In these difficult economic times, companies are continuing to look for ways to reduce costs and keep the workforce engaged in spite of layoffs all around us.  Leveraging Web 2.0 technologies is clearly one solution that addresses both of these issues.  McKinsey has just published a great article on “Six Ways to Make Web 2.0. Work” (February 2009) (sorry, premium membership required).  I’ll summarize them here, because I think these are vital activities for anyone partaking on any type of new initiative — not only Web 2.0 initiatives:

1. “The transformation to a bottom-up culture needs help from the top.”  Every initiative needs executive support.  Executives need to walk the talk… not just talk the walk…  Executives must model the behavior they want to see — in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, they must “be the change they wish to see in the world.”

2. “The best uses come from users—but they require help to scale.”  People are eternally creative.  They will find new uses for the technology or process being implemented that will exceed the ideas and plans of even the best management and/or deployment teams.  Seek out these uses and reward and support continual innovation. 

3. “What’s in the workflow is what gets used.”  Any new effort needs to be integrated into the day-to-day activities of the users.  Anything that is perceived as “extra” work on top of an already over-full plate will be rejected and ignored.  The new effort must become an integral component in getting a normal day’s work done effectively.

4. “Appeal to the participants’ egos and needs—not just their wallets.“  Setting performance metrics based on contribution may not always be the most effective way to incent behavior.  Creative individuals will find ways to “game the system” and quality will suffer at the expense of quantity.  Public recognition can be a strong and less expensive incentive.

5. “The right solution comes from the right participants.”  It is vital to identify the stakeholders involved in the effort and to support the “players” and “change agents” and to mitigate the influences of the “cynics” and “detractors”. Gaining involvement and buy-in from decision-makers and influencers is critical to the success of any initiative.

6. “Balance the top-down and self-management of risk.”  Fear of the unknown and concerns over compliance and exposure must be balanced with the effectiveness being sought through the new initiative.  Having HR, IT, Finance, and Legal all a part of the project ensures that all sides are properly represented in making the right decision.

What does “Multi-Locality” mean for the manager of a team in the modern, multi-local environment? According to Josh Bersin “driving a performance-oriented culture demands a focus on new compensation models, improved forms of collaboration, and the development of clear goals-based performance management processes.” How does this apply to the multi-local talentforce?

First, we need to build personal accountability not only for individual performance, but also for effectiveness in collaborating across a diverse, multi-local environment, working seamlessly in a multi-functional, multi-organizational, multi-generational, and multi-cultural workplace. We must “inspect what we expect” by leveraging Web-based tools, such as wikis, Web meetings, CRM (customer relationship management) software, instant messaging, and social software to stay connected with the global, digital and virtual workforce.

Second, we need to develop management agility, broadening our management practices and developing more multi-faceted and situational leadership skills. Traditional practices such as MBWA – management by wandering around – are still valid and effective in the on-premise environment; yet modern practices, let’s call it MBSA – “management by surfing around” – the ability to lead using modern, Internet-enabled technologies – become paramount in the off-premise world.

Third, we must foster social responsibility, where each individual works toward the organization’s goals to the best of his or her abilities, while respecting and valuing the contribution of others. In the multi-local environment, diversity is no longer a program managed by the HR department; rather diverse work groups embracing differences in gender, age, culture, nationality, personality, and religious, political, and sexual preference are the norm in the evolving global village.

Finally, we must develop pay-for-performance strategies in which compensation is tied not only to individual performance but also to effective collaboration in the multi-local environment. Team-based pay structures and compensation for contributions to group knowledgebases help to direct and motivate individuals in sharing and disseminating knowledge across the global organization.

Mastery of modern organizational models and management practices is a critical success factor for effectiveness in leading the modern, multi-local talentforce. Management agility, personal accountability, social responsibility, and pay-for-performance are key themes that leaders must embrace to be successful in working with the multi-locality aspects of today’s organizations. Whether you are a corporate executive, regional manager, outsourcer, expatriate, or inexorable road warrior, there are a plethora of tools and options now available to improve communication and foster collaboration in supporting work anyplace, anytime, anyhow, helping individuals find greater work/life balance in the modern global, digital, remote, and evermore virtual world in which we now live.

Communication is the focal point for all successful interaction within and across organizations. As communication tools and technologies have evolved over the decades, the nature and expectations of the workforce have changed. The figure below shows a collection of sites, services, methods, and technologies mapped along the axes of Location and Collaboration.

In the lower half of the graphic are the traditional, tangible methods of communication, such as company directories, manuals, newsletters, meetings, conferences, as well as the company picnic, hallway discussions, and informal chatter around the water cooler. The collaboration and communication technologies shown in the top half of the figure have grown out of the digital age: in the upper left are those referred to as Web 1.0 and in the upper right are what have collectively been called Web 2.0.

The term Web 1.0 is a “retronym” – a term developed after the creation of the term Web 2.0 in order to refer to the previous state of the Web. Web 1.0 can be generally characterized by the development of static websites with read-only material, widespread computer illiteracy, and slow Internet connections. Some examples of websites that have evolved from the Web 1.0 era are Yahoo! and Amazon.

According to Wikipedia, “Web 2.0 describes the changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aim to enhance creativity, communications, secure information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development and evolution of web culture communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.” The main difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 is that of programmer-generated content versus user-generated content, hence Web 2.0 places a heavy focus on ease-of-use so that users can easily contribute content on a real-time basis.

Web 2.0 technologies cover a broad spectrum of websites, services, methods, and tools such as the following:

Online Marketplace – where buyers and sellers collaborate over offers and purchases, such as pioneer eBay, and later Amazon, Craigslist, Angieslist, and now all major retailers.

Mass Communication Tools – where workers communicate freely in a subscription-based or ad hoc approach, such as RSS feeds, readers, blogs, podcasts, videocasts, YouTube, Flickr.

Instant Messaging – tools that facilitate remote collaboration over the Web through real-time messaging, such as trailblazer ICQ and now Yahoo, AIM, MSN, Google Talk, and Skype.

Social Software – where users network and communicate with others of similar interests, such as MySpace, Facebook, Linked-In, Plaxo, Orkut, Xing, Ning, SelectMinds, and many others.

Collaborative Documentation or wikis – where people contribute knowledge to build a common database, such as pioneer Wikipedia, and others such as Answers, Google Docs, Jive, SocialText, Confluence, and Basecamp.

Web Meetings – screen sharing, audio, and video via the Web allowing users to conduct virtual meetings and collaboration sessions, with such products as WebEx, GoToMeeting, and Dimdim.

VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) – a method for transmitting voice over the Web enabling real-time conversations, such as Skype, Vonage, and MagicJack.

Web Development Software – collaborative Web 2.0 programming languages and tools that improve the user experience, such as Ruby on Rails, Drupal, Ajax, Flash, Dreamweaver, etc.

Tags and Social Bookmarking – a framework for storing, organizing, searching, and managing websites via metadata and making information publically available to others, such as Delicious and Google Bookmarks.

Smart phones – Web-enabled, multi-function cellular telephones, incorporating telephony, calendaring, Web surfing, music/video, and gaming, such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Palm Treo.

Status Updates – tools that that facilitate staying touch with friends and colleagues, such as SMS (Short Message Service) commonly known as text messaging, as well as microblogging tools like Dodgeball and Twitter.

Crowdsourcing or Community-based Design – taking an activity generally performed inhouse and outsourcing it to a large group of undefined people to enhance work and innovation, such as vendors using potential customers to help design new products.

Virtual Reality Software – software that simulates another world that can be used to create more effective, life-like training scenarios, such as Second Life and World of Warcraft.

Effective leadership of the modern, multi-local workforce requires agility and mastery of skills along many dimensions, from informal chats to networking approaches to formal meetings and written documentation. The figure below summaries key communication strategies common for each of the four groups of workers making up today’s talentforce: local, remote, digital, and virtual.

As work has spread to multi-localities, the nature of and methods for collaboration and team work have also changed. Collaboration in the traditional, single office setting is vastly different from collaboration across a modern, global, multi-local organization. Work performed on-premise at Corporate and Regional Headquarters locations is largely of a tangible, physical nature in contrast to work done off-premise in Satellite Offices and Offshore Centers which requires more intangible and virtual cooperation. The figure below shows how work across the continua of Location and Collaboration can be grouped into four broad categories.

Local – On-premise and Tangible – Collaboration in the local setting is personal and visible. Meetings take place face-to-face, and teamwork (or the lack thereof) is real and apparent. Individuals bond easily in tight-knit groups, sharing a common history and company culture. Much communication takes place in face-to-face meetings and conferences, as well as in hallways, lunch rooms, and around the water cooler.

Remote – Off-premise and Tangible – Collaboration in the remote setting is also personal, but disconnected and therefore much less visible. Telephones (land and cellular) and conference calls facilitate communication and collaboration tying remote locations and offsite workers to corporate and regional offices.

Digital – On-premise and Intangible – Digital collaboration grew out of the computer era, leveraging the Internet, LAN/WAN technologies, and electronic media such as intranets, email and PowerPoint. Communication in the digital era has shifted to the Internet with email, websites, online newsletters, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, and so on. Virtual –

Off-premise and Intangible – Virtual collaboration takes the digital age one step further by removing the constraints on time and allowing individuals to work not only anywhere, but anytime – separate time zones but connected via tools and software such as wikis, blogs, social networking software, and more.

My next post will explore in more detail the communication and collaboration tools and technologies that have evolved over the last decade to support and connect the global, disparate, multi-local workforce.

Much has been written about the many dimensions of today’s modern workforce. From the multi-generational differences with the Veterans, Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y to the pluralities of cultures and variety of global mindsets, the workforce of today is more diverse than ever before. Another important aspect of the multi-dimensional talentforce in the modern digital age – “multi-locality” – the phenomenon that individuals can and do work anywhere, anytime and anyhow.

The worker of today is no longer bound by space and time, constrained by the nine-to-five work day, confined in rows of cubicles. While offsite work and telecommuting have been a part of our work environment for many years, the increasing numbers of people working remotely and virtually is fundamentally changing the nature of the modern workplace. Now, rather than an exception to be dealt with, remote, virtual workers are the norm, and accommodating schedules and time zones differences and providing appropriate tools are now critical aspects of modern work. And this is not only true for professional staff; blue collar work is also offshored and piece-mealed, leveraging part-time, retired, and lower cost workers, so that the company’s workforce is truly spread across the globe.

One critical implication of the multi-locality aspect of our work environment is the blurring of boundaries between professional and personal lives. Not only can work be done anywhere, but also at any time, creating expectations of 24×7 availability and instant response times. These heightened expectations can place increased levels of stress on the modern worker, as they pursue the ever more elusive quest for work/life balance. What we need are new approaches and tools that companies can adopt to better support the modern, virtual worker and to increase management effectiveness in today’s global, digital age.

Subsequent blog posts will look at these differences in locality what impact they have on our ability to collaborate and work effectively across the modern, global organization.