The importance of creating an internal community: the groundswell inside your company

In chapter 11, Bernoff and Li discuss the many benefits of creating an internal community for your company. Through the cases of Best Buy and Intel, they demonstrate the many positive of such an action. Best buy was able to listen, talk, energize, support and embrace all of their community- especially the active ones. This chapter makes me think of Clark University attempts to engage the ground well- and especially the fact that Clark is not doing such a great job. 

At Clark, one of the major ways that an internal community is created is with all the Facebook groups – from class specific ones “Class of 2013”, “Class of 2014” to major specific “Clark Political Science major”, to student clubs on “Clark Hillel”. In these Facebook groups, Clarkies connect with other Clarkias on a wide variety of topics, publish their events, and even post announcements for housing opportunities r off jobs. However, despite the well-meaning aspect of these Facebook groups, these Facebook group are exclusively catered to students, by students- there is no administration or executive outpost. So, even if the students are appreciative of these different Facebook groups and enjoy being able to talk to each other in a virtual manner, the administration is not getting any feedback or demonstrating any response. 

An example of the variety of Clark Facebook groups

There are so many opportunities that Clark is faced with that the administration could utilize this already exciting network. Most recently, Clark changed its policy from a need blind to a need aware. This resonated sharply with the Clarkes, who sharply responded in the way that Clarkies know how – a online petition, a Facebook group and a protest in front of the administration building. In response to this energy, Clark did not respond in an innovate way or even virtual way. Instead of posting straight to Facebook, they held a meeting. This meeting, held in the middle of the day, was mostly attended by administration and furious parents- but Clarkies presence was scant. This demonstrates the difference in how the administration and the Clarkies communicate. Even today, Clarkies are still mad; which highlights Bernoff belief that “without management active participation, your efforts will fail”. 

Clarkies wrote about it in the Scarlet

However, some staff are willing to participate in this groundswell. Most recently for international happy day, a Clark student produced a video entitled “Clark University “”happy. In this video you see a variety of Clark student dancing and lip-syncing to the popular song, Happy Day by Pharell. This video is cute, it is fun. It is also staffed with a couple of staff members that are willing to “let loose” for the benefit of the community. The participation of the staff and administration serves to humane them in the eyes of other Clark students. However, there is only so much good this video can do.

Clark should really push for an administration that  will engage with the internal community of the school. Students need to feel like their administration is listening to them.