Workshop Two

HOW TO MANAGE THE NETWORKED WORKFORCE

10 March 2010

Incisive Media Training Suite, London W1 

 

Most of us grew up in command and control cultures where it was assumed that communication passed vertically up and down the organisation and the role of a middle manager was in large part to manage that process. With the connectivity afforded by the web, staff are able to connect with each other horizontally, finding out information faster than official systems can keep up and increasingly expect to not only work in loose distributed teams but also be able to maintain connections with others outside the organisation. This shift in capability and expectations will be a significant challenge for many managers.

This session aims to give you the context and the information to make better judgements about what to do, when to do it and how to do it in ways that make the most of this exciting opportunity.

 

What will I get out of it?

- You will leave this session confident that you understand the benefits and risks of networked ways of working.

- You will have the context to decide what is appropriate and not for your business and practical steps you can take to make things happen or prevent them happening.

- You will be able to see exciting opportunities for you personally to reinvent the role of middle management in your organisation and the knowledge to make a compelling argument for bringing about those changes in your organisation.

 

Workshop Programme

The web generation

A brief look at what is being called the web generation though in fact it may not be as precisely defined by age as many suggest. What characterises confident web users and what are their expectations of the workplace? 

Networked working

This session will look at how online tools affect the way information flows around organisations and how this changes the roles of managers and others charged with communication. We will also look at the exciting potential for getting more things done for less using these tools and look at the very practical ways in which they can make a difference.

Strategic or tactical - or both

This part of the workshop will explore the different ways that managers can ensure the most effective and appropriate implementation of these tools. Unlike previous IT projects they are less a single monolithic system and more an ecology of tools both inside and outside the organisation. How do you manage this ecology and what behaviours on your part are most likely to be effective? 

Control to influence

Many managers fear loss of control with the widespread ease of communication now possible. In this session we will argue that in fact managers have traditionally had less control than might have appeared to be the case and that if done well, communication using these tools can in fact increase your ability to influence what happens in your organisation to a degree never before possible. 

When things go wrong

While there is a general misapprehension about the degree of risk involved in opening up communication in the ways being discussed here, it is important to deal with the issue of what you do when things go wrong. You will be given the means to decide what "wrong" is in the first place and ways of dealing with events if they have taken a turn for the worse.

Recruitment

This session will explore recruitment in the future and the sorts of things that will affect new employees' willingness to sign up for your organisation. We will explore how to find potential employees and how to connect with them, how to develop online Alumni and how to foster connections between those already inside your business and potential new recruits.

Ownership of social media in the business

Several of the current, traditional, divisions with a modern business could legitimately see themselves as owners of social media initiatives. Should it be HR, should it be IT or should it be line managers? This session will help you explore the pros and cons of the various approaches possible.

Doing the work

While the ideal in the long term is that social systems should largely run themselves in the short term effort will be required to get them up and running and encourage their use. This session will discuss who the right people are to get involved and how to make the best use of their efforts. We will also look at the new roles that potentially emerge once your activities reach a critical mass.

Your staff on the web

The line between work and non-work is becoming more blurred by the day and this is nowhere more true than online. Your staff will be engaging in all sorts of online conversations and some of these will be about work. This session will explore how to help your staff understand what their responsibilities are online, when they represent the company and when not, and how to enlist their support as advocates for your work.

Policy

Many of your existing policies will be applicable to online, networked working. This session will explore how they might be applied and how to go about writing new policies if appropriate. We will look at policies created by other organisations and define the key characteristics of effective and workable policies.

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LOCATION: All workshops take place in the Incisive Media Training Suite at 32-34 Broadwick Street, London, W1A 2HG

COST: Each workshop costs £400 + VAT. Buy two workshops at £800 + VAT and get the third one free!
The workshop fee includes tea/coffee, buffet lunch and workshop documentation.

BOOK YOUR PLACE: To book your place or for further information, please contact Joanna Letts at joanna.letts@incisivemedia.com or call +44 (0)207 316 9361