Case Study: Microsoft Engages Employees and Creates a Self-Service Knowledge Repository

Case Study: Microsoft Engages Employees and Creates a Self-Service Knowledge Repository: "Case Study: Microsoft Engages Employees and Creates a Self-Service Knowledge Repository"

24 February 2010
Carol Rozwell

Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00174294


Many organizations struggle to reach a tipping point in the adoption of social media. This case study explains how Microsoft engaged its employees to share their expertise and, in the process, created a dynamic self-service knowledge repository.

Overview



Microsoft needed to provide employees with the knowledge they require to stay up to date with a steady stream of new product releases. Like many other firms in a dynamic business environment, it found that its training organization was strained and having difficulty keeping up with the demand for new courseware.

Key Findings
* Academy Mobile was created to evaluate whether social media concepts could be applied to let people share information directly with each other.
* Today, there are 2,000 frequent podcasters, 650 uploads/month and 125,000 page views. People use Academy Mobile as a self-service expertise network.
* As usage grew, intrinsic motivation became more important than the incentive program. The podcasters contributed their best material because they wanted to be perceived as experts.

Recommendations
* Establish a clear code of business conduct, then trust employees to do the right thing.
* Allow the community to share the knowledge it feels is most relevant and to determine which contributions are most useful.
* Seed the initial implementation but when the solution goes viral, manage with a light touch.