A distributed

community of

thousands.

In order to provide a welcoming and rich employee experience for new hires, a vast global community was established. The core focus of the community was to foster connections and develop skills that supported meaningful and lasting career management.

Alex

Program manager

Nine-year career, three years in role

Learning and development expert

Event planning and execution specialist

Collaborating with managers and partners across organization

A large corporation was looking for a solution to provide a unified experience for all new hires. The experience needed to be within a more connected environment as it was not possible to meet, in person, for larger events. The objective was to adapt and find new ways to bring employees together.

The goal of the community was not only to connect new employees with each other but to also build deeper and more meaningful connections within the company. The community experience was also expected to expand employee skilling and jumpstart networking opportunities that increased career potential and reduce turnover.

Managed 20,000
community members

85% of the community
actively participated

Built and supported
57 micro communities

Results

The effort began by building an employee hub, a SharePoint site that would provide the employees with a single source of truth for their program. As the big picture was developed, more targeted Teams-based communities for each cohort of new hires was set up. The strategy for communications within this program was equal parts networking, learning, and career development.

The focus was to create interactive virtual events with rich, curated content for the community, and opportunities for employees to connect based on personal interests, role responsibilities, and career expectations.

As the community grew, connections formed, and members found common ground and similarities. They began to set up their own groups for specific regions or interests and met together regularly, forming lasting relationships.

Creating a community with their peers also established a sense of trust which enabled them to solve problems and teach each other. The desire to grow and help one another in their personal journeys has helped the community evolve and mature over time.