3 years, 1 month ago
What is your experience using Yammer?
What value does Yammer offer?
What do you like about Yammer?
What do you dislike about Yammer?
What do you like about Yammer?
What do you dislike about Yammer?
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M$1 Answer
Yammer is essentially a corporate version of Twitter. Think of it as a Twitter cloud just for your company.
It's been my experience using Yammer that it's only as good as the adoption amongst the company's employees. Unless everyone uses it, the value is diminished.
I believe that the success of the application depends upon what kind of company you work at, the corporate culture, age of the work force, level of technology integration, etc.
We have been trying to use Yammer as a way to help manage work load; to share what projects are being worked on, who needs help and who has time to spare. It's ideal for those purposes, and much, much more.
What I like?
It's a fast, convenient and productive way to communicate information across the organization.
What do I dislike?
The struggle to get everyone to use it (some just don't "get it").
For those not familiar with Yammer:
Yammer is a discussion board for your company: post a status update; ask a question; shares news, links, opinions, and information.
Yammer is a private social network for your company: each user gets a profile displaying their photo, title, expertise, background, what they are working on, etc.
Yammer is a knowledge-base for your company: you can search for any topic to see who's talking about it and what's been said. Great for new employees to get up to speed.
Your employees stay connected wherever they are when they use Yammer through our free web, desktop , BlackBerry, iPhone, IM, email or SMS clients.
Yammer is only accessible via SSL, and only by employees with a valid company email have access. Additional security restrictions can be added after claiming your network.
https://www.yammer.com/images/screenshots/screenshot_feed.jpg
It's been my experience using Yammer that it's only as good as the adoption amongst the company's employees. Unless everyone uses it, the value is diminished.
I believe that the success of the application depends upon what kind of company you work at, the corporate culture, age of the work force, level of technology integration, etc.
We have been trying to use Yammer as a way to help manage work load; to share what projects are being worked on, who needs help and who has time to spare. It's ideal for those purposes, and much, much more.
What I like?
It's a fast, convenient and productive way to communicate information across the organization.
What do I dislike?
The struggle to get everyone to use it (some just don't "get it").
For those not familiar with Yammer:
Yammer is a discussion board for your company: post a status update; ask a question; shares news, links, opinions, and information.
Yammer is a private social network for your company: each user gets a profile displaying their photo, title, expertise, background, what they are working on, etc.
Yammer is a knowledge-base for your company: you can search for any topic to see who's talking about it and what's been said. Great for new employees to get up to speed.
Your employees stay connected wherever they are when they use Yammer through our free web, desktop , BlackBerry, iPhone, IM, email or SMS clients.
Yammer is only accessible via SSL, and only by employees with a valid company email have access. Additional security restrictions can be added after claiming your network.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Interesting. So are there any techniques to motivate those employees that don't participate to keep updating their Yammer status?
I've run into similar problems with employees adopting other technology as well (i.e. CRM apps, etc.). It does not seem to be as much of a problem with companies that are "technology-related" and that employ younger, typically early adopter types of employees. These companies seem to be more accepting of grass roots efforts to introduce new technology solutions. The problem is with companies that are well established and that endorse the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude.
One way that I have found success with these companies is to make certain that the technology being deployed is a necessary part of the process, and that alternate solutions are not acceptable. For the CRM example, people tracking client data in their own Excel or Access systems was no longer allowed, users had to use the new system and everyone was informed of the benefit of doing so. Ultimately, the new CRM took-off, everyone was happy and more productive.
In the case of Yammer, it has only been introduced as a tool from a grass roots level, and not as an integral, company endorsed part of the work management solution. The good old "sneaker net" still prevails for assigning work and communicating project status. Unfortunately, this does not work well for remote or traveling workers who are not in the hallway to overhear the conversations.
For Yammer to be successfully integrated into the non-tech, non-early adopter workplace, I believe that it must be championed by the company's leadership and made a mandatory part of some process. Once that is done, and people begin to use the app, they will experience the benefits and more and more uses for the technology will be found.
It's just not easy...