Data backup company adopts Jive to make its intranet social

A 2015 survey of employees working for data backup and recovery company Commvault found senior management was not doing enough to keep employees informed. The company’s intranet was little more than a collection of outdated SharePoint sites with no social functionality, no mobile access and a challenging user interface. The overhaul undertaken by the communications team has won first place in the “Social Intranet” category of Ragan’s 2018 Employee Communications Awards.

The effort was focused on providing easier access to the right content, and communication that engaged employees rather than simply pushed out messages, as well as creating a platform to build on the company’s culture. The result was a decision to adopt the Jive platform, which has social functionality built in.

Among the uses to which this functionality was put was a knowledge base and Q&A forums that simplified the process of asking and getting answers to questions; as a result, an average of 250 questions are answered each quarter on the page.

Social elements are also used to promote events. For example, during the company’s global customer conference, employees shared blog posts, photos and social content. During the 20^th anniversary celebration, employees shared their own histories at the company and recognized their peers. The team also developed “People Side of the Business” social spaces on the intranet where employees could share ideas and concepts from beyond their own day-to-day work.

“Commvault Life” is one of these spaces, where employees share photos and write posts about company culture, including volunteer work, holiday parties and personal notes. Jive also enabled the Commvault Women in Technology group to launch a special interest group site on the intranet.

Ninety-eight percent of employees have adopted the new intranet, CONNECT, with active use increasing to 84 percent; average daily views grew 38 percent in CONNECT’s second year, and employee survey feedback has also been positive.

Congratulations to Brittany Lamb, Eliza Mixon, Keeley Sorokti, and Tracy Maurer.