Test your IC digital maturity

The commsbots are here. Stay tuned for more info…

At The Big Yak unconference a couple of weeks back, I managed to catch up with my super smart friend Tony Stewart, Head of Digital at Scarlettabbott.

During the buzz of the day he gave me a sneak-peak of a new digi-diagnostic tool they’ve been working on.

And today I’m pleased I can finally share what I saw with you all.

It produces commsbots. Seriously. You need to check it out.

I’ve asked Tony @TSdigi (pictured) to reveal the diagnostic itself, why it’s such a useful tool, and why conversations about digital communications are so important right now.

Rachel: Having looked at it, I think the digi-diagnostic tool is a great way for teams to understand where they are in the fast-moving world of digital communications. What compelled you to build it?

Tony: The more we speak to our clients about their internal communications and employee engagement ambitions, the more we find ourselves having conversations about the opportunities digital presents to help them with their challenges; message sharing, advocacy, engagement, change.

Communications and digital are undeniably interwoven these days, but still many people think of digital as ‘another thing’, something not core to their role.

So we thought, wouldn’t it be cool if we could ask a few questions about what people are doing with their internal communications now, to help reveal a story about their digital capability.

Let’s help kick-off a team conversation about their current digital activity, how well this is going and what parts could do with some love.

It’s 2016, and I’m a believer that you can’t deliver the best internal communications experience without embracing digital channels, so we wanted to help these teams start that conversation and explore what’s possible.

Here’s a look at what you can expect…

Rachel: What do you think are the key benefits from using the tool?

Tony: It’s a great opportunity for those in internal comms to very quickly get a sense of where they are in their digital communications journey.

It helps you think through topics like:

• Have you considered how digital can support your IC goals?
• Do you have the channels in place that can help you deliver?
• Are your employees in a place where they have the skills to engage?
• Do you have the right rules in place and a handle on your data?

Some of the topics raised in the tool might be things you’d never considered, but all form important part of the digital communications package.

The report produced by the tool will really help you have those conversations with your team, your stakeholders, and importantly with yourself!

Rachel: We heard at The Big Yak how digital seems to be appearing less in internal comms conversations. What are your thoughts on that?

Tony: I honestly think that it’s not because digital is any less important, but because it’s simply now an everyday thing and not quite so headline grabbing.

If you’re an IC team sending emails out to your colleagues, you’re using digital. Video messaging? Online employee surveys? News on the intranet? Yep, that’s all digital too. So we’ve already made the jump!

Instead what we really need is a conversation around your IC vision and goals, and what new platforms can do to help you smash them.

Digital is empowering us in ways never thought possible before; only this week I simply asked my phone for a taxi home and it turned out outside my friend’s house in minutes… what of these new digital capabilities can you and your team use to level-up your IC and empower your people?

Even the digital diagnostic tool itself demonstrates how through digital platforms we can easily engage with an audience, ask questions, get real-time feedback, reach them on their own devices and create social conversations while having a bit of fun at the same time.

Rachel: So how can readers access the digi-diagnostic?

Tony: Head over to our website to answer a series of very short multiple-choice questions; it’ll take you five minutes to complete, if that!

And once you’re done, you’ll be presented with a full report of your digital communications maturity as a team; a great way to start those conversations about how digital tools can support your IC ambitions.

And be sure to share your #Commsbot on social media – let’s open a wider conversation about what’s possible in this exciting world of digital comms!

Thank you Tony.

I’d love to know what you think of the tool. It was a treat to see it while still in development and I was impressed with the quality of information in the end report.

You can find Tony @TSDigi and the Scarletabbott team @scarlettabbott.

Post author: Rachel Miller

First published on the All Things IC blog 12 October 2016.