Nike We: Portal
The Dragonfly Effect shows how important the DESIGN or “how and what you ask for” is in order to achieve the most effective results. Specifically, the Nike We project was successful in this design process by using social media to cultivate the right culture.
In July 2009, Nike launched the WE Portal, an online platform designed to empower its 30,000 employees around the globe to connect with, contribute to, and evangelize social and environmental causes. The Nike-based social network matches employees by location and passion with causes they can contribute to, creating a space where people can connect and give back.
By creating the portal, Nike was able to support all of the ways that employees might want to give back and at the same time give the employees a sense of ownership in the process. Specifically, employees’ donations fall into four categories: time, voice, money, and talent. Points accrue on each employee’s WE profile page as a badge of honor, and can be exchanged for gifts of money or products to the approved charity of the employee’s choice. Approximately 60 percent of the projects in the WE Portal were chosen by Nike based on its corporate philanthropic goals and priorities; the other 40 percent were suggested by the employees themselves. Through this participation and positive reinforcement, Nike was able to succeed in growing this program very quickly.
And, thanks to the tools provided by Nike, the WE Portal community can move quickly. When an elementary school burned down in their community, two Nike employees got on We portal, leveraged their relationships developed via the networking and communications tools, and relocated the school in one weekend. Empowered by social media and the “Just do it” mentality, Nike employees donate their time, voice, money and talent to things that really matter – all because of the tools available to them in their social networks.
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