Next-generation communities—Part 2 Getting value from the latest community tools and features

Taking communities mobile

Smartphones are the principal digital interfaces of our generation, and they’re well-suited to connecting employees with community content and colleagues at their most “teachable moments.” Mobile accessibility allows community members to contribute, ask and answer questions, and receive community updates on the go. APQC’s research shows that communities are more likely to be effective if they have apps to facilitate mobile access and interaction. The availability of off-the-shelf apps such as Sitrion ONE, Microsoft Yammer and Slack makes it easier than ever for communities to take at least part of their functionality mobile.

Mobile apps are particularly useful for organizations in which employees travel frequently. For example, Nalco Water’s field sales and service groups are a major focus of its KM program. The organization has two KM apps for this on-the-go workforce: a custom application that allows users to search and retrieve technical content and an off-the-shelf Sitrion mobile app to enable access to communities. Nalco has not customized the community app in any way, so employees can download it directly from the Apple, Google Play or Windows store on their phones. The application syncs with the organization’s SharePoint MySite system. When a user launches the app, the home screen defaults to that user’s MySite activity stream. Users can then view, post and comment just as they would on the desktop version. Employees primarily use the app to consume community information and social updates, although some use it to upload photos and ask questions when on-site with clients.

Accenture’s community program similarly benefits from mobile apps. Community tools can be accessed through a mobile app with a discussion stream and Pinterest-like “collections” capability. The collections feature allows individuals and communities to create and access curated content compendiums with an appealing visual interface. The app allows participants to see whether others are logged in. A lot of community interaction occurs through the app, which is especially useful for sharing insights from conferences or staying connected while traveling.

Provide multiple tools for members to engage with communities

KM leaders would be wise to embrace the growing variety of new tools and features for communities of practice. APQC’s research shows that community programs that use multiple tools and approaches are more likely to be effective, as this chart and this infographic illustrate.

Specifically, the adoption of enterprise social networking, expertise location tools, wikis and mobile apps are all correlated with an increased chance of community success.

Still, community information and opportunities can feel chaotic if not presented to users in an orderly way. If there are too many disparate systems to navigate and toys to play with, community members will get distracted and frustrated. KM leaders need to create cohesion in their community toolkits by integrating systems where possible and clearly delineating the use cases for different tools.

This article is adapted from APQC’s “Next-Generation Communities of Practice” research report. The first article in this series, which was published in the May/June 2018 issue of KMWorld discusses broader trends in community design and development.