Red Robin chain “Yammers” its way to meaningful internal dialogue

New York -- When retailers discuss a social media strategy, they usually mean something involving reaching out to customers through popular social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. And while that is an important marketing technique to engage modern consumers, social media can also serve as a powerful internal communications and engagement platform. For example, quick service hamburger chain Red Robin uses the Yammer enterprise social network to directly link employees to senior management and each other in real time.

Using an internally deployed Yammer network, Red Robin is able to allow employees to directly ask questions and make suggestions in an open forum. Senior executives can easily deliver video messages to employees across the company in real time. New initiatives and programs can be quickly rolled out, with employees able to offer instant feedback. Managers can also easily have higher-level conversations with each other.

Enterprise social tools like Yammer have helped Red Robin transform a widespread employee base of nearly 30,000 across 44 states into a more tightly knit workforce focused entirely on team member and guest satisfaction,” said Chris Laping, senior VP of business transformation and chief information officer, Red Robin.

The word “yammer” traditionally means to mindlessly prattle about topics of little or no importance. But at least in the case of Red Robin, Yammer is having what kids in the 1980s would have called a “bad” impact on Red Robin’s internal communications.