Graduate students put project skills to work, develop Web 2.0 strategy for company

The team includes Drew Krieger, from left, Christina Pardo, Julia Landry, project manager; and Molly Wasko, faculty member.

Four professionals meet for their morning project meeting. Thumbing through their notes, they share new information from their consultations this past week with company managers.

They share new facts: “I have the data for the call center. They’re trying to get the numbers down to decrease the cost of each call.” “They have e-mail campaigns, but they aren’t Web-based.” “They’re interested in Facebook because they want to disseminate information how people receive it.”

Then, they start problem-solving: “Does Facebook reach their target market?” “Would LinkedIn work better?” “Which Web tools work best, keeping in mind security and branding?” “Does it support the company’s business strategy?”

These professionals are students in master’s programs in business administration and management information systems at the College of Business pursuing an independent study in project management led by Molly Wasko, associate professor. They’re developing a strategic plan to leverage Web 2.0 – which includes user-driven applications like social networking sites, wikis and blogs – for Fringe Benefits Management Company.

“Our organization’s been around a while, and a lot of things have changed with social media, and it changes more and more every day,” said Chet Hall, CIO of the FBMC, a Tallahassee-based company focused on administering employee and retiree benefits. “We’ve been talking about doing something for some time, literally three years now.”

FBMC has experimented with everything from training via YouTube to tweeting company updates, but it seeks a more comprehensive approach, Hall said.

Enter Wasko’s student team. The project provides students real-world experience, and FBMC receives its desired analysis and a recommendation for Web 2.0 strategies.

“Historically, organizations created content they sold to consumers. With Web 2.0, users can co-create content with companies,” Wasko said. “It’s a challenge for organizations because they lose control over the information.”

Wasko’s  team of students includes Julia Landry, project manager; Drew Krieger and Christina Pardo. “These are students who were just exceptional,” Wasko said of her team, whom she handpicked from her summer project management course. “This team will finish this semester, but ongoing work may require another team.”

Students say Wasko’s class provided a firm foundation about the basics of project management, such as scope, time and cost. But they’re getting a crash course in how to handle the daily challenges that come with project work.

“I have quickly learned to be more open to change,” Krieger said. “The project has already taken on several drastic changes since the beginning of the semester. I now find myself taking criticism with a grain of salt and just moving forward. We put a lot of effort into a presentation during the initial stages. Even though our sponsor did like the presentation, he ultimately had us change all of it at the last minute. This was frustrating at first, but looking back on it I see that it is something that I will probably have to get used to in my career. The experience has been rewarding on many levels.”

The team has made a list of company officials that they’re interviewing one at a time to gain a bigger picture of what Web tools are already being used and what new tools are needed.

Landry says she’s been surprised how receptive company officials have been. “They want to use social media, but they’re just not sure how to use it.” Founded in 1978, FBMC serves more than 300,000 customers and their dependents and receives 600,000 customer service inquiries annually, according to the company’s Web site.

Pardo says there are countless opportunities to use social media to cater to the needs of customers. The team is trying to find the ones that best match the company’s business strategy and gives FBMC a competitive advantage.

The team is on target to provide a recommendation to FBMC in early December.

Hall, a College of Business MIS alumnus, said working with FSU’s business graduate students has been a very good experience. “They’re obviously very smart people and definitely interested and attentive. They’re knowledgeable of what we’re talking about and receptive of what we’ve thrown at them.”

He said students are getting practical experience in how to interact and interview people, how to get through the hierarchy of the organization and how to navigate political waters.

“We’re glad to have them here,” Hall said.

He’s looking forward to the end result: a comprehensive plan on how to harness Web 2.0 for the benefit of FBMC.

“Hopefully it will resonate throughout the organization,” he said.

By Melanie Yeager