Headshift piloted a simple social network tool for the BP Aromatics and Acetyls group to help support their sense of shared identity and culture, but also to help promote better collaboration within a business unit that spans the globe.
A shared identity and better collaboration
As a global business unit with offices and factories across three continents, BP's Aromatics and Acetyls team was looking for a tool that could help them build a shared identity. They were also looking for ways to improve collaboration between colleagues that were seldom able to meet face-to-face.
Our main aim was to advice on a set of tools to make communication easier, more useful and more immediate.
How to encourage better communication?
We suggested a wiki to improve collaboration - an interface that allows those with access the ability to contribute or modify content, as well as notifying users when new relevant information has been added.
We also suggetsted a blog to encourage debate between people who normally never meet but who have an interest in knowing what other colleagues think. The blog would also work well as an archive of thoughts for people who share the same office - a place to debate without interrupting the flow of day-to-day work.
In addition to the wiki and the blog we also piloted ways of bookmarking and tagging content to share with a wider community. By making public what individuals are reading a group starts to create a collective knowledge hub and a very efficient way of recommending relevant information.
A photo-sharing device was also suggested, making it easy for people in remote locations to make a more personal connection, be that strictly for business, or for more social purposes within the organisation.
The pilot project suggested the use of an opensource Mediawiki, Wordpress blogs, various plugins and custom PHP development.
Outcome
BP Aromatics & Acetyls is a business unit spread across the globe. By introducing a social communication tool the problem of distance would be reduced and employees would be able to collaborate with greater ease. The piloted solution was aimed to help foster a greater sense of unity within the organisation, forging closer ties between colleagues in remote locations.
A shared identity and better collaboration
As a global business unit with offices and factories across three continents, BP's Aromatics and Acetyls team was looking for a tool that could help them build a shared identity. They were also looking for ways to improve collaboration between colleagues that were seldom able to meet face-to-face.
Our main aim was to advice on a set of tools to make communication easier, more useful and more immediate.
How to encourage better communication?
We suggested a wiki to improve collaboration - an interface that allows those with access the ability to contribute or modify content, as well as notifying users when new relevant information has been added.
We also suggetsted a blog to encourage debate between people who normally never meet but who have an interest in knowing what other colleagues think. The blog would also work well as an archive of thoughts for people who share the same office - a place to debate without interrupting the flow of day-to-day work.
In addition to the wiki and the blog we also piloted ways of bookmarking and tagging content to share with a wider community. By making public what individuals are reading a group starts to create a collective knowledge hub and a very efficient way of recommending relevant information.
A photo-sharing device was also suggested, making it easy for people in remote locations to make a more personal connection, be that strictly for business, or for more social purposes within the organisation.
The pilot project suggested the use of an opensource Mediawiki, Wordpress blogs, various plugins and custom PHP development.
Outcome
BP Aromatics & Acetyls is a business unit spread across the globe. By introducing a social communication tool the problem of distance would be reduced and employees would be able to collaborate with greater ease. The piloted solution was aimed to help foster a greater sense of unity within the organisation, forging closer ties between colleagues in remote locations.
