Microsoft Asia Pacific wanted a vision for employees that captured the exciting possibilities of working in the world’s fastest-growing economies.

All too often, corporate visions are created by leadership teams working behind closed doors. But Microsoft understood that for the vision to really ring true, it had to come from employees. That way everyone would feel invested in the vision – and committed to realising it. But with 3,000 people dotted around 12 countries how do you get people involved? How do you encourage everyone to speak up, whatever their language or culture?

The solution: use Microsoft technology to start a conversation

Working with Microsoft APAC’s Vice-President, Water Cooler created Jump In – a custom-built social tool using Microsoft technology – that meant everyone could join in the big conversation about the vision. A conversation that opened with the simple question: ‘What do you dream for Microsoft?’

Water Cooler developed the strategy, branding and materials that promoted the conversation.

We also monitored the online discussion, drawing the leadership team to interesting or popular contributions, and helping senior leaders frame questions during fast-paced live chats with employees.

The outcome: a vision statement everyone can relate to

Jump In gathered 880 posts from 245 people across Asia Pacific. To hone all these ideas, we created focus groups of employees whose contributions had particularly resonated with their colleagues. The participants in the focus groups were located all over Asia Pacific, so we used Lync, Microsoft’s video conferencing software, to host the sessions.

From there, Water Cooler crafted a vision statement that everyone could feel connected to because they’d been part of creating it.

November 2012