Transport for NSW - Wattle the Wonder Bear

Meet Wattle the Wonder Bear. This is a bear that helps people use Viva Engage, and in doing so, connects people across an entire organisation and state, breaking down departmental hierarchies, and creating business value.

Wattle the Wonder Bear.

It may sound like a big task for one small, stuffed bear. Yet, that’s exactly what this bear has achieved.

Wattle came to life in late 2023, stemming from an idea from Blake Maddick, Senior Digital Officer, People Communications and Engagement, at Transport for NSW, a state government department responsible for strategy, planning, policy, regulation, funding allocation and other non-service delivery functions for all modes of transport in NSW including road, rail, ferry, light rail, point to point, regional air, community transport, cycling and walking.

Blake remembered a campaign he heard about at SWOOP Analytics’ Viva Engage Festival where supermarket giant Coles used a stuffed bear competition to get employees more connected using Viva Engage. At the same time, Blake’s daughter came home from kindergarten with the class mascot. The mascot was a dinosaur and Blake’s daughter was tasked to take the dinosaur on all her extra-curricular activities for the week, journalling her adventures in a class scrapbook with photos. The end result was a kindergarten class scrapbook filled with the dinosaur’s year-long adventures with each student.

As Viva Engage was being rolled out across Transport for NSW, which has more than 30,000 employees, Blake was trying to think of a way to get colleagues using the platform to showcase the people of Transport for NSW, and the work they do. There is a strong link between employees who better know their colleagues, as well as an organisation’s mission and objectives, and increased organisational performance.

He thought; “What if we have a totem, or a perpetual trophy, that is an excuse for our people to contribute on Viva Engage? A way for people to photograph themselves with a bear”.

Just like his daughter did with the class dinosaur, the people of Transport for NSW could photograph themselves with the mascot and post on Viva Engage. With such a diverse workforce – everything from train and bus drivers in rural and remote areas of the state, to those monitoring Sydney Harbour Bridge traffic cameras, and departmental executives – something as simple as a mascot could connect all these people.

Wattle in the hot seat monitoring Sydney’s traffic cameras.

“We wanted to highlight and showcase our people, and one of the other objectives is to increase Viva Engage adoption because we were rolling out Viva Engage to the organisation at the time,” Blake said.

“So having an invitation to post, for people who may not have posted on Viva Engage in their lives before, seemed like a really good idea.”

Blake started the adventures of what is now Wattle the Wonder Bear by posting on the All Company Viva Engage community, called All Transport, sharing his idea and asking if anyone had a bear, or any stuffed toy, they could donate.

With 25 toys on offer, a poll was posted on Viva Engage to vote for the winning toy. Then it was time for another poll to decide on a name, and Wattle the Wonder Bear was born.

Doing these posts got people using Viva Engage for the first time, allowing them to practise using the platform by doing simple things like sharing a photo of a stuffed toy and participating in a poll.

One of the team. Wattle with her Transport for NSW colleagues.

Blake said the reaction to his posts was so positive, it soon became time to establish Wattle’s own Viva Engage community.

“The name of our channel fell into place – Where’s Wattle? Like Where’s Wally? So, it was all community sourced, and all community driven, and we came up with a really nice name,” Blake said.

And just like that, Wattle became a superstar across Transport for NSW as she connected people from all aspects of the organisation.

Wattle at the train controls.

Wattle became a team mascot, joining people on site, on trains and buses and bringing joy to her colleagues, who posted photos of Wattle’s adventures on Viva Engage.

“We were getting posts every day. One team would take Wattle, and another team would take her and photograph her,” Blake said.

“People were collaborating on Viva Engage to organise that baton pass.”

Showcasing the people of Transport for NSW

While Wattle may be the star, the true purpose of the Viva Engage posts was to showcase the people and the work of Transport for NSW, and begin a culture of sharing and connecting on Viva Engage.

“Ideally, Wattle is there to encourage people to use Viva Engage to showcase our people, because we know that content about our people is one of our high performing types of posts,” Blake said.

Wattle on site with her colleagues.

Where’s Wattle is now the most engaged public community across Transport for NSW’s Viva Engage network, according to data from SWOOP Analytics.

Blake believes the success of the community, and the adventures of Wattle, stem from the fact it’s completely organic, and powered by the people of Transport for NSW.

“For this to work, after having conversations with you guys at SWOOP, we were aware that things that came out of the comms team was very refined and had a corporate language to it,” Blake said.

“And we’re trying to get different demographics of people, particularly frontline, to participate in this.”

Work, work, work for Wattle.

Measuring the business value of Wattle

The adventures of Wattle make for great fun and collaboration across Transport for NSW’s workforce, but with that comes measurable business value. By using SWOOP Analytics for Viva Engage to look at the Cross-Enterprise Collaboration, you can see exactly who Wattle is reaching – which teams, departments, geographical locations and more. There were examples of teams connecting on Viva Engage for the first time to coordinate Wattle’s journeys, Blake said.

He tells the story of a day he handed Wattle over to a colleague he had never yet met. They decided to meet for a coffee before work with Wattle, ahead of her next adventure.

“I would have never spoken to this person, ever, until I handed her this bear and we had a laugh, and I found out she worked in a particular area for Communities of Practice,” Blake said.

“Just so happened that I was involved in setting up a Community of Practice for AI in our company.

“And I had just met the specialist, when we were setting one up, and we got to talk to each other. All that happened because of the bear.”

Wattle on the night shift.

Connecting people across geographical boundaries

The state of NSW is about four times the size of the United Kingdom, with Transport for NSW employees working across the entire state.

Since the advent of Wattle the Wonder Bear, some of these rural and regional workers have had the chance to connect with colleagues face-to-face for the first time, after following Wattle’s journey on Viva Engage. It’s also been the first time they have felt comfortable to post on Viva Engage. And once on the platform, data from SWOOP Analytics shows most people then also look at other communities.

A hard night’s work for Wattle and the team.

“Some of frontline can feel isolated, especially if they are regional,” Blake said.

“They can go weeks without seeing anyone else (from Transport for NSW) so trying to get them onto Viva Engage is a goal of ours.

“Increasing organisational uptake to the platform is a strategic goal.”

When the hard work is needed, Wattle is happy to help out.

Blake said he is especially proud of the success in connecting people that has come about as a result of Wattle.

“It’s deliberately been very, very organic growth and we’re showcasing our people and connecting our people,” he said.

“It’s been entirely community built. That’s one of the main reasons why we found to be a successful endeavour.”