Our lessons learned from 10 months of Yammering in a global company.

1. Yammer – From 0 to 1500 users in 3 weeks
Martin @Risgaard Rasmussen
Intrateam Event, Copenhagen, March 2013

2. About me

3. Grundfos in brief
• Founded in 1945 by Poul Due Jensen
• Annual production of more than
16 million pump units
• The world’s largest manufacturer of
pumps and pump systems
• Turnover of DKK 21 billion (EUR 2.84 bn) in
2011
• More than 19,000 employees worldwide
The Grundfos Purpose
Grundfos is a global leader in advanced pump
solutions and a trendsetter in water technology. Ownership
We contribute to global sustainability by
pioneering technologies that improve quality of life
for people and care for the planet.

4. Global Working Culture in Grundfos
The Global Working Culture initiative is born
out of Carstens Bjergs intent of creating a
global organisation where everyone works
and collaborates as effectively as if all were
‘sitting under the same roof’.
-Global Working Culture charter, 2011

5. The first steps towards a social business…

6. We need something new!
(Part 1 – Workshop in Copenhagen)
”How can we use social media to
connect people before they meet
physically in Copenhagen?”
The Approach
• 2 ”IT guys” called in to help…
• 4 Community managers appointed
• 40 Invitations sent out two weeks
before the event.
• Hosts posted new content regularly
to encourage feedback
• Secondary purpose: Yammer would
allow users to involve ”people at
home” in the workshop.

7. We need something new!
(Part 2 – Innovation project)
”We need a more flexible, social
collaboration tool for our new project –
Could that be Yammer?”
The Approach
• 1 strong driver (Project manager) who
went all in from day 1.
• All project members in a relatively
small team invited and all Internal
emails banned!
• Everything on Yammer – also files
and documentation.

8. 10 months – 5 Important Lessons Learned

9. Lesson 1: It all starts with a purpose
Purpose…
Contribution
Results! Encourages Receives
Change Feedback
Creates Enables
Decisions/
Understanding
The Commitment Loop

10. Our 5 generic purposes / application areas
1. The Global Grundfos Community
2. Geographically dispersed departments / teams
3. Project communication/collaboration
4. Communities of Practise
5. Ad hoc collaboration spaces
An example from a community of practise
• To create a common place to share ideas and experiences, enhance awareness and
knowledge related to the Extranet.
• Empower members to master and optimize the use of Extranet in their organization.
• Create interest and establish synergies with other communities to maximize the benefits
of the Extranet.

11. Lesson 2: Respect the 90:9:1 principle*
*The number of people who create content on the Internet represents approximately 1% (or less) of the people actually viewing
that content. For example, for every person who posts on a forum, generally about 99 other people are viewing that forum but
not posting. (from Wikipedia)
Image credit: Jake McKee

12. Lesson 3: Communicate, Communicate…
An unplanned ‘Yammer explosion’ is like a virus: It causes
disruption that makes people uncomfortable so the
‘company immune system’ tries to get rid of it.
• Think about your user adoption strategy from day 1
both for early and late adopters.
• Create guidelines for social media use Recommended read!
• ”It’s OK… You’ll feel better tomorrow!”
Total Engaged %
30,0
And most importantly: 25,0
20,0
• Explain the Why, How, and What as 15,0
early as possible. 10,0
5,0
0,0
30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 2 4 6 8

13. Lesson 4: Show me the money!
…or rather: Make the value visible!
• Promote the good examples
• Praise the creators personally
• Create a tag for good content
• Encourage and facilitate
…and as a nice bonus you end up with
some very useful arguments for discussions
with people who label Yammer as a waste
of time 

14. Wasting time…?

15. Lesson 5: Be available and honest!
Don’t just launch and leave! Yammer is a new way of
working for many and people need to learn how!
Support the learning process.
Don’t argue and defend! People will call Yammer ‘crap’
and do it to your face. Ask for reasons rather than
evidence. Keep calm…
Do get out there – talk to people! People will be looking
for heroes and help. From a personal branding
perspective, here’s your chance!
Do get the security guys on board! Involve them as early
as possible, but be prepared to stand your ground!

16. So what’s next for Grundfos?

17. The 6 things social media does well
Image credit: http://www.slideshare.net/jeremywaite/purpose-pyramid

18. Our lessons – summarized
1. It all starts with a purpose – The more specific the better.
2. The 90:9:1 principle is real – Community managers and champions are
vital!
3. Communicate loud and clear what Yammer is and isn’t – ”objects in the
mirror may be larger than they appear!”
4. Show the value when it becomes apparent – Impossible to show up front,
but emerges early.
5. Find some comfy shoes and get out there. Be available! – YOU are the
Yammer guy or girl (sometimes the ”Yammer geek” so make sure to wear
your thick skin as well…)

19. Comments? Questions?
Martin Risgaard Rasmussen
mrrasmussen@grundfos.com
@Risgaard
http://connaxions.wordpress.com
Thank you! -Reid Hoffmann, Founder, LinkedIn