Have you been tossing around the idea of an Intranet for your organisation? Think you need more effective and scalable ways to manage the flow of information across your workforce? Have you tried a few different approaches to date and none of them seem to hit the mark with your staff? All is not lost. Ultimately, your Intranet will bring new levels of productivity to your organisation if scoped, delivered and communicated effectively to your workforce. There are numerous considerations when scoping an Intranet for your organisation. For example:
- Is it better to have something that works and has measurable benefits immediately rather than a perfect design that may never be fully implemented?
- Is there a possibility that the Intranet will be re-utilised as a component within a larger Intranet system down the track? Eventually could this be executed as part of a larger and more comprehensive information management strategy at some point in the future?
I believe that getting the fundamentals of your information management strategy up front is critical for long term success. If you get this right, the flow on benefits are massive. If you can answer the following basic questions, you are well on your way to developing a first-class Intranet for your organisation which is truly ‘fit for purpose’.
Please think about the following:
- What is the problem (or problems) you are trying to solve through the implementation of Intranet within your organisation?
- How do you believe the implementation of an Intranet within your organisation will solve this problem?
- What are the key benefits you envisage because of implementing an Intranet within your organisation?
- What are my organisation’s growth plans and how will the implementation of an Intranet support or hinder those activities?
- Have I spoken to my workforce and asked them what they need when it comes to more effective cross-functional communication within the organisation?
- What budget and talent can I devote to this project to ensure we get what we need from an Intranet within our organisation?
According to an article by Axero entitled “top 17 reasons why Intranets fail”, the success of an Intranet can be determined by the following common mistakes being avoided:
- Lack of attention to user needs
- Information is outdated
- Staff don’t understand how to use the Intranet
- No consolidation of processes
- Poor organisation of information and data
- Ineffective search feature
- Complicated navigation
- Employees aren’t collaborating socially on the Intranet
- Lack of clear ownership and accountability for Intranet performance and effectiveness
- Tasks aren’t communicated clearly for users
- Intranet strategy isn’t clearly articulated with clear purpose and objectives
- Lack of attention to how your Intranet is functioning – autopilot sets in
- Shared information is kept elsewhere
- Content lacks quality
- Group and individual communication is challenging
- Intranet is constantly going down, causing frustration by users
- Current news isn’t getting regularly posted – relevance factor
The good news is that these potential issues can be avoided with proper strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, needs analysis and effective implementation. The old adage of needing to learn how to walk before you can run is applicable to your Information Management strategy and resultant Intranet development. If you are passionate about ensuring that you develop the right Intranet as a key driver for organisational growth going forward, surround yourself with the right talent to develop something which propels your organisational culture into the highlands of collaboration, communication, care, and empathy.
