of five minutes per day (five minutes in the morning, five at lunch and five at the end of the day) is enough to appear as though you are always on Yammer.

7. What happens if people post non-work related materials?

Just as with our staff areas, phones and emails there are times where people share their personal lives over work assets – Enterprise social is no different. Posting areas of Personal interest connects people, breaking down siloes and laying the connective platform that later gets used for work purposes. If people are delivering on their objectives, then run with it.

8. What happens if people post inappropriate content?

All of our existing policies and procedures still apply, this includes policies preventing bullying, expectations around codes of conduct and constructive communication practises. Any content that contravenes our accepted standards, will be dealt with according to our existing policies and deleted by the system admin or original poster.

9. What happens if someone uses social to publically vent their frustrations?

Where there is people, there will be friction but provided people treat each other with courtesy and respect then some frustration is tolerable. If frustration does boil over, then senior leaders, HR (if applicable) and the communications team will work together to formulate a constructive response that focuses on the issue and not the emotion.

10. Is it ok to have fun on enterprise social?

Yes! The most effective Senior leaders use enterprise social to develop genuine relationships with others in the organisation. This involves sharing insights and observations across the spectrum of both professional and personal activities.

These are my Top 10! What else would you put on this list?

Connect with Scott on Twitter: @wardsco