> From: Cindy LaCroix <cwlacro@nppdnet.com>
> Date: Mon, 27 May 96 15:40:25 PDT
<<< some deletions here >>>
> Our company is setting up an intranet system as a corporate communication
> tool. It is still in its early stages and I have been asked to
> participate on the focus group. I see the intranet as a way to empower
> employees by giving them access to people who can help them find answers
> to whatever business questions they might have, and so on, and so on.
>
> One idea that I have to start this ball rolling is to ask employees
> throughout our organization questions on the line of; "who is the jack of
> all trades in your area", or, "who do you go to when you have no idea
> where to start"? These people in my opinion are the "hub" of an
> organization and would have the best ideas and the best networks available
> to them to make an intranet successful.
>
> Does anyone have any "food for thought" on this?
This sounds pretty much like you were trying to establish an official
informal network (we discussed this very recently). Authorized informal
network? When I talk about learning organizations, I usually make
reference to minimum conditions that should facilitate learning (sharing
and developing together). One of such conditions is the absence of fear.
If you find out that the employees wonder too much about "how much I can
safely say?," then you may want to check on how intimidated they feel at
work. This kind of thinking will not help a whole lot with your
objectives.
Also I believe that mutual trust must be there for more effective learning
to take place. These aspects, trust and fear, could probably be reduced
or even eliminates with the establishment of a participative environment,
where human beings are treated as such. The humbleness of management was
also mentioned in an earlier post. I believe that this is also an
important condition. Employees must feel that managemnet has an honest
interest in the information sought.
If these aspects are not taking into consideration the intranet project
might still render some information. And something is better than
nothing, but if you want to improve the exchanges then...
-- Ivan,
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