By Tristan Parker
In a time when technology is evolving at an almost unfathomable rate, it is hardly surprising that microblogging service Twitter is already becoming commonplace in as short a time span as it first gripped the public interest as something new, weird and exciting. Whereas not long ago it was innovative and daring for local authorities to send out Twitter updates, allowing residents to keep track of council services and events, it is now rapidly becoming the norm.
As a result of this adjustment, a new question is now being asked throughout local government. We know that social media can increase engagement between an organisation and its customers, but can it also be used to improve internal communication and staff efficiency within the organisation itself?
Brighton and Hove City Council ( http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/ ) certainly thinks so, and has begun using Web 2.0 applications and channels such as Twitter, YouTube, SharePoint and wikis through its internal intranet, in the hope that staff will benefit from them.
One key development has been the use of Yammer ( https://www.yammer.com/ ) – essentially a business-oriented, private, internal version of Twitter, which replaces Twitter’s concept of ‘What are you doing?’ with ‘What are you working on?’
Yvette Bordley, Senior marketing officer for Brighton and Hove City Council, explains its use: “We’ve got web content and communications people, and then we’ve got technical people who are based in a different location, and quite often there are things we’re working on that we need to communicate about. So rather than picking up the phone, it’s a way of actually finding out what’s been done, what hasn’t been done, and what’s being worked on. And because it’s instantaneous, it’s not like you’re getting an email which you then have to follow up. It’s just a better way of working.”
Microsoft SharePoint, a web-based collection of software that can host shared intranets, wikis and blogs, among other functions, is also proving a valuable tool for the council, and other collaborative tools are being sought for internal application at the council. “What we’re doing is looking at what’s available in SharePoint or looking at the concepts that are developing in social media and how we can apply them to improve the way we’re working within the council”, says Bordley.
Though the potential benefits of these tools are clear, not all are convinced of their use to local government, particularly where an external or public element is involved. Plymouth City Council recently banned staff and councillors from using Twitter – a move that provoked much anger – amid fears of inappropriate content being posted in the council’s name.
Bordley says that Brighton and Hove is forward-looking in this respect: “A lot of local authorities don’t have really progressive people who are opening up these channels. There is a lot of opposition to it. I think it’s important to have an evangelist – someone who says ‘let’s try it and see’, but also some guidelines. Not to stop staff having a view, but just to have some rules of engagement.”
To assist in this process, Bordley is currently working on a set of social media guidelines, for use by council workers, to address the widespread fears represented by Plymouth’s actions. “It’s so that people are clear about the fact they’re representing the council”, she says. “A lot of it is just common sense and simple guidance. We’re not writing reams and reams, and it’s not bureaucratic – that’s not in tune with social media.”
She is keen to point out, however, that the council still has a long way to go in working out how best to use the new generations of interactive tools, and that its work is still in the preliminary stages. “We haven’t yet cracked it just by introducing these [channels] on our intranet and allowing people to have access to them – it’s going to take time”, she says.
“At the moment we’re trying to educate people on what these things are – how we can use them; how they can benefit service delivery. The focus is totally on how these things can improve the way that we work.”
Though it is too early to have received much staff feedback or fully assessed whether the new measures are improving efficiency, the council is already planning for further technologies to be introduced. One new feature will be an evolving ‘ask a question’ wiki on the intranet, whereby staff can access a wiki page to answer common queries, with information having been posted by other staff members. “It’s a different way of doing things, so that staff can help themselves. If someone has a question, hopefully someone else can post an answer. It’s user-generated content”, says Bordley .
Further plans for the future include a similar wiki-based system that would allow staff to relay their ideas on how the council can save money. And a third idea, explained Bordley, is for a ‘jargon-buster’. “A lot of people might begin working at local authorities and not understand the jargon that’s used. In this way, we can allow staff to generate the content that they would find useful for them to do their job properly.”
As befits an area with many web and technology-based companies, Brighton and Hove was recently named the most talked-about council on Twitter, suggesting that there is good scope to use such tools both internally and externally to reach out to citizens. “I think it signals a change – that we’re using social media to communicate and be accessible, both with people outside and within our own staff,” Bordley says.
“We’ve got a long way to go, but it’s about two-way communication. We want to encourage staff to use these tools to help them collaborate, but really it’s about looking at ways we can use these methods to improve productivity and help people to do their job.”
