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3 Steps to Launching An Effective Enterprise Intranet

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A step-by-step guide to developing an invaluable tool for your organization

Bridgeline Digital Whitepaper © 2015 - 3 Steps to Launching An Effective Enterprise Intranet Connect with Us: 2

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Introduction: 3 Steps To Launching An Effective Enterprise Intranet

Chances are, if you’re reading this whitepaper, your organization’s Intranet is horrible. This is not hyperbole. As companies load up to transform to the digital age, one of the first places executives look is the Intranet. And that’s because, from top to bottom, it’s often viewed as portal of regret, featuring a wasteland of outdated, inaccessible information that provides employees no value. So, let’s fix this, shall we?

How Intranet Use Cases Have Evolved

To get where you’re going, you must first understand where you’ve been. As Scott Liewehr, President of Digital Clarity Group, a leading consultative firm, appropriate outlined on the show, “CMS Connected,” the evolution of Intranets is not too dissimilar from the evolution of the Internet. Initially, both mediums were used to push out information (Web 1.0). The next iteration of each medium emphasized collaboration. For the Internet, this meant blogging and social media; the Intranet, meanwhile, incorporated better collaborative tools, like messageboards and document management.

From an Internet perspective, Web 3.0 has placed urgency on understanding intent. The best digital ecosystems offer end-users a personalized experience, from your company website to your social media and email channels ... all in real-time.

Make no mistake: Intranet users, meaning employees, require this same experience.

However, company Intranets are lagging behind this new wave of focus; instead, teams are stuck using antiquated technologies that lack integration or the support needed to maximize employee engagement and the portal’s Return On Digital Investment (RODI).



Introduction: Continued

The Seven Most Expensive Words In Business

So, let’s talk about the common tools that power Intranets, namely Microsoft Sharepoint. The popular software is, well, popular – but does popularity mean effective? The answer is a resounding ‘No.’

Sharepoint’s widespread adoption was born out of an immature marketplace. As previously explained, what organizations look for in their Intranet has transitioned, and Sharepoint has remained static in its capabilities and satisfaction rates.

Consequently, it should come as no surprise that, according to a recent AIIM survey, SharePoint is falling out of favor among IT professionals. Factors commonly cited include insufficient user training options and the high cost of implementation and use. Nearly half of the survey’s respondents say they’re concerned about Microsoft’s lack of focus on the on-premises version of its product.

A deeper dive into the survey shows that out of over 400 organizations polled, nearly two-thirds described their SharePoint projects as either stalled (26%) or not meeting original expectations (37%). And only 11% describe their company’s SharePoint project as a success.

Thus before advancing your project, your team must dispose of the cliché, “That’s the way we’ve always done things!” Once your organization commits to change in processes, the possibilities will seem endless (and almost overwhelming). Fear not, read on to learn the three steps to creating a collaborative Intranet that your employees can effectively take advantage of.



Step #1: Define Scope & Commit to Excellence

Before we dive into necessary features, strategies and technologies that power a great Intranet, there’s a larger question that needs to be asked: Is your organization committed to creating (and maintaining) an Intranet? That may seem like an easy – or given – request, but, in actuality, what may seem like ‘filler’ is the biggest commonality amongst failed Intranet projects.

What Does ‘Good’ Look Like?

In order to create collaboration, you need to, uh, collaborate. This starts with C-level executives, department heads, and IT co-mingling with one another to decide what the final Intranet should offer employees. The largest mental hurdle to clear is embracing the idea that an Intranet isn’t a “project” … it’s a program. And yes, this means your Intranet needs assigning real resources and ownership to its development and refinement to ensure success.

But what, exactly, will your Intranet offer employees? Truth is, Intranets are versatile in their range of use cases and, oftentimes, how your portal operates to serve employees is not only dependent on what type

of organization is using it, but specific layers within that organization. In other words, the experience should be contextualized – tailored, really – toward the user (more on this later!).

To get a general overview of how your organization can develop an effective Intranet, work backwards to determine how, as an organization, you’ll arrive at your desired destination.

The investments in software, delivery, and human capital to provide ongoing ownership to the program, gives clarifcation about your Intranet’s success (or failure). All told, this is largely predetermined by how well your project team can amass buy-in in the planning stages of the Intranet.



Step #2: Select Software & Implementation Partner That Fit Your Needs

The best Intranets no longer operate solely as a place to store and replace organizational files and provide document management. What you are ultimately creating is a widespread resource that can offer so much more – an internal hub that inspires employee efficiency and engagement.

Why Content Management Systems Drive Intranet Success

In its most simplistic purpose, a top-tier, enterprise-grade Content Management System (CMS) allows users to centralize data, content creation, editing, and publishing – all on a single back-end system. The primary goal is to arm non-technical business users with a solution to manage how content appears on a company’s external, public-facing website.

As Intranet use has evolved, however, a CMS has become the primary tool driving enterprise portal success. Why? Well, as previously stated, contemporary Intranet experiences are akin to web experiences. And a CMS has the ability to integrate with other critical tools and features to offer employees an efficient, relevant user experience.

Personalization:

To spark employee engagement, Intranet web masters must offer content on its Intranet that speaks directly to specific employees. Through the use of audience segmentation capabilities, a CMS can do just that: push content to users based on a number of demographics – department type, recently viewed documents, search history, even the device a user is using to access the portal. The use of targeted content will help users find the information they are looking for before they even login by constantly updating relevant attributes to the persona type.

Enterprise Search:

Perhaps the most important aspect of an Intranet is searching for commonly used documents. But, as you likely know, over time, information on your Intranet often becomes buried inside databases, in folders, or on other media. Ultimately, the business value of the information can be largely diminished if and employees cannot easily access the right (up-to-date) content. With the integration of a robust Enterprise Search Engine, users can be assured that, if properly tagged, the information they are looking for is easily accessible.

Mobile-Friendly Capabilities:

Your employees use company smart phones and tablets to work on-the-go, right? Then, it’s prudent to provide a mobile-friendly Intranet. With the use of a responsively designed website and persuasive content, your employees will experience a contextualized experience that adjusts to their needs and circumstances, not the other way around.

Community Management:

Blogging tools, social media integration, messageboards and comment moderation – again, not only does a CMS offers an effective means of asset and document management, coupled with personalization and search mechanisms that help provide relevant information to employees, but the software inspires a collaborative workplace.



Step #3: Develop Common Organizational KPIs For Your Intranet

With Step #1, we demanded organizational buy-in. Then, in Step #2, we outlined how a CMS can help create a personalized employee experience on your Intranet that goes well beyond document management. But what about the end users: your employees.

How to Measure Intranet Success

An Intranet is unique in that it’s a tool most organizations use, but its value must be measured in both tangible and intangible ways. Case in point, formulating intranet metrics can be challenging. Whereas other web development projects will almost always have more direct, traceable impacts, an Intranet will make waves in different ways. But so long as you’ve Reverse Engineered to understand what good looks like (See Step #1) and properly prepared, with adequate resources aligned to manage its success, you can understand your Intranet’s performance.

Intangible Evidence of Success

Again, because an Intranet’s overall goal is employee engagement and improved efficiency, this process begins with stakeholder interviews. Their satisfaction is a primary indicator of success. Is the experience relevant, intuitive, and helpful towards completing tasks in an efficient manner? Or is the content clunky, user experience scattered, and a hindrance in their daily work? Those are extremes, of course – but how they feel about the portal should provide a baseline sentiment for how you feel about the Intranet.

Tangible Evidence of Success

Beyond that, rudimentary statistics -- like overall use, path analysis, time spent logged in, and bounce rates -- will help your team peel layers off the onion to decide what’s working and what’s not. Moreover, if creating a collaborative environment is an important goal for your Intranet, then monitoring discussion boards and project management will give you a high-level understanding of whether or not the portal has become a transformative tool for your organization.



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About Bridgeline Digital’s Integrated iAPPS Platform

What Does Award-Winning Web Development Look Like?An effective Intranet can be a Game-Changer for your organization. In the end, launching a superior Intranet requires dynamic technology and a combination of a native implementation team and peerless digital marketing expertise around driving employee efficiency across every level of your organzation.

That’s why the biggest brands in the world rely on Bridgeline Digital to develop Intranets that spark true employee engagement -- for more than 15 years.

From conducting a discovery process that combines expertise in design and digital strategy, all the way to post-launch optimization ... We’re with you every step of the way.

The best part? We build these dynamic Intranets on our all-encompassing iAPPS Digital Marketing platform, recently named “Champion” in Info-Tech Research Group’s Web Content Management landscape report. In the report, analysts touted iAPPS’ ability to equip enterprise businesses with easy-to-use tools that optimize digital assets and capitalize on growing trends in employee engagement.

Award Winning iAPPS Product Platform iAPPS Content Manager is a part of Bridgeline’s iAPPS® platform, a Digital Marketing solution that deeply integrates Web Content Management, eCommerce, eMarketing, Social Media management, and Web Analytics to help marketers deliver online experiences that attract, engage and convert their customers across all digital channels. Bridgeline provides end-to-end Digital Engagement solutions and boasts an award-winning team of interactive services professionals across our 11 offices worldwide.

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