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Category: Best Community Business Integration
Community: Staples
Submitted by: Staples Program Manager, Retail Communications Alissa
A vital resource for 6,000 store managers across the US, Behind the Button has become an integrated tool in the day to day operations of stores and has changed the way the Staples Home Office communicates with them.
In addition to the store managers and field leadership, a group of Home Office subject matter experts representing functional areas such as merchandising, operations, HR, and marketing are active members of the community. These Home Office experts have proven to be a key benefit of the community, providing answers to store questions and using feedback gathered from the site to refine programs and influence change.
Senior leaders at Staples love to leverage Behind the Button for its Live Chat application - it has been most popular with Divisional Senior Vice Presidents as it gives them the ability to have personal interactions with all the stores in their regions when travel for face to face meetings is not possible.
There have been more than 25 Live Chat events on the community in 18 months. From the President of US Retail to initiative leaders looking for feedback on a new program, Chats have become a go-to communication vehicle to connect with stores across the country in one action-packed, hour-long session.
The newest feature of Behind the Button, "Inspired Ideas", will further integrate the community into Staples business when it launches in May. The new ideas module will replace the company's static Idea Exchange program with a more dynamic application that leverages social collaboration on the community.
After all, it's the associates behind the Easy Button that know the business the best, and the Behind the Button community gives them a voice, not only to help each other be successful in their jobs, but to impact change within the company. In the words of one Behind the Button user to his fellow community members: "This community is in my opinion, the most underrated, valuable resource that we have... And every post that every one of you put up is a testament to the culture that makes this company successful."
