Yammer Network

To join the Western Sydney University Yammer Network, simply enter your 'staffIDnumber@westernsydney.edu.au' email address via this link and follow the instructions: https://www.yammer.com

You'll need to be able to access your work email to complete your registration.

Once you have joined Yammer, you will be asked to read and accept the Western Sydney University Yammer Guidelines. 

Please visit the ITDS knowledge articles for more information on how to join Yammer via:

• Web browser
• iPhone/iPad
• Windows Phone
• Android

Once you are registered, you can create your profile and upload a photo. 

Make sure you are using your real name (first name and surname). 

Please use a photo that's actually of you (e.g. a head and shoulders portrait photo) rather than a more abstract photo.

It's important to note the below before you post or comment in Yammer. 

• Consider if your message is appropriate for 'All Company' or more suitable for a specific group. 'All Company' messages should be relevant and of interest to a broad range of staff. 
• Be respectful to other members. It is acceptable to disagree, but please do so in a respectful manner. 
• Do not post confidential information into the main feed, e.g. 'All Company' or groups that aren't appropriate.
• Add value with each post.
• You are responsible for the material you post in Yammer. 

Your message should be brief (a sentence or two) and informal but professional. To help keep your message concise and interesting, avoid copying and pasting content directly from emails etc. As a guide, think of your post as an 'elevator pitch' that someone should be able to read in seven seconds or less! If you don't think you can cover everything in a couple of sentences, include a URL or contact number for more information.

Type your message in the "What are you working on?" box towards the top of the screen, then select "Post" to publish your message. If you are on the "All Company" page, your message will be available to all Western Sydney University Yammer Network members. If you are on a group page, your message will be available to members of the group.

You can "Like" a message posted by a colleague or "Reply" to comment on a colleague's message. Before you reply to a post, make sure you've read the previous messages relating to that post - it's possible your comment or question has already been posted. You can do this by clicking "Show older replies" under the post. 

If adding a file, make sure it has a clear, appropriate name. This will help assist colleagues when searching for it. 

To delete a post, reply or comment, click on "More" under the post and select the "delete" option. 

You can only delete a post, reply or comment that you have posted. 

Personalise your notifications to make sure you are receiving emails when you want to. To do this, click on your name to view your profile, then click "Edit Profile". Select "Notifications" from the list on the left. 

If you don't want to receive an email every time someone replies to a post you are following, make sure you deselect "Email me when I receive a message in my inbox".

You can create a group within the Western Sydney University Yammer network to share ideas and collaborate with colleagues about specific topics, whether they be work or social. 

Before you create a group, check that there isn't already a similar group.

To create a new group, click "Create Groups" heading in the left-hand column. Create a meaningful group name which will help make your group easy to find and make sure you add a clear description about the purpose of the group. Make sure you have selected "Internal Group" and not "External Network". Consider whether you really need to make the group "private" - you could be missing out of useful contributions from colleagues in other areas. Select "Create Group". 

To join an existing group, click the "Groups" heading to browse all of the Western Sydney University groups, and click "Join". If the group is public, you are immediately added to the group. If the group is private, your request to join will be sent to the group's administrator.

Once you join a group, you'll see messages posted by group members in both "Following" and "All Company" feed.

• The "All Company" feed is available under your groups list. This shows you posts from everyone within the Western Sydney University Yammer network.
• The "Home" tab will show you the latest posts from colleagues in all of the groups you are a member of. When viewing the "Home" feed, you have the choice of viewing the "Top", "All" or "Following" posts. "Following" refers to people you are following only, not those who are following you.
• You can "tag" a colleague in your post. To do this, type their name in your post and a list of options will appear. Select their name and continue with your message. This will notify them of your post.
• Your name should be capitalised. This will help colleagues find and tag you in Yammer. 
• There's no need to include your work email signature in Yammer. When you reply to a post via email, remember to remove your signature before you send (post) your message to Yammer.
• It's not necessary to sign off with your name when posting in Yammer.

You can invite colleagues to join, create polls, praise a colleague, post a question, upload files and organise an event in Yammer. See the Yammer Feature webpage (opens in a new window) for a full list of features.

Options for accessing Yammer

There are a number of options for accessing Yammer.

• Yammer is on the web, so you can always log into the network by visiting: https://www.yammer.com
• You can download the desktop app (opens in a new window), which means you won't need to open a web browser to read and respond to Yammer posts.
• Yammer apps are available for the following smartphone devices: iPhone (opens in a new window), iPad (opens in a new window), Android (opens in a new window), and Windows (opens in a new window) devices.

A weekly digest email is available to keep up-to-date with what's happening on the Western Sydney University Yammer network. You can amend this to a daily digest email or opt to not receive this at any time by personalising your notifications.  

The Western Sydney University Yammer Guidelines (opens in a new window), Yammer's Terms of Use (opens in a new window) and the Western Sydney University IT Acceptable Use of Resources Policy (opens in a new window) apply to staff use of the Western Sydney University Yammer network.

Yammer Basics training is available to introduce staff members to the basic concepts of Yammer.

The practical workshop will discuss ways how Yammer can be used as a platform for communication across the University and will guide staff members through creating a good profile, joining and creating groups, following colleagues, managing your notifications, making a post and other functions in Yammer such as polls and hashtags.

Register for Yammer Basics training via MyCareer Online (opens in a new window).

To find out more about how to use Yammer, visit the Welcome to Yammer Support website (opens in a new window). It's recommended that you keep up-to-date with Yammer's Terms of Use (opens in a new window).

We would love to hear your ideas and thoughts about the use of Yammer at the University. Submit your feedback using the online feedback form (opens in a new window).