The Loop Blog RRS - supporting live online conversationsBloghttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2012-01-06T18:36:12ZSquarespaceHere's to creating success in 2012!http://www.the-loop.com/blog/2012/1/6/heres-to-creating-success-in-2012.htmlSusanne Currid2012-01-06T17:52:16Z2012-01-06T17:52:16ZHappy New Year to one and all!  And WOW, what a great new year it's proving to be. 

Already, January is set to be a very busy month.  It's full steam ahead on all fronts as I help my clients to kickstart their marketing and business plans for 2012.  With the Olympics shining a bright light on London this year, masses of new opportunities are unfolding and we all want to make sure we're ready to ride this coming wave of success.

This month I'll also be helping to get more small businesses up-and-running with social media when I facilitate two social media marketing workshops for female entrepreneurs at this year's Women in Business: Creating Success in 2012 Conference and Expo on 19th January.  If you're interested in attending, head on over the registration website double quick as the final seats are being snapped up like proverbial hotcakes.  

For more about the conference check out the promotional PDF here. 

 

]]>Stop Wasting Time: The Social Media Revolutionhttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/11/29/stop-wasting-time-the-social-media-revolution.htmlSusanne Currid2011-11-29T12:40:17Z2011-11-29T12:40:17ZRecently I took part in a panel discussion on social media for business hosted by Sonia Brown MBE on www.playvybz.com.  To listen in, fast forward to the 45 minute mark to catch our chat which lasts for about another 45 minutes.

During the discussion, we talk about planning a social media strategy plus there are plenty of tips and best practice examples on using Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter for better engagement with customers and partners.

 

]]>Why webinars have risen to the top as one of the most effective marketing tactics for B2B marketershttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/10/13/why-webinars-have-risen-to-the-top-as-one-of-the-most-effect.htmlSusanne Currid2011-10-13T10:14:00Z2011-10-13T10:14:00ZStrikingly, it’s taken just over a decade for online events to rise to the top of the pile as one of the most effective marketing tactics available to B2B marketers.  

In a recent B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey conducted by leading US research firm Marketing Sherpa, 91% of B2B marketers judged online events/webinars to be the second most effective marketing tactic following on from the company website which sits in first place.

Webinars, to my mind, make total sense if you want to gently kick-start a two-way dialogue with your customers.   They can act as a great precursor to a more in-depth conversation as they allow attendees to post questions to a live speaker. And of course, webinars also require your audience to provide their contact details, the absolutely essential element of any lead generation activity.

I also believe an investment in online events can reap even bigger dividends when you find ways to integrate their use across all sectors of your business.

In my previous role as Head of Online Marketing at Patersons Global Payroll, I found we could use webinars to support not only lead generation but thought leadership positioning, sales / support team training and sales-cycle support along-side media, partner and investor engagement.

To find out how we achieved this, I’d like to invite you to sign up for a free Kelso seminar I’m presenting next month : Using online events to propel national and international sales

During the event, I’ll present a case study that outlines the business challenges and opportunities I addressed when I instigated a twice-monthly webinar programme for Patersons (T-Mobile Fast Growth Company of the Year 2010).  Following on, I’ll also explain how to develop an online events strategy that supports this more holistic range of business objectives. 

This lunch-time event will take place Friday 4th November (Theale near Reading) and Friday 18th November (Holborn, Central London).

For full details and to register, please go to http://www.kelsopr.com/online-events-sales-seminar. 

Polite Note: Make sure to register soon, as places are strictly limited to 25 places per event.  

 

]]>How exactly do you connect with your customers on social media?http://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/7/6/how-exactly-do-you-connect-with-your-customers-on-social-med.htmlSusanne Currid2011-07-06T08:29:28Z2011-07-06T08:29:28ZNew service from The Loop improves webinar recording qualityhttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/5/4/new-service-from-the-loop-improves-webinar-recording-quality.htmlSusanne Currid2011-05-04T11:51:49Z2011-05-04T11:51:49ZEver on the quest to improve the way we deliver webinars, The Loop is happy to announce the launch of a new synchronised Live Event + Webinar recording solution.

From testing we’ve discovered that if two speakers present a webinar in the same room, with each speaker recording to their personal laptops via a microphone headset, then the sound for both speakers has a habit of going slightly out of sync.  This is caused by slight variable broadband speeds experienced on different laptops, even from the same WiFi or wired broadband service.  This is not necessarily noticeable on the live presentation, but if you record the event, you can end up with an annoying echo on the sound track. 

Then why not record the webinar via more traditional phone line, you may ask.  Overall, the webinar technology vendors recommend that you record your webinar straight to your personal computer to achieve the best quality sound for the live event.  From testing, we’ve found that is definitely the case.  So if you’re looking for the best quality recording, microphones are the way to go.

But what about the nasty echo on the recording?  In response to this issue, The Loop is partnering with Icon Presentations, one of the City of London’s leading Audio Visual suppliers, to offer a new integrated ‘Live Event + Webinar’ audio visual solution.   Put simply, any business can now present to an online and venue-based audience in one seamless, synchronised, live event production.  

This audio visual solution has been designed to solve the above mentioned sound synchronisation problems between the live and online audio whilst also improving speaker sound settings for individual presentations and panel discussions.  The result is a superior, professional audio visual experience for both the online and face-to-face audiences.   

Does your business need help with the broadcast of a simultaneous webinar and face-to-face seminar?  If so, please get in touch.  We’re always happy to discuss your specific event requirements without obligation.  

]]>10 ways your business can get more out of Social Media for Business Developmenthttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/4/7/10-ways-your-business-can-get-more-out-of-social-media-for-b.htmlSusanne Currid2011-04-07T10:27:19Z2011-04-07T10:27:19ZHere are my top 10 recommendations for using social media to best effect as a business development channel. 

  1. Marketing and Sales Unite! - first off, it's important to understand that social media channels can be used by both Sales and Marketing people in your business, but if you don't get them working closely together, you'll have a lot less impact in the marketplace.  For example, sales people can personally refer their contacts to blogs, company pages and groups managed by your marketing team.  And both sales and marketing can club together to create twitter content, respond to online discussions and co-present online webinars.  Marketing can monitor social media sites for potential customer opportunities, and then pass details on to the sales guy who follows up with a more personal introduction. 
  2. Long-term detailed marketing plans become a thing of the past - we need to learn to move at a much quicker pace, responding to opportunities as they happen.  In practice, this means developing a less detailed long-term marketing plan.  Then each month, review what's happening in your market place and respond with communications that are more topical and current. 
  3. Fairness and Transparency - online reviews and recommendations found on social media sites are giving the marketplace a clearer indication of where to find quality services and products.  In this environment the best, and not necessarily the biggest, will rise to the top.  That's great news for small businesses who can successfully get their customers to provide positive reviews on their Facebook, YouTube or LinkedIn company pages.
  4. Loosen The Reins - it's time to give up the illusion that we can keep centralised control of all online content.  Instead we have to find ways to allow company-wide activity whilst managing the risks.   A good Social Media Policy and internal training will help your business cope better.
  5. Empower Your People -  don't just involve Sales & Marketing.   If it's service or knowledge you sell, your people are your brand, and that includes your front-of-house people, your technical experts, your consultants and management.  For best results, get everyone on board and support their involvement with guidelines and training.
  6. Greater Visibility and Engagement - visibility works two ways.   Now you can also find out much more about your customers via blogs, profiles, twitter, online comments etc.  If used with integrity, this should lead to better levels of engagement, as you have deeper conversations with customers and prospects when you up-sell, cross-sell or start a business relationship for the first time.
  7. Don't just broadcast - social media works best when your communication runs both ways. People will respond more favourably to what you have to say if you also take time to listen. Respond with good advice or thoughtful comments and don't be afraid to show some personality as well.  The friendly, helpful approach is always much more appealing.
  8. Tailor Text For Social Media Audiences - when you've got something to say, don't just post your latest press release.  Better to re-write in a conversational blog style for higher impact.  Informal, personable, honest communication works best.
  9. Be Positive About Criticism - if someone openly disagrees or challenges you online - don't just delete.  Respond with your point of view.  This is an opportunity to show what you're made of, win friends and possibly new customers.
  10. Save Time By Using The Right Tools - Programmes like Hootsuite and TweetDeck have made social media content management much more efficient.  Now you can view multiple streams of content in one window, and it's so much easier to monitor key phrases and company mentions by setting up streams that capture and display mentions in real time.  

If your business needs help utilising social media for Sales & Marketing, then why not contact Susanne Currid today to arrange a 'no obligation' chat, or alternatively find out more about our 2 or 4 hour personalised Social Media Marketing Advisory Sessions here.

]]>Feeling a bit wobbly about your next webinar? Then might we suggest the following...http://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/3/10/feeling-a-bit-wobbly-about-your-next-webinar-then-might-we-s.htmlSusanne Currid2011-03-10T15:30:08Z2011-03-10T15:30:08ZInteract

From the get-go, say a big warm hello to your audience. A conversational speaker is much easier on the ear than a brisk (or worse still, slow) presentation. If you're nervous, imagine you're just having a chat with your best friend. Make sure to ask plenty of questions regarding your audience's experience. For example, “Has this happened to you?” or “What sort of problems have you experienced in this area?” The audience also appreciate the value of being able to ask questions to an expert live on air. So allow plenty of time at the tail of your presentation to cram in as many questions as possible.

 

Don't go it alone

Of course, it's just about possible to run a webinar on your own, but it really helps to have a wing-man or woman to keep an eye on comments and queries coming through mid-event. Two or more speaking voices also adds texture and interest to the listening experience. Not many of us can sound riveting for 30 minutes straight, so interaction between a moderator and speaker can help keep things pacey, even with newbie speakers.

 

Ditch the bullets

It's important to remember that slides are 'speaker support' not autocue. Keep your speech in the notes area of your PowerPoint slides and limit the text that appears on screen to the absolute minimum. For example, I recommend my clients not to go below 32 point font size. Instead, use the most visual images you can find to illustrate your point. And don't be afraid to use quirky or amusing photos. Humour is your friend if you want to make a more impactful point. Beautiful images also grab attention, so if the budget allows buy the best images you can from an online photostore such as istockphoto.com, or have your designer get involved to make your presentation more polished.

 

Practice

Practice, practice, practice! Practice your speech and your timing so you don't end up running over. Try answering potential questions in advance so you feel more prepared for queries on the day. Check out your technical setup and invite guests to run through the procedure well in advance so everyone knows what to expect once the event starts.

 

Plan for Disaster

Maybe that sounds a bit melodramatic, but try to run through all the things that might go wrong on the day, and put some 'Plan B's' in place. For example, always have spare headphones, spare computer and even backup speakers or moderators just in case someone important is unavoidably detained on the day.

 

Once you implement all of the above, you're going to feel a lot more prepared, and slightly less frazzled if the proverbial excrement hits the fan.

 

And if you're looking for more one-to-one help on your next Business-to-Business webinar, why not get in touch with The Loop and we'll be happy to have a chat about supporting your next, or first, online event. 

 

]]>The Loop presents 'Using Social Media for Marketing' at Innovate London event 24th March 2011http://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/3/2/the-loop-presents-using-social-media-for-marketing-at-innova.htmlSusanne Currid2011-03-02T10:14:35Z2011-03-02T10:14:35ZHow innovative leadership can kickstart a smart learning enterprisehttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/1/21/how-innovative-leadership-can-kickstart-a-smart-learning-ent.htmlSusanne Currid2011-01-21T15:31:24Z2011-01-21T15:31:24ZIf you're lucky, once every so often in your career, you'll get to join forces with a woman like Karen Paterson, the British founder of Patersons Global HR & Payroll, and a woman who's marked up no less than three 'Entrepreneur of the Year' awards.  

Without a doubt, Karen is a maverick in her field.  For starters, she is small, feminine and sparky, in marked contrast to the grey suits who run most of the world's fast growth IT companies.   A fearless decision maker, Karen is always keen to adopt new and innovative ideas, as long as you can stand your ground and convince her you've got an idea with legs.

Back in 2007, I was hit with this particular 'lucky stick' when Karen offered me a new role as head of Online Tools, Websites & Marketing at Patersons.  An unusual position, it enabled me to step across departments and countries, managing the development of collaborative tools and web-based communities, promotional webinars, online marketing and knowledge share initiatives.

Karen had a vision to make Patersons a smart learning enterprise and this, I believe, was a key factor in helping the business expand over three continents in double quick time.  

So how did Karen direct the creation of a smart learning culture, and what lessons might other business leaders take away from her example?

1. Enable The Workforce With Collaborative Tools

Instant Messaging
As a tech-savvy CEO, Karen was quick to see the benefits of giving her workforce access to online communication tools.  For example, everyone was setup with a customised version of the Instant Messaging tool Pidgin, which allowed Patersons global team to interact quickly and efficiently across countries and time zones.

This simple but highly effective tool helped us get things done far more quickly on a daily basis.  Support team members rapidly gathered answers to live support client issues from the development team, project management or IT.  Co-workers across locations could help each other solve work issues, provide informal learning support or answer questions on the fly.  You could instantly check if people were in the building or not, without having to make calls or leave your desk.  Also, Instant Messaging enables conversations between several people, increasing the opportunity to share important information highlights in real time.

When used with a bit of humour and politeness, Instant Messaging can be a great way to support relationship building within your business.  Informal chatter helps people to get to know and like each other, and in turn, work better together.

Web Conferencing
Web conferencing is another tool that made a big difference to productivity. Karen green-lighted the use of this technology and made sure it was made widely available at Patersons, encouraging and supporting live conversations, presentations, show-and-tell and training sessions across the organisation on a daily basis.   As a working mum, Karen understood better than most that flexible working arrangements can help keep your workforce sane and productive.  As a result, many people worked from home, or in the field, and web conferencing ensured that everyone could keep in the loop and collaborate regardless of location.

Wikis and Document Share
Wikis and Document Share websites were also setup to enable teams and experts to share documents, knowledge and resources within a live, editable website environment.  Virtual Private networks ensured this data remained safe and secure whether it was accessed inside or outside the company buildings.

 

2. Create a Knowledge-Sharing, Collaborative Community

One of Karen's major ideas was Patersons Community website, a custom-built online portal which provided knowledge resources to potential clients, customers, partners and employees.

As well as providing online User Guides, Forums and FAQs, the Community played host to a series of bi-weekly webinar events.  By last summer, the Community had over 7000 members, and had presented webinars to over 800 attendees.

As well as running webinars to promote Patersons core offer, Karen saw additional value in giving our audience access to expertise and research devised by other leaders in the field of Global HR & Payroll.  These events proved to be of great interest to our audience, and helped position Patersons as a organisation that appreciated the value of sharing and collaboration.

The product webinars aimed at new and old customers also had the added benefit of helping to keep sales and client management teams up-to-speed on the latest product initiatives in a concise and easy-to-absorb manner.

3. Commit to High Quality Online, OnDemand Training

More formal training was also highly valued by Karen.  This was demonstrated by her investment in a dedicated in-house team that produced high quality elearning modules and assessments within a custom-built Learning Management System (LMS).  Her business reasoning was that the more deeply our clients and employees understood the workings of our software, the less likely they were to need more costly customer support services.

I count myself lucky that I had the chance to work with a CEO like Karen, who really understood the importance of online collaboration and learning as a means to drive better business results.

Without her visionary thinking and leadership, the company would probably have chugged along in the slow lane, unable to take full advantage of the global business opportunities on offer.  And I would never have had this great opportunity to learn how to manage the development of such a wide range of collaborative initiatives.

Oh and least I forget, I should also mention Patersons vision won another major accolade when the business was awarded 'Fast Growth Business of The Year 2010' at last year's Fast Growth Business Awards.

If you happen to be a business entrepreneur or leader who's wondering how to make 2011 a much better year for your business or organisation, perhaps it's time to take a leaf from Karen's book.

For more information on how to improve your performance with collaborative and social tools, why not get in touch with The Loop. We'll be happy to chat further about initiatives that could actively support your business objectives for 2011.

]]>How Web Conferencing Can Improve Learning and Knowledge Share Within Your Organisationhttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2011/1/13/how-web-conferencing-can-improve-learning-and-knowledge-shar.htmlSusanne Currid2011-01-13T17:35:51Z2011-01-13T17:35:51Z

Looking for ways to save money and get more effective when it comes to learning and knowledge share in your business?  Here are six great ways to use web conferencing to help you achieve these goals.

Image produced by Wordle.net

1. Reduce Costs of Training

The most obvious benefits come from the cost reduction offered by online training sessions.  If you are able to replace classroom training with online trainer-led sessions delivered via web conferencing, you are set to make savings on travel, accommodation, lunches, coffees, plus your attendees and trainers save all that time lost away from the office.

Savings also come from providing training to multiple locations from one online source, saving on the need for trainers to be located across the country.  

Almost 80% of executives who employ Web-based training and conferencing cite the elimination of travel costs as an important reason for doing so, according to a recent study of training techniques by Osterman Research, Inc. The study demonstrated an increase by respondents in the use of online training during the previous 12 months, including Web conferencing for employee and customer training. It also cites a corresponding decrease in in-person training. (1)

 

2. Increase Training Attendance

Company training programmes often suffer from absenteeism, due to other pressing work commitments or poor communication of training benefits.  Training and knowledge share sessions delivered directly to the employee desktop by web or phone conference can significantly improve attendance rates.

Ostermans Research reported the leading reason individuals choose to attend online training sessions or Webinars as a replacement for in-person events is the ease of fitting them into their schedules. Fully 82% of respondents cited convenience as a motivating factor.(1)

The benefits of increased flexibility also rank high among respondents to another recent survey about Web-based training conducted by Wainhouse Research. That study said Web conferencing accomplishes two key things for training organizations: It allows trainers to reach and include learners who could not attend before and it supplements in-person courses. (2)

 

3. Improve Learning Retention

There are some doubts on how well participants learn and retain information from self-drive elearning modules. An ROI Institute study has shown that an instructor-led learning process results in a higher commitment from the learner to follow through and apply that learning to their day-to-day work. (3)

Collaborative, instructor-led learning environments that can be facilitated by web conferencing technology, ensure learning retention and follow-through levels remain high, whilst still giving business the other benefits that come from web delivery. 

 

4. Support Change Management

New initiatives arrive quickly and frequently in today's fast changing environment. However, without effective communication and training to support these changes, new ideas can quickly get stuck and loose momentum.

Senior management can now use web conferencing to quickly broadcast a new vision to the whole organization, across multiple locations and time zones.  Live presentations which offer attendees the chance to ask questions, and hear other opinions can be powerful platforms for change management.  Live web training can also be created and delivered quickly so your people can respond more rapidly to new changes, technologies and processes.  

 

5. Improve Profitability With Customer Training

It's a well known fact that the cost of retaining an existing customer is far less expensive than the cost of acquiring a new one.  Providing timely online product or service training via web conferencing to your customers, affiliates and partners, improves their knowledge of your offer and helps increases loyalty to your organization.  Desktop and application share options provided by web conferencing enable your trainers to run customers through online processes and documents in real time.

Personally, one instance where I’ve used this technique to great effect was when training Asian teams on the new processes associated with a new product rollout.   Visual support is especially helpful when English is not a first language for your audience, or your accents differ widely.  The combination of live audio and visual provided by web conferencing makes it easier to communicate your message and avoid misunderstandings that may come from an audio conferenced meeting. 

 

6. Facilitate Knowledge Share and Informal Learning

One of the wonderful things about web conferencing is that it's really easy to record and store live knowledge share sessions for future reference.  Ideally, we'd want everyone to document the knowledge they've acquired and share it with colleagues regularly.  However, it's not always possible to capture everyone's knowledge this way as it takes time to sit down and write a guidelines document. Recording knowledge via a web conferencing recording ensures information does not get lost and can be retrieved and used for reference when manuals or more formal training programmes are being updated. Make these files accessible at any time, and you also increase the opportunities for more informal research and learning by your employees, on a just-in-time basis. 

YouTube provides a great example of this knowledge share approach.  There are now millions of ‘how to’ guides posted on the channel.  In the past, I’ve used YouTube to learn how to knit, how to regrout my bathroom and how to fix a leaky cistern!  The applications are endless and should not be missed out on within the corporate world.

 

Next Steps

Are you looking for ways to improve the way your organisation facilitates learning and knowledge share? If so, why not get in touch with The Loop and we’ll be happy to have a ‘no-obligation’ chat about your requirements.

 

References

(1) Osterman Research, Inc. “The Future of Training, an Osterman Research White Paper,” December 2007.
(2) Wainhouse Research, LLC. Whitepaper: “The Agile Trainer: Creating Velocity for Online Learning Using Web Conferencing.” 2007
(3) Phillips, Jack, Ph.D. “The Business Value of e-Learning,” Dec. 2007-Jan. 2008 “ELearning!” (with Holly Burkett). http://media.roiinstitute.net/articles/pdf/2008/01/18/el1207_ROI.pdf

 

 

]]>Top 10 success factors for virtual collaborative project implementationhttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2010/12/7/top-10-success-factors-for-virtual-collaborative-project-imp.htmlSusanne Currid2010-12-07T10:21:59Z2010-12-07T10:21:59ZI've just read a very interesting piece by Gartner analyst Tom Austin.  He's been on the road, travelling worldwide, examining how businesses successfully (or not) deploy new web-based, social and collaborative practices and technologies.   

The 10 key success factors he has outlined include:

1. If you haven’t defined what constitutes success (and what constitutes failure), how do you know how you’re doing? Stop using vacuous terms like “collaboration” (which means everything to everyone and nothing specific), instead substitute behaviorally-related objectives (project completion rates, time to decision, community vitality). A majority of IT organizations fail on this criteria.

2. Get prior agreement with the business on success/failure criteria. A majority of IT organizations fail to do this.

3. The future is here now — potentiate it. Study existing work patterns and add value selectively. Make the best cases more successful. The worst cases will follow on later.

4. Ignore siren call of infrastructure merchants. Broadscale rollout establishes the wrong pattern and wrong expectations. See rule 3.

5. Culture: Evaluate the culture(s) in your organization and work within your cultural constraints.

6. Volitional: All of these approaches  are “volitional”. Andy Grove was right when he said the new has to be 10X better to displace the old.

7. Not everyone is an expert! Target based on key skill profiles. Maybe you should target task workers or junior practitioners and not build for experts.

8. Interenterprise is a key part of critical ad-hoc projects where collaboration and social are key. Users will go outside if you make it difficult.

9. Less is more. Minimalism is to be revered.

10.   Be organizationally inclusive at start (legal, ops, security, etc)

From my previous experience, I've got to say he's hit the nail on the head on every point. 

A Shared Vision

It's essential that everyone is clear and in agreement about the project's objectives from the start.  It's also imperative that the whole business buys into these objectives.   Too often, new technologies and processes are implemented without clear explanation as to the business objectives they are designed to support.  

Get Specific With Metrics for Success/Failure

I'd also say the metrics that measure success need to be bite sized and sensibly phased.  It helps if deadline dates are specific, rather than Quarter 1 or Summer 2011.  This keeps the delivery impetus sharp and makes projects less inclined to scope creep.

Look For Quick Wins and Shortest Project Cycles

Starting with the quick wins is a great way to get everyone on side.  Then focus on the points of greatest pain with existing processes.  Where possible, break every project down to its smallest constituents.  The shorter each project cycle, the more likely it is to succeed.  Using this Agile, iterative project management approach is proving much more appropriate in these days of constant change.

Activate The Feedback Loop Early On

It's sobering to remember that many people will avoid change, unless they clearly see how their pain is going to be cured with this new approach.  And if it solves the pain, but creates a nasty time-consuming side effect, your new 'improved' process could be dead in the water from week one.  It's got to be obvious and easy-to-use from the start, so using the lowest-grade people effected as your user-benchmark is a very helpful piece of advice.  Get their involvement at scope, development and test phase to make sure you've covered all the issues before deployment.

A Supporting Culture Is Key

Needless to say, organization culture plays a huge role within the successful deployment of new technologies and practices, especially when we ask people to collaborate online in new and unfamiliar ways.  This process has to be supported with training and guidelines.  Additionally, departmental advocates can also be sought out and nurtured within your organisation.   They in turn can help encourage their more reticent co-workers to get over any initial wariness of the new.  

Greater transparency and engagement also requires support and leadership from the top.  If the 'let's all collaborate' line sounds like empty management rhetoric to the shop floor,  you may encounter cynicism about new projects, even if there is genuine value on offer.   For ultimate success, the soft people issues need to be looked at squarely and managed alongside deployment.  Getting genuine advocacy and sponsorship from the company's leadership can give the project a huge positive boost.

Be Inclusive

An engaged workforce is more inclined to be collaborative, but true engagement will only come with involvement from all departments and levels in the early stages.  And as Austin mentions, that should include people who represent every corner of the company from the point where the project is scoped.

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To find more about successfully deploying virtual collaborative technologies within your organisation, contact Susanne Currid for a free 'no-obligation' chat about your requirements.

]]>How Professional Service Companies Can Generate More Valuable Sales Leads With Webinarshttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2010/11/2/how-professional-service-companies-can-generate-more-valuabl.htmlSusanne Currid2010-11-02T11:42:04Z2010-11-02T11:42:04Z

]]>2010 Southwark Tycoon Bootcamp Winnerhttp://www.the-loop.com/blog/2010/10/28/2010-southwark-tycoon-bootcamp-winner.htmlSusanne Currid2010-10-28T09:39:57Z2010-10-28T09:39:57Z

]]>Is fear of change strangling successful social media adoption within your business?http://www.the-loop.com/blog/2010/9/8/is-fear-of-change-strangling-successful-social-media-adoptio.htmlSusanne Currid2010-09-08T11:44:38Z2010-09-08T11:44:38Z

]]>How does your business need to adapt to benefit from social marketing?http://www.the-loop.com/blog/2010/8/25/how-does-your-business-need-to-adapt-to-benefit-from-socialm.htmlSusanne Currid2010-08-25T09:23:34Z2010-08-25T09:23:34Z

]]>With no recommendations or reviews will anyone buy what you have to offer in the future?http://www.the-loop.com/blog/2010/8/9/with-no-recommendations-or-reviews-will-anyone-buy-what-you.htmlSusanne Currid2010-08-09T14:19:41Z2010-08-09T14:19:41Z

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