Leader participation, a marketing effort and real benefits drive Yammer adoption

Yammer (along with most other intranet collaboration tools) usually lands with a thud. Little effort is put into Yammer launches, with organizations apparently embracing the “Field of Dreams” notion that “If we build it, they will come.” With its Yammer launch, the staff at Health Care Service Corporation was determined to buck the trend and give employees a reason to use the tool. Its success has won it first place in the “Internal Social Network” category of Ragan’s 2017 Intranet Awards.

Employees are busy, and if they can’t see the value of doing something that isn’t part of their job, they’re unlikely to give it much thought. The campaign made it clear that using Yammer would save employees time and help them accomplish more by accessing timely information and connecting with subject matter experts. 

The team enlisted leaders to start using Yammer, with the CEO posting items that recognized accomplishments, soliciting feedback several times each month and engaging directly with employees. Executives also got a newsletter with items compiled from select Yammer posts to help them keep their finger on the employee pulse.

An awareness campaign involved digital signage, emails, learning documents, intranet videos and a hashtag campaign with prize giveaways. Superusers were enlisted to provide ideas to teams interested in taking advantage of Yammer as a new channel.  

These efforts and more have led to an 87 percent adoption rate, with employees creating 700 groups covering project work, event planning, wellness and more. An Ethics Exchange group has attracted 636 members, and the HR group has become a popular forum for getting answers to benefits and other HR-related questions. 

Congratulations to the team at Health Care Service Corporation for a successful rollout of a collaboration tool.