Turn your internal site into useful tool
Intranets have historically accomplished such tasks as communicating company news and providing access to employee benefits. Just as the Web has evolved, intranets are changing too: They are becoming more dynamic and interactive, providing employees with key tools to do their jobs and collaborate with peers.
One constant that has remained in this time of change is the importance of having a plan.
What are needs?
Oftentimes an organization’s first pass at an intranet is driven by information technology folks, since they are closest to the technologies that are commonly used for intranet portals. A common misstep is not capturing the input from the operations side of the business about how an intranet can be utilized.
The intranet project typically starts strong but then becomes a lower priority for enhancements or updates, because it isn’t considered a mission-critical solution. The intranet should be viewed as a key business tool that will address important organizational challenges often associated with growth.
A strategic intranet will help with common challenges or growing pains such as managing the ever-increasing amount of information, streamlining business processes that aren’t structured or documented and only loosely followed, and improving communication and collaboration with growing teams.
The first step is to develop a vision for the intranet that addresses business pains and aligns to the goals of the organization. Start by getting a clear understanding of the business pains people are experiencing. This requires interviewing or surveying key constituents in the organization to understand their pains and needs.
It is common for a few major themes to surface. These become the core of the intranet vision. For example, many organizations have a vision for the intranet as a starting point to get things done. A project-centric organization may use the intranet as a place to collaborate on projects and access project-related information. The seemingly basic step of capturing a vision helps to drive the ongoing development of the intranet.
Once a vision is established with leadership support, it is time to dive into the planning phase. This phase is where the detailed requirements are defined and documented and the project plan is created.
It is not uncommon for this part of the project to uncover a number of different scenarios that users would like to include into the intranet. This can be a little daunting and feels as if you are trying to boil the ocean.
The key here is documenting the ideas and scenarios that are brought up, and outlining the priorities and setting expectations with the various business units or departments involved so they understand what is happening and when.
A helpful guidepost for prioritizing efforts is the ‘low-hanging fruit’ principle, which helps put focus on components of the intranet that have more immediate benefit.
It’s got to grow
It used to be that many intranets were custom Web applications written and supported by internal IT departments. Today, the trend is to develop on top of Web platforms that provide many of the core building blocks used in virtually all intranets, such as content management capabilities, a built-in search engine, workflow automation and collaboration capabilities.
It is important to choose a platform that is flexible and can be customized to meet the long-term needs of your organization. A prototype built on the in the organization.
The desire to consider an intranet ‘done’ should be resisted. Your intranet needs to continue to evolve as your organization changes and grows.
Also, your plan should include an approach for operating the intranet once it is in production. Clearly define who owns the intranet and what the decision-making process is around its evolutions.
Have a solid system for communicating about the intranet: hot tips on how to use it, requesting enhancements and updates, and so on. Conduct user surveys at least annually to understand how people’s needs have changed. This not only helps you be on top of needs, but also continues to keep people engaged with the intranet.
One of the more important aspects of deploying and operating a successful intranet is user training. Companies with successful intranets provide ongoing training, not just for new employees but for everyone. Continuing to keep the users abreast of how to use the tool and new features is very important in achieving broad user adoption.
Make it relevant
In the last couple of years there has been a transformation on the Internet. What was once largely viewed as a static destination is changing into a dynamic, interactive experience where content is more current and relevant.
Components such as blogs, wikis and personalization have been driving much of that online evolution. These trends are starting to make their way into intranet development.
The importance and popularity of intranets will continue to grow. When done well, your intranet will be a strategic business tool that helps users get their jobs done more efficiently while helping the organization more effectively reach its strategic goals.
Working off a plan that aligns the business goals to the technologies will help to ensure a more successful deployment of your intranet.
