Telstra has identified almost 300 new company initiatives since it went live with Salesforce Ideas (known as T[ideas] at Telstra) one year ago. T[ideas] is Telstra's company-wide, real-time online opinion forum that was launched to encourage staff interaction as part of its commitment to grow the business through technology leadership and improved customer service.Â
"When David Thodey came on board, they looked at new ways to engage with staff but struggled to find the right way to have effective two-way dialogue with such a huge number of people. Â There are a lot of social media tools that work well for consumers, but nothing that seemed appropriate for a business environment - particularly one of Telstra's size and scale," said, Lindsey Armstrong, Executive Vice President, Salesforce.com Asia Pacific & Japan.
Salesforce Ideas allows Telstra employees to submit, discuss and vote for ideas in an open forum. Employees can monitor the progress of their suggestions while Telstra assesses each idea against its popularity, viability and how well it aligns with existing plans and strategy.Â
 "Part of driving through change, innovation and improved customer service, means listening to what frontline staff and partners think the business should be doing.  They have a direct line to customers and can provide companies with an enormous amount of insight and understanding about their customers, business and the industry," Armstrong added.
