Malin Liden, Vice President, Global Field Marketing, SAP
19 August 2019
Some birthdays are more significant than others, especially the first one. One year ago, I started the SAP Digital Tribe with a few other enthusiasts, to help accelerate digital marketing upskilling at SAP. We wanted to create a platform for our most advanced colleagues to learn, share and shape the future of digital marketing at SAP. Drinking our own digital champagne, we collaborate virtually in calls and with online tools like MS teams or Jam, but we also held an in-person summit for top contributors. Regardless of where and how we connect, we focus on ideation, innovation, surfacing existing best practices that we help each other implement, as well as learning and teaching digital marketing skills.
The set-up is simple and inclusive: Connect likeminded colleagues, regardless of where they sit in the organization. Ignoring organizational charts sounds radical? So far, the results have been remarkable, showing the value of communities.
What have we achieved that is worthy of celebrating on this birthday?
- – A pull force: The Digital Tribe has grown 400% in its first year, completely organically. We are not asking or requesting anyone to join. The right people come because they want to engage and connect with others who share the same interests, goals, passions, and purpose.
- – Peer power: We have 98% satisfaction rate of our monthly webinars which is spectacular for virtual sessions, but not surprising because what peers tell peers is always relevant. In fact, one of the most common phrases I hear in this community is “you know exactly what I am talking about” (with a big sigh of relief).
- – An innovation machine: In our first year, we’ve identified and transferred best practices to other geographies, and we are also creating the best practices of tomorrow. In our first shark tank, six teams pitched their most innovative digital marketing ideas for executive sponsorship and funding. While we had one winner, three additional digital marketing pilots are also being executed.
- – A gold mine of talent: Everyone in the Digital Tribe has a super power, something that they know and do better than others. Tribe members host webinars to share these skills with colleagues from across SAP. In a community, everyone is a student, and everyone is a teacher.
The fascinating thing about communities is that your title doesn´t matter. You earn respect for what you do, what you know, how you share and how you care. We´ve uncovered a treasure chest of talent and skills in this community that we could never have found by looking at an organizational chart. This community surfaces talent that people have from activities outside of work, from volunteering, previous jobs, or their passions and hobbies.
It’s all about the people
Communities work because there is value connecting people who share the same goals and interests. But, the most powerful factor is the human aspect. People want to surround themselves with people they like and that they have fun with. As such, the biggest accomplishment that I see with the Digital Tribe is that it feels like a family – a network of people who like and respect each other, where they feel safe to share both successes and failures, present an out-of-the box idea, ask a question that feels stupid, or make a bad joke. This environment delivers all the foundational elements for innovation. It’s a group of diverse experts who are united behind a common purpose and a genuine interest in seeing each other succeed. You can’t mandate or design a network like this, you can only provide the platform, bring the right people together, help start the conversations, orchestrate activities, and see the brilliance unfold.
What’s next?
So far, the SAP Digital Tribe is internal, but communities don’t know boundaries and only become richer with increased diversity. In the future, we want to open this network for engagements with partners, agencies, students, and anyone in our ecosystem who is passionate about digital marketing.
It feels special to celebrate the first birthday of the Digital Tribe with members that have become my friends. I can’t wait to see what we will accomplish together and how this network will grow to include many more amazing people. Who knows, maybe you’re next?