I was checking out this list of retailers who plan to expand in 2010 and I started to think about what's sure to happen in each of these companies during their expansions. I came up with 4 things:
1) New physical locations will start to go up. These can be stores or distribution centers, or manufacturing plants, or call centers, or other service office structures.
2) Their organizations will need more people. New people.
3) Depending on the scale of the expansion, there will probably be some operational growing pains. Or at least a renewed openness to think about how work happens.
4) And from the start, all of the employees at these companies will have a need to understand why the company is growing, how it plans to grow, and what’s happening right now.
See it? It’s all right there. Literately thousands of square feet of opportunity for an Intranet Manager or Information Strategist. How? Let’s unpack each one and brainstorm the possibilites together:
1) New physical locations.
Of course every expansion plan is different, but adding new locations almost always stretches the current support infrastructure. As an Intranet Manager what are the ways you can enable more “self-service” and “peer-to-peer” support for field employees? Can you get out there now and start talking to them, finding out what information they should be able to access on their own? Can you imagine new ways that social networking tools could enable field co-workers help each other more.
2) More people. New People.
Once in expansion mode your company will need competent current employees (who are solid in the business culture of how things should be done) AND new co-workers (to take on new work in new places). What are some of the ways your Intranet could support both of these groups? For current co-workers, can you use your Intranet to enable volunteering for build-ups? Can it help them document and share knowledge? How can your Intranet help your company identify high-potential co-workers to fast-track? For new co-workers, where does your Intranet super-charge your onboarding process? And lastly, how today is your Intranet and Internal Information strategies living and teaching your business culture and norms?
3) Operations people that are ready to re-think and scale current work processes.
During times of positive change there is often a new energy—a willingness to say, “whoa, we can’t do it like we did it in the past—we need to scale.” So look for those opportunities to strengthen your relationships with operational, sales, and marketing leaders now. Find out about what changes they have in mind and offer change management and communication support. Point out where you think technology and your Intranet could help them with what they are trying to do to drive sales and support the business.
4) Employees who want to be a part of it – and who may face tough changes ahead.
In my experience, expansion news is one of the top types of content employees want, because to them it is about “Jobs” and "Career Opportunity." What are the possibilities for your Intranet to help your CEO get the word out about the expansion and other business strategies? Can you setup a place on your Intranet for employees to read and see videos of the most recent ground breaking? How can you help new stores become a company-wide celebration?! On the flip side, growth isn't always a celebration. New locations can change distribution routes or organizational setups. Be on the lookout for opportunites to offer support when smart change communication can help.
What do you think about these 4 opportunities? Do you have any suggestions or ideas to add?
Let me know what you think...
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