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Most organisations these days have an intranet. It might be a wonderfully crafted portal or a collection of disparate web sites developed to meet the needs of specific business units. What characterises many of these intranets however is a common uniting theme - poor usage by employees. |
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Why are they not used effectively? There are a number of reasons ranging from poor or inaccurate content to issues of poor usability.
An effective intranet can dramatically improve productivity among employees and act as a conduit for ideas and interactions that can help organisations step up a gear in our increasingly competitive global economy.
If your intranet is failing to power-up your organisation then you need to re-asses it's purpose.
Top Ten Intranet Sins as reported by employees:
Content not up to date
Content not relevant
Poor search functionality
Poor signposting
Poor usability
Too slow
Poor navigation
Out of date content not removed
Amateur design
Building an intranet is fairly straightforward. Maintaining it can be a nightmare. Opting out isn't an answer though - that would be akin to burying your head in the information sand. Good intranets deliver a level of connectedness that is impossible to achieve in any other way. Making them good requires not only some neat technology but also an attitude to information management that has to flow across the organisation.
Intranets for Small Companies
Small companies are the hidden powerhouse of a country's economy. Frequently though they fail to adopt some of the neat ideas that are tried, tested and ultimately refined by their larger counterparts. The intranet is a neat idea which can work wonderfully in small companies. And the cost of entry can be surprisingly low. All you need to do is decide what you need it to do for you.
Intranets in a Box
Intranets can be developed from scratch, but as the market has matured it's now possible to get started with an 'out-of-the-box' solution. The advantage of this approach is that a substantial amount of functionality comes built-in - you just have to work out how to use it effectively. We help clients evaluate and select off-the-shelf solutions and back this up with support and training during the introduction phase. It's a low risk approach - especially if a hosted option is selected initially. Even Microsoft has seen the advantage of such solutions, for both SMEs and larger organisations, and has put much effort into it's SharePoint product. According to Microsoft, "With SharePoint Portal Server, you can quickly deploy an out-of-the-box total portal solution that facilitates finding, creating, and sharing all of your mission-critical data from a Web browser." In theory yes - but in practice it needs a little more thought, and some high quality support.
Intranet/Portal Visualisation
When developing new business ideas and processes it can be hard getting your ideas across using words alone. Many of the people you need to influence including key stakeholders need to 'see things' in order to 'get them'. We can help by developing visuals and 'walkthroughs' to support your business case and to help achieve buy-in from the business. Clients love our walkthroughs because they enable them to get a feel for the end result right at the start of the project. Walkthroughs are also invaluable in engaging potential users - and considerably better than a twenty page project plan.
Content and Content Management
Content is king. Building an intranet is one thing - populating it with content effectively is another - and this is a task that is frequently underestimated by clients. Even when a serious attempt is made to develop initial content areas, often the plan to keep that content updated and fresh is weak. We can help plan for effective content and also build-in effective content management approaches right from the start. If you have a web site you need a content management strategy and probably some content management tools. You also need to devolve content management tasks to the business and encourage a giving culture as well as a taking one.
Intranet Prototyping
We can develop prototypes to test usability and gain feedback from potential users. Prototypes avoid costly pitfalls in your intranet/portal strategy. Prototypes also encourage participation from stakeholders - providing some concrete ideas enables people to 'see' your ideas and to contribute effectively to their development.
Intranet Usability
Usability plays a critical role in making intranets effective - most employees say ease of use is the single biggest factor in determining an intranet's success. The good news is that intranet usability can often be improved by taking a few simple steps - a complete re-design is often unnecessary and may even be counter-productive.
Accessibility
Is your intranet accessible? In the UK and in other countries governments are introducing new legislation relating to the accessibility of information - and intranets and portals need to conform if they are to avoid potential legal action from disadvantaged employees. The good news is that in many cases accessibility can be improved by taking a few simple steps - and as long as you have an accessible information strategy and plan in place you are much less likely to face any legal challenge - from employees, unions or elsewhere.
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