1to1 Magazine Demo

New Media Optimization | BY JEREMY NEDELKA Accenture GOLD Accenture Tears Down Borders Using Enterprise 2.0 w “The core of our initiative is bringing social networking into Accenture, to bring the power of every employee together to make it easier to do business.” hile it’s impossible for all of Accenture’s 180,000 global employees to know each other, many feel like they do. Thanks to the company’s adoption of a Web 2.0 mentality, previously disconnected offices can interact virtually at any time. In early 2007 Accenture began its Borderless Workplace initiative, which made telepresence the preferred method of communication within the company, and added a number of social media tools to its interactions between employees and with customers. “We feel with this kind of technology the advantage will go to the early adopters,” says Frank Modruson, Accenture’s CIO. “The core of our initiative is bringing social networking into Accenture, to bring the power of every employee together to make it easier to do business.” The Borderless Workplace includes an internal wiki called Accenture Encyclopedia; its media exchange, which resembles YouTube; personal blogs for employees; and a social network for employees to collaborate, share knowledge, and find subject matter experts when answering customers’ questions. Every employee also has a unified messaging system, which combines fax and phone calls into their existing email address and allows them to make calls and host video conferences through their computer. “We’re still in the deployment stage with some of these technologies, yet we’re already seeing uptake as people embrace them,” Modruson says. “Our media exchange hasn’t even been formally announced and we’re seeing a high number of views on the site.” Accenture also developed a number of customized microsites to help its marketing and sales teams develop stronger client relationships. The sites act as a portal for each client’s team; members from every customer touchpoint have access to the content and receive feedback through the site. The microsites can leverage all of Accenture’s social media tools, including discussion boards, podcasts, video streams, and wikis. “We’re in the people business,” Modruson says. “We need to leverage our expertise and match it to every client’s needs, making every one of our employees accessible to them when they need us.” Accenture measures both hard and soft metrics to see how well the borderless workplace is utilized and whether it’s successful overall. Cost of operation is how the company measures ROI, and with the reduced travel cost from telepresence alone Modruson says the initiative is a no-brainer. The company also looks at how many people update their profile pages, view videos, and take advantage of desktop video conferencing. “Generally we look at uptake, rather than overall usage,” Modruson says. “We’re still in the early stages of deployment so our number one priority is making these tools available to everyone.” Since Accenture’s workforce is spread across 49 countries, employees weren’t used to having as many personal interactions as the borderless workplace allows. To assist them with the new tools, Accenture created a change management team that worked with small groups, about 100 people at a time, to demonstrate the best way to use the technology to serve clients. To ensure continued use, the company created a user council with representatives from the teams most affected by the new initiatives. Modruson says he expects to have every program rolled out by the end of the year, and is looking at updating the company’s portal and adding a social bookmarking tool soon after. “Overall we think it’s been a success,” Modruson says. “We’ve shaped our culture around networking, sharing, connecting, and teaming.” —JN Key Facts: The Borderless Workplace includes: ★ 180,000 employees ★ 60,000 “people page” profiles ★ telepresence in 13 cities worldwide ★ 148 customer microsites 32 1to1 magazine ★To learn more about the Gartner & 1to1 Customer Award winners, visit: www.1to1media.com/links/G1awards.html http://www.1to1media.com/View.aspx?ItemID=30794 http://www.1to1media.com/links/G1awards.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 1to1 Magazine Demo

1to1 Magazine Demo Contents 1to1media.com Editor's Note Feedback Putting Care in Patients' Hands Loyalty at Work Redefining the Contact Center Agent Introducing Enterprise 2.0 Cigna Dental Drills for Loyal Customers On the Beat 19 Ways to Succeed Miami Heat Schools Its Staff on Sales and Service Marketing Lends a Helping Hand More Than Meets the Eye Customer Service by Committiee Textron's Business Soars by Tracking Customer Loyalty Resources Contact Center Agent as Trusted Advisor Mastering Global CRM Face to Face with Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D.

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