Table of Contents

3 key actions for a successful Talkspirit launch 

5
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To optimise the launch of your platform: communicate, define governance rules and identify ambassadors

After hours of reflection spent on the Internet and a few dozen comparative tables (you've grown a few grey hairs in the process...), you've finally found the collaborative tool that will enable you to get your structure off the ground. 

The right collaborative tool's the one that, as soon as it's all set up, at the wave of a wand, will solve all your problems: you just have to let the magic work, right?

And yet no—even a very good collaborative tool requires:

be designed and implemented in accordance with the rules and practices of your organization, 
be widely communicated within your organization,
to be approved and glorified by its users. 

Lay the foundations by establishing operating rules

The implementation of rules is strongly recommended to ensure the smooth running of your Talkspirit platform and to avoid side effects. 

It's important to define your operating rules when you create the platform. These rules can evolve according to your needs. 

It's not necessary to start with a detailed specification, but it's important to define a simple base and to evolve it. 

We recommend you publish a user charter that will allow for better overall adoption of recommended practices, better coordination of platform users and, by extension, targeted and relevant information transmission with regard to your company. 

In order to define these rules of use, you must ask yourself what the position of the management line and other departments is on this initiative. Thus, you'll need to determine:

  • Who will benefit from the tool and why?
  • Is it the only collaborative tool used? If not, at what levels should it be integrated? What place should this tool have in relation to an intranet or emails? Is it intended to replace or complement them? To meet which objectives?

You can then define: 

Conditions of invitation and access to the platform

Which departments, branches and positions will use the platform and for what purpose?

Group permissions

Who will be responsible for managing the group? Who will be able to access, react and publish in this space?

The nature of the content shared in the groups and by extension its level of confidentiality

Can this content be read by all users of the platform, is it for internal use or can it be shared with customers, partners, is it sensitive or is it just of interest to a specific audience within the organization?

The best practices to be respected

What format for a new document, a new group, what photos, what documents can be shared? Does the content have to comply with the company's graphic charter?

All of these elements will make it possible to create a user manual organizing the best practices as well as the practices to be avoided when using the platform.

You can then easily define the conditions of access and invitation to the platform, but also appoint the persons responsible for the platform who will have to ensure that the exchanges that take place there comply with the established rules of use. 

Communicate and spread the word

Before launching the platform, communicate about your project to involve your staff. 

You can then give them more information about this new way of working and thus remove any objections. 

Communicate widely with a launch kit 

Don't hesitate to communicate widely before the launch of your platform through: 

  • your email signature, 
  • messages via the old communication tool,
  • face-to-face meetings, 
  • visual communication through posters in the office corridors, for example. 

And communicate all the more at the launch. Plan ahead:

  • one or more launch events by videoconference to explain and train your employees (or business referents) in small groups,
  • the participation of the sponsor through a welcome message on the platform,
  • the participation of managers who will be able to relay the information obtained to their teams,
  • an individual presentation. The change process must also come from the "other" for whom the change of tool must be adopted and therefore understood. 

It's not just about learning to work with new tools but of a change of posture in the relationship to information, communication, and collaboration. 

These individual or small group meetings should highlight the elements that are essential for a good understanding of this desire to move towards a new tool, such as 

  • a reminder of the context and the main objectives of the company, 
  • presentation of the main use cases,
  • identification of the main problems, 
  • opportunities for use on the platform. 

Make sure your employees understand the positive effects of using a collaborative platform in the long term. This communication requires a positive, benevolent, and reassuring lexical field. 

We recommend that you set up further meetings on a regular basis to assess KPIs in small groups, note and encourage progress, and understand any gaps so that they can be addressed. 

The implementation of Talkspirit must be integrated into each employee's schedule so that they identify it as a large-scale project, sustainable over time, and not as yet another tool that would cause them to lose time on tasks that they consider to be priorities.

Once the platform has been launched, plan a survey to gather initial feedback!

To communicate about your project, you can also use ambassadors. 

Identify ambassadors 

An ambassador is defined by the enthusiasm and involvement he or she shows towards the tool. They naturally promote it via the platformbut also outside of it.

The ambassador is thus a great asset in the adoption of the platform. He or she can set an example with a complete profile and by overcoming objections that are communicated to him or her. 

We recommend that you target those users who can contribute to the success of your project. 

But which profile for this role?

An ambassador must have a good knowledge of Talkspirit and be as convinced as you are of the usefulness of the project. Careful, this is not a community manager and shouldn't see this role as an additional workload. 

An ambassador must: 

  • have a good level of use of social networks,  
  • be naturally enthusiastic about your project and understand the issues at stake,
  • not be afraid to speak out on the platform,
  • help colleagues and remove barriers. 

Once you have identified the different profiles, take the time to explain your project and their role in it.

Initiate a dedicated private group on the platform so that they can get to know each other, test and share their feedback. On your side, this will be an opportunity to guide them in their actions and to make sure the project is progressing.

Training is a necessary step since this is the opportunity to bring all the ambassadors together around a table to bring them closer together and create emulation. The aim of this meeting will be to master the tool by reminding them of the information that it is important to relay. 

You now have all the keys you need to make your project a success: it's all up to you!


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