DISCUSS APP // PLAYBOOKThis easy-to-use guide is here to help Innovation Managers run a successful Discuss Forum from start to finish.
KNOW YOUR PIPELINEHere is a quick rundown of every step in your ‘Discuss Forum’ pipeline:
BACKGROUND FOR RUNNING A ‘DISCUSS FORUM’
❶ REVIEW NOTESBy default, all notes from the discussion show up here to be reviewed by the Discussion Moderator and Sponsor. A ‘Review’ action item will trigger to the Discussion Moderator anybody else pertinent.
❷ ARCHIVE NOTESAs notes are reviewed and insights are surfaced to the Sponsor, the Moderator moves all notes to this step.
PLAN → SETUP → RUN → CLOSE → REPORT SUCCESS
KNOW YOUR PREREQUISITESCross these items off your list, prior to kicking off a new ‘Discuss Forum’:
Find a SponsorThe Sponsor should be a senior leader or executive who wants to get his/her organization discussing a broad theme, engaging employees company-wide.
FORUM MANAGERIndividual on the Innovation team that is responsible for setting up and communicating the value of a Discuss forum.
SPONSORSenior leader or executive in a company who has a vested interest in getting the whole company discussing a broad theme.
DISCUSSION MODERATORIndividual, usually within the Sponsor’s’ organization, who manages the day-to-day of the forum, by prompting dialogue and reviewing submissions. He/she works in partnership with the dedicated innovation team.
PARTICIPANTIndividual who submits or collaborates on notes in a Discuss forum.
KNOW YOUR ROLESHere are the individuals associated with a ‘Discuss Forum’
SET UP YOUR ‘DISCUSS FORUM’Once all prerequisites are met, let’s now set up the actual ‘Discuss Forum’ in Brightidea.
PLAN → SETUP → RUN → CLOSE → REPORT SUCCESS
REQUIRED TO-DO’S
Create your ‘Discuss Forum’Select the Discuss App in the Apps Pillar. The App Creation wizard will guide you through all key components needed (title, participants to invite, etc.).
Review the ‘Join the Conversation’ SectionDetailing the background of your Discuss forum will help your participants understand the mission of the discussion.
Ensure to update this widget to reflect the call-to-action. Here is a quick run-through on how to edit widgets.
Set your ‘Countdown’ widgetThe Discuss App, by default inserts a countdown widget - to build anticipation for the start of the discussion.
Navigate to your site home page, select the pencil icon to set the date and time of your event. Here’s how.
Add Assignees in the ‘Review’ StepNavigate to your pipeline, and select ‘Configure Review’ under the ‘Review’ step.
Add the select reviewers (most likely your Discussion Moderator and Sponsor) for this task.
Update Your Idea Submission FormYou might want to add some additional fields to your submission form, that can help you review submitted notes.
Here’s a quick recap on how to set up your submission form.
TIP! Don’t make your submission form too long -you want to make the submission process as quick as possible.
Set Sender Name & EmailDour Discuss Forum will trigger some email communications as engagement ramps up. Ensure you have the desired contact name and contact email address settings.
Navigate to your Communications area in your Discuss Forum to update.
Add Additional CategoriesThe Discuss App will default to one default category for submission. If you wish to give submitters alternate categories to submit under, feel free to add further categories in setup. Here’s how to edit categories.
TIP! You should aim for a max of 3 categories for a Discuss forum to ensure an optimal user experience.
Check the Discuss ‘Mobile Experience’Discuss Forums are meant to be available anytime, anywhere.
Ensure the mobile experience is pleasant by ensuring you have a WebStorm Image uploaded, your Sponsor’s photo is added to his/her profile, and Countdown widget is setup..
Announce the Discussion!(on behalf of your Sponsor)
Make sure participants are aware of this new forum, by sending a newsletter, or using internal channels (e.g intranet announcement or weekly email).
TIP! Along the way, sustain engagement and keep your audience up to date by sending newsletters and blog posts.
RUNNING THE FORUM
Leverage Analytics Dashboards to keep Your Sponsor Up-to-date
Keep the Sponsor up-to-date with the latest Discuss forum engagement numbers. We recommend sending a quick rundown of how many logins, submissions, and votes the site has generated.
Utilize the Engagement & Innovations dashboards to pull these stats.
Review Submitted ‘Notes’As discussion occurs, the Discussion Moderator should review all notes while the Discuss form is still live. After the review, the Moderator can engage the participants further (if needed). All notes should be moved to the ‘Archived’ step.
RUN YOUR ‘DISCUSS FORUM’Congratulations! You finally launched your Discuss Forum to your participants! Here are the tasks to guarantee success:
The Forum is Done!When reaching your end date, your Forum will automatically switch to ‘Closed’ status.
Announce Close of the Discussion & Thank Participants
Leverage the Newsletter or Blog Post to send thank you to your participants for their contribution.
Ensure to keep transparency and keep them updated on when potential improvements will be chosen to move forward.
Send a Feedback Survey to Your SponsorAfter the Forum is closed, navigate to your Feedback Survey from the Steps view right-side menu. From there, you can trigger a simple and intuitive survey to your sponsor to determine if the Forum was a success.
TIP! This is a great opportunity to collect feedback to apply going forward for future Discuss Forums.
CLOSE YOUR ‘DISCUSS FORUM’Alright! You have successfully completed your Discuss Forum.
REPORT SUCCESS TO YOUR STAKEHOLDERWe recommend a follow up with your stakeholder after the ‘Discuss Forum’ has closed. Here are some suggestions for recapping your Forum:
PLAN → SETUP → RUN → CLOSE → REPORT SUCCESS
SHARE DISCUSSION ENGAGEMENT METRICS
Leverage the Engagement dashboard to assess how many participants entered the site, how many cross-collaboration interactions were accounted for, and more!
Learn more about this dashboard here.
SHARE SPONSOR SATISFACTION
Sharing specific feedback from your Sponsor, will help strengthen your impact. Company stakeholders should be privy to any positive feedback from the Sponsor and his/her team.
DO YOU NEED FURTHER ASSISTANCE?
We’d be more than happy to schedule a conversation to get you started with the Discuss App.
