Why frequent releases are a clear sign of vendor maturity
“At Wizdom we focus a lot on telling potential customers, independent analysts and other stakeholders, how we regularly and frequently release new versions of Wizdom. The reason we do this is that we believe that regular and frequent releases directly illustrate maturity of the vendor.”
Over the past 18 months a lot of new Intranet software vendors have surfaced. This is great and illustrates the need for these types of products in a market where Wizdom has been present for more than 6 years. However, the majority of discussions and analysis by organizations looking to implement an Intranet product and vendor, is centered around looking at product features the How can our product help you because these are easy to see and evaluate.
But the maturity of a vendor is much harder to see, and maturity is even more important than features. This is because the customer is trusting the vendor with their future solution, not just now, but also in the future. They are trusting the vendor to make sure that the product and thus the customers solution is continually evolving to meet new demands from the customers users as the world and the organization moves forward. And if the vendor does not have the maturity to make it in the tough competitive market space, the customer is left with a dead solution, which they cannot maintain themselves and the vendor cannot or will not either.
So ok, vendor maturity is really important, but why do we believe that frequent releases are clear sign of vendor maturity?
Firstly, every new release indicates a reflection by the vendor based on customer feedback and market trends. So frequent releases mean that not only does the vendor reflect, learn and adjust rapidly, but the vendor is also committed to listening, analyzing and learning from their customers feedback and the market trends.
Secondly, it takes time and effort to adjust a product and to package and support a new release. So, making regular frequent releases is basically the vendor putting their money where their mouth is or as we in Wizdom would say The proof is in the pudding. Reversely an immature vendor can fairly easily patch together a product that looks good on the surface and provides relevant features, but will be hard pressed to come up with the frequent releases that make sure that the value is also obtained when the product meets real world scenarios and needs of customers.
And finally, former President of the Microsoft Windows Division, Steven Sinofsky named his blog Learning by Shipping. This is an extremely apt concept and another reason why every software release increases maturity. You learn a little from building new features in a release. You learn a lot every time you ship the release. So, a vendor that does frequent releases is learning more and faster than a vendor that does not.
by: Flemming Goldbach, Director of Product at Wizdom
The original article was published here.
How intranets help employees and organisations to be more productive
A good intranet focuses on helping employees get things done and save time. This in turn drives efficiency across different activities, helping drive employees own individual productivity, and ultimately that of organisations.
Productivity is all about producing output in more efficient and effective ways. Intranets contribute to productivity in different ways, including:
- Improving the efficiency of processes
- Saving time so employees can make better use of their working day
- Equipping employees and teams with knowledge to be more productive
- Facilitating collaboration between employees
- Reducing use of inefficient email.
Although it is difficult to measure and even harder to prove, eventually a good intranet should pay for itself in terms of the benefits it provides. Lets look in more details at some of the ways intranets can help increase productivity.
Help employees find things
Over the years original research from IDC has been used by McKinsey and others to show that some employees can spend as much as a fifth of their working time searching for information. Much of those wasted hours are spent trawling through emails, browsing sprawling file directories or asking time-pressured colleagues questions.
By centralising the key information and documents that employees really need, for example in a centralised policy library or within different communities, an intranet can save employees so much time. A powerful search and user-centred navigation will also help employees find what they need. Employees can also have the confidence that they are looking at the latest version of a document and that there is one source of truth, again cutting down search time.
Drive employee self-service
Employee self-service means that employees can carry out tasks, complete simple transactions, answer questions or solve problems themselves without having to ask another individual to help. This approach takes enormous pressure off HR functions, IT departments and other support functions, and can drive productivity by allowing these specialists to focus their time on more value-add activities. Self-service also means individual employees also learn to do things in the most efficient way.
Intranets drive employee self-service by allowing employees to:
- carry out transactions themselves through integration with other systems, for example booking annual leave
- linking to different systems (e.g. travel booking) in an easy, straightforward way
- including key how to information and FAQs to allow employees to work through processes and issues themselves.
Connect employees and drive collaboration
Intranets are fantastic at reducing silos in organisations, creating connections, facilitating communities and driving collaboration between individuals and teams. Connecting people allows individuals to:
- get answers to questions from experts
- assemble the right teams
- reduces the chance of duplication of effort
- communicate more quickly in a more efficient way than email
- effectively co-ordinate processes
- and act in many other ways which increase productivity and efficiency!
Improve specific processes
There are usually a whole set of specific apps and tools on the intranet which can really help improve specific process including employee onboarding, managing projects, managing events, supporting the IT helpdesk, completing forms with workflow and so on. Wizdoms intranet is particularly strong this area as it is packed with apps, tools and cool features which help employees be more productive.
Engage employees and make them more productive
We know that intranets help to engage employees. Arguably happier employees are more productive and some analysis has suggested that this is the case, although more research is needed to firmly establish the link between engagement and productivity.
Bringing the right content together
Intranets are excellent at bringing disparate content, data and knowledge from different systems or different teams together in ways which can help teams be more productive. For example, you may need to know all about a key client having all the salient information in one place not only saves time on gathering the information but also gives you a 360-degree view on that client, helping to determine more efficient and effective decision-making.
Drive flexible working
A great intranet, especially if it is cloud-based and optimised for mobile devices, should be available anywhere and at any time. This helps support flexible working and choice for employees, and allows for a better balance between work and life.
It can also mean far greater productivity for individuals who prefer to work from home with less interruptions or even for an entire office when bad weather disrupts the journey to work. The ability to work remotely and its impact is sometimes a contentious issue. However, for some types of work, and in some circumstances, it can absolutely help people get more work done.
Establish the digital workplace
Intranets act as the standard point of entry into numerous systems and applications – the front door to the digital workplace. This helps drive productivity, not only because its efficient and convenient for employees to access everything in one place, but it also drives awareness and use of the very tools which drive efficiency. In a SharePoint-based intranet like Wizdom, which can be tightly integrated with Office 365 , the ability to also drive use of tools like Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business through the intranet has enormous value.
Drive digital literacy and mindset
Both enabling flexible working and establishing the digital workplace also encourages employees to get used to new ways of working. Not only do they get acquainted with how to use new digital tools but they are usually more open to using them in the future. That increase in digital literacy and the associated mindset can increase your organisations ability to drive adoption of future digital tools, in turn helping to increase productivity and further digital transformation.
Gather ideas
Employee ideas and input are a fantastic source of knowledge for improving productivity. For example, frontline workers can often give highly practical insights into how to service customers better. One small genius idea can have a massive impact. Your intranet and related tools can be used to help gather ideas and related input on employee insights.
Extend digital services to all
An overlooked aspect of intranets is that they are usually available for all employees. This means that many of the above approaches which do help to drive efficiency are amplified because more employees can carry them out. For example, the more employees carry out transactions via self-service, the more productivity gains are achieved.
Intranets drive efficiency and productivity
Intranets contribute to productivity in multiple ways and its always worth being aware of the potential contribution they can make. You can use this articles list of ways they help as an argument for an intranet business case, as a basis for your measurement for success or as a checklist to prioritise future actions. Whatever you do make sure your intranet is really helping employees become more productive.
How your intranet can support a great employee experience
In recent years several well-known companies including GE and Airbnb have appointed Chief Employee Experience Officers or Heads of Employee Experience. While some of these are a rebranding of traditional HR roles, they also indicate the rise in interest in the concept of the employee experience.
Compared to more traditional HR, employee experience takes a far more holistic view of how employees experience their working day and their overall time spent at a company. An employees experience of work can include:
- physical workspace and working conditions
- the digital workplace with systems and tools and other touchpoints
- work-life balance
- pay and benefits
- personal development opportunities and learning
- organisational culture, brand and purpose
- line manager and immediate colleagues
- much, much more!
In the same way that companies focus on the overall experience of customers, organisations focusing on employee experience hope to improve talent retention, attract new employees, and even drive efficiency and improve productivity.
Surveys suggest that while improving employee experience is a priority for many organisations, there is still a long way to go to make it happen. According to Deloittes annual Global Human Capital Trends survey, 80% of executives rate employee experience as important or very important, but 59% feel they are either not ready or somewhat ready to address the associated challenges.
How do intranets contribute to the employee experience?
While there are many ingredients and factors which influence the employee experience, intranets can play a part in supporting a positive working day. Here are eight ways in which intranets contribute to employee experience.
Communicating purpose and values
Surveys from LinkedIn and others have shown that company purpose a sense that the work employees carry out matters and makes a difference in the world beyond commercial factors is regarded as important by many employees. Intranets support messaging from senior leaders which can communicate a sense of purpose to staff as well as related values. News updates can also provide proof that the company really is doing what it believes in and living its own values.
Supporting learning and development
The ability to learn and develop benefits both individual employees and the companies they work for. Many organisations now base their learning and development programmes on the 70-20-10 model where training is derived from on-the-job experience (70%), interaction with others (20%) and formal courses and education (10%).
Intranets help with interaction by providing a space for teams and communities to collaborate and communicate. Intranets also help with formal learning, for example allowing employees to view courses and related material, as well as book themselves onto a course. (At Wizdom, were particularly proud of our Course & Event Management module.)
Facilitating connection and community
A core strength of intranets is to connect employees with each other, usually via the employee directory and other social tools. Its possible for an employee to get know their colleagues a little better, even if they are located on the other side of the world!
Intranets also support specific communities not only those that are work-related but also social communities such as sports, hobbies and other interests. Working closely with your colleagues, getting to know new people and feeling a greater sense of community, all contribute to a positive employee experience.
Supporting flexible working patterns
A key part of a valued employee experience is the ability to balance life inside and outside work. This can be particularly key for families with younger children or those caring for elderly parents where the ability to work from home or flexible hours can make all the difference. Intranets support remote working by providing access to essential information and to collaboration tools often from multiple devices, so employees can work seamlessly from wherever they want and whenever they want.
Experiencing the digital workplace
Theres nothing more frustrating than an inefficient, slow and outdated digital workplace. Employees spend so much time using technology at work, a poor user experience can really impact the working day.
A high-quality intranet like Wizdom acts as a gateway to the wider digital workplace, either by integrating with or linking to a wide range of digital tools that help employees get things done and carry out their role. A good intranet helps employees to effortlessly experience the digital workplace, removing frustration and increasing productivity.
Helping employees find things more easily
A good intranet also saves employees time by helping them find the things they need. Research has suggested that employees can waste a significant number of hours per week just on searching for information and documents. Not only is this highly inefficient its also very annoying! A good intranet helps users find what they need through search, information architecture and other approaches.
Helping new employees
Research has shown that the first 90 days of an employees experience of work are critical in shaping an employees relationship with their company. Intranets can play a significant role in new employee onboarding by providing easily-digestible information about the company, connecting new hires to colleagues, providing tasks and checklists of what needs to be done, providing access to learning and just helping a new starter feel welcome! If on your first day you get a friendly video from the CEO, join a community where everybody says hello and have a clear list of everything you need to do by the end of the week, then youre off to a good start.
Giving employees a voice
Intranets give employees a voice in several different ways they can comment on news and blogs, express opinions via polls, post discussions within specific communities and even create their own content. When employees have an effective voice, everybody wins. Employees feel more engaged and taken more seriously, a significant factor in helping to drive a strong employee experience. Senior leaders and managers get important feedback about how employees are feeling and receive valuable input into ideas and initiatives.
What can intranet teams do to support the employee experience?
Is your intranet helping to support the employee experience in your organisation? Here are seven tips for intranet teams.
1. Lead the conversation
If nobodys talking about employee experience in your organisation its time to start the conversation. Intranet teams are well-networked and digitally-savvy. They can play a role in getting the topic on the agenda by speaking to the right stakeholders and leading the debate.
2. Get a consensus on employee experience
It helps enormously to have a consensus among key stakeholders about what employee experience is and what to do about it. If youre leading the debate, consider getting a group together and leading a workshop on the topic to define what needs to be done next.
3. Work with HR
Are you working with your colleagues in HR to advance the employee experience? If not go and speak to them to work out ways you can use the intranet to support their employee experience agenda.
4. Work out the gaps
Use this article as a starting point to work out a checklist of potential ways your intranet can help to support the employee experience. Are there additional things you could (and should) be doing? Identify some of the gaps.
5. Conduct user research
Are there additional ways you can improve the employee experience you havent thought about? Get feedback from your users, find out about their pain points, conduct a survey or observe what they are doing. This will give you some excellent material to help you work out how to improve your intranet to drive a better employee experience.
6. Make any necessary improvements
Make any necessary improvements to your intranet to plug identified gaps, meet employee needs or satisfy stakeholders. There will almost certainly be some quick wins to be had which are relatively straightforward.
7. Dont stop there
Improving employee experience is a journey. Keep on going!
Its all about the experience
Employee experience is a powerful concept which helps both employees and organisations. Making the necessary improvements really is worth the effort. Intranets play their part in everything from communications to providing learning opportunities to helping employees complete tasks. Intranet teams can really make a contribution and even lead the conversation. Good luck on your employee experience journey!
The original article was published here.
Content Formulas favourite intranet, SharePoint and Office 365 blog posts from 2017
Its nearly 2018, and as well as looking forward with our predictions for the coming year, weve been looking back over the past 12 months. Its been another exciting year for Content Formula, with our flourishing partnership with Wizdom Intranet, our continuing client work and our attendance at numerous conferences and events.
During 2017 weve also written a lot of articles for our blog covering intranets, SharePoint, Office 365, the digital workplace and more! Some of these posts are relevant to those starting out with an intranet project, while some will resonate more with those who already have a mature platform. So there’s something for everyone. Heres a selection of our most popular posts. Happy reading!
15 ways you can integrate Office 365 functionality into your intranet
Many organisations are basing their intranet on SharePoint Online and Office 365. This provides an excellent opportunity to integrate some of the powerful tools from the Office 365 suite right into the intranet experience, allowing you to drive adoption and improve efficiency. In this post our UX Director John Scott lists 15 of the most powerful ways to integrate Office 365 and your intranet. Get ready for lots of screenshots!
We need a new intranet. Where do I start?
Occasionally we stumble across a company which still doesnt have an intranet, or has grown rapidly to the point where it really need one. This article looks at the broad steps teams need to follow to get a new intranet from starting an internal conversation to building a strategy and business case all the way through to implementing that intranet project.
Define your intranet strategy before you buy your intranet
Were always surprised by the number of organisations who have no intranet strategy but are still going full steam ahead with buying intranet software and starting a project. In this thoughtful post Dan Hawtrey explains what an intranet strategy is and outlines seven key reasons for developing one. He also reiterates the importance of research and understanding your users to deliver a successful intranet.
How to be an intranet video star
So far video had a bit of a bumpy ride inside the enterprise compared to the consumer world. The meteoric rise of YouTube hasnt exactly been matched by the success of internal video sharing platforms. In this video (about video!) John Scott explores how you can move forward with video on your intranet. Its based on a well-received presentation John gave at the IntraTeam conference in Copenhagen in the Spring.
Making the business case for your intranet
How do you go about making a business case for your intranet? What should you include in it and what type of evidence do you need to argue your case? And how should you present it? This very practical checklist is full of tips and advice and a great starting point for preparing an argument to present to your stakeholders.
Stay close to your users to deliver a great intranet
Here at Content Formula we know how important it is to listen to and actively involve your users in an intranet project. Staying close to your users helps you to carry out the effective user research needed to build a great intranet as well as test and validate the design. It also supports your change management efforts as you build advocacy through involvement. This post explores the contribution users make and how to involve them throughout your project.
Microsoft unveils whole host of Office 365, SharePoint and OneDrive updates at #MSIgnite
OK, we admit we are a bit geeky here at Content Formula, especially when it comes to Office 365 and SharePoint. Naturally we always are excited by what Microsoft will reveal in its announcements at the annual Ignite conference. Here our Technical Director Joe Perry lists some of the major changes on the horizon from new hub sites to improvements to Teams to a whole new SharePoint admin centre.
Got Office 365? Why opting for a non-SharePoint intranet is madness!
This post was partly inspired by a conversation we had with a potential client about whether it was right to go with a non-SharePoint intranet when they had Office 365. In our view it doesnt make much sense at all! This article covers how a SharePoint intranet allows you to fully leverage your investment in Office 365 by integrating with the wider suite of tools, helping to drive adoption and creating a gateway to your digital workplace. It also reduces costs, avoids user confusion and means youre future-proofed!
Running an intranet RFP an agency view
We often get asked to participate in RFPs to win new work. If youve never run an RFP process before it can prove to be time-consuming and require a lot of effort. Here Dan Hawtrey gives his thoughts on how to manage an intranet-related RFP and provides some tips for success that will help you to choose the best digital partner for your company.
Buy or build your intranet? Off-the-shelf versus custom build (webinar)
Back in April we held a webinar led by Dan Hawtrey and John Scott which examined how intranets have shifted over the last couple of years from being mainly custom-built for each individual organisation to where purchasing an off-the-shelf intranet now makes more sense. In this recording we take a deep dive into the buy or build question and rate the two approaches across different criteria such as cost, access, scope, speed and relevance.
And lots of information about Wizdom features!
Way back in January we announced our partnership with Wizdom, the leading SharePoint-in-a-box product. Wizdom comes packed with features and capabilities, some of which weve covered throughout the year.
So if you want to read about Wizdoms excellent Learning Management System, its highly useful policy library feature, the instant intranet Accelerate module which revolutionises deployment or its great approach to news (mixing more formal corporate news and informal noticeboard items), then youve come to the right blog!
Keep on reading!
Were going to be carrying on writing post and articles in 2018 covering practical advice and tips, the latest developments in the SharePoint and Office 365 world, our thoughts and more. Let us know if theres something youd like to cover. See you next year!
Content Formulas intranet and digital workplace trends for 2018
Were often asked by clients about the latest trends in the digital workplace and the intranet. Whats happening in the space? What are we going to see in the coming months and years? Its also that time when we start to plan for the next year and reflect on the old. So, bringing that all together, here are some of our predictions for what will happen to digital workplaces and intranets in 2018.
Of course, making predictions about technology comes spring-loaded with the risk of getting it wrong. Technology-related predictions can completely overlook something or be widely optimistic. How many times have you looked back at hilarious predictions from decades ago which said wed all be flying around with personal rocket packs by now, but completely failed to see the internet coming?
However, there are also some trends which were more confident about. Some of these are already happening now and will continue into the new year. So, dusting down the Content Formula crystal ball, its time to gaze into the future. Heres our predictions!
Intranets continue to integrate with the wider digital workplace
If you work with intranets youll be aware of all the talk about the wider digital workplace the portfolio of other applications and digital tools used throughout the organisation. Intranets often play a role as the front door to the digital workplace, either through links, favourites and service catalogues, or through integrated web parts which display data or allow users to complete simple transactions.
Sometimes other digital tools can be accessed via the intranet navigation or through landing pages, particularly when an intranet is based on SharePoint and parts of Office 365 are integrated with it. In 2018 we believe intranets will continue to be ever more tightly entwined with the wider digital workplace with further integration as the trajectory.
2018 is the year of the digital assistant
Digital assistants and chatbots are currently the focus of attention for many internal communicators and IT functions, and numerous organisations are currently experimenting with bots, or are in the process of deploying them.
We predict that 2018 will be the year of the digital assistant in the enterprise. Well be reading a lot about case studies and examples. The rise of enterprise-ready messaging platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Skype for Business and Workplace by Facebook gives a natural channel for bots to be successful, and even voice-activated tools like Alexa from Amazon are now also launched for the workplace.
Everybodys going mad for Teams
Were noticing a real groundswell of interest from clients in the use of Microsoft Teams. With Microsoft pushing this as a core part of Office 365, we think it will become a major focus for collaboration in the enterprise during 2018.
Dont be surprised if you also start to see some integration with Teams into the intranet. For example, were currently working with a client on an intranet project where users will be able to access the list of Teams they are registered to from the very heart of the intranet as well as archive old Teams content, tag it and make it fully searchable.
Wave goodbye to year-long plus intranet projects
Weve written before about how in-a-box products and agile development has helped to speed up intranet projects. You can deliver an excellent intranet in weeks if you wish. We think (and hope) that 2018 will finally put the kibosh on painful, energy-zapping year-long SharePoint intranet projects and banish them to the past. Faster implementations produce earlier ROI, are less costly and are more satisfying for everyone involved.
Renewed interest in governance
Governance sounds like a very dry topic, but its critical for success. Having the right processes, policies, roles and rules in place lets intranets and digital workplaces flourish and reduces the risk of something going wrong.
We believe several factors in 2018 will put governance back into the spotlight. As Microsoft continues to roll out more and more features of Office 365, central teams are likely to want to lock down some of the functionality for every day users.
Meanwhile cyber-security and reducing the risk of data breaches will continue to keep IT managers awake at night. GDPR compliance, coming into operation in May, will also be a huge focus for digital teams and it needs to be considered for the digital workplace and employee data too, not just customer information. Having the right governance measures in place is the best approach to all of the above.
More choice than ever in the intranet market
Throughout 2017 weve seen a growth in the breadth of the range of options for intranet teams, particularly for turnkey solutions, some based on SharePoint and some not. Product proliferation will continue through 2018 with new market entrants and more product enhancements. Thats undoubtedly going to increase the choices for intranet teams, as competition will help to drive better quality products, good customer service and product innovation.
At Content Formula weve partnered with Wizdom, the best in-a-box solution on the market. We may even start to see some consolidation in the market, although we suspect this is more likely to happen in 2019.
The usual issues are still the usual issues
Weve been working with intranets for well over a decade and during that time theres some issues which never really go away. Yes, intranets really have evolved for the better and take in a wider set of functionality and capabilities, but teams are still driving adoption, getting excellent content and tackling challenges around findability. These issues continue to preoccupy intranet managers every year and 2018 will be no different!
Happy New Year!
Whatever happens in 2018, we think its going to be an interesting one for intranets and the digital workplace! And, of course, everybody at Content Formula wishes all our clients, partners, friends and contacts a very happy, successful, and healthy year ahead!
We will be at the Intra.NET Reloaded London 2017
Wizdom together with Content Formula sponsor the Intra.NET Reloaded London 2017 conference.
Meet us at Wizdom’s booth and learn about Wizdom inranet in our live presentation at the conference.
The Intra.NET Reloaded Conference
Date and time: November 26 29, 2017
Place: London
Intra.NET Reloaded is a leading European event bringing together stakeholders playing an active role in the creation of tomorrows digital workplace.
Providing a deep business and technical understanding of intranets and collaboration platforms in the connected enterprise, the conference brings together 150+ decision makers from communication, business, and technology.
Stay close to your users to deliver a great intranet
Weve consistently found that those intranet teams that stay close to users during an intranet project and after its launch produce the most successful intranets.
What do we mean by staying close? We mean teams who listen to feedback from users, involving them in decision-making, take time to understand pain points, and ultimately build relationships with their users.
This helps to result in intranets hat help employees in their daily work, keep users informed, deliver value for their organisations, improve specific processes and enjoy decent levels of adoption.
The value of staying close
The link between staying close to users and intranet success isnt hard to fathom. Staying close allows intranet teams to:
- Carry out user research, gaining insights to deliver an intranet that meets needs
- Test and validate design and development, getting feedback on what is being built to ensure its right
- Help with change management, building up support and advocacy among the people who are going to be using the intranet the most
Lets look at each of these three scenarios in more detail.
Carrying out user research
One of the biggest mistakes teams make when implementing an intranet is to assume that they know what it should look like, what features it should include and how it should work. Basing the design and build on assumptions is a dangerous game. Intranets must be based on a thorough understanding of how employees work, how they interact with technology, the everyday problems that need to be solved and wider information needs.
Extensive user research is the answer: There are different methods to carry out research, including:
- Workshops, either with a cross section of different employees or different sets of employees. This helps explore concepts, issues and get feedback. Often the interaction and discussion helps to tease out valuable insights.
- Structed one on one interviews, which go deeper into how individuals work, but where you can also start to identify trends, if interviews are structured consistently with a similar set of questions.
- Surveys, which give answers to a set of questions from a wider group of employees and then can be used to find comparable data after youve joined.
- Desk research, analysing existing site metrics and other related analytics such as levels of email usage.
- Getting quick opinions either by using online polls or even canvassing opinion in popular parts of the workplace, such as the canteen.
- Personas are realistic characterisations of typical members of your key audience such as a frontline worker, or a manager, which provide information on what they do, their information needs and so on. Personas are more of an output from user research, but provide a highly valuable consistent reference point of audience needs when designing and building the intranet.
At Content Formula we always carry out user research as part of the project using some of the above techniques, depending on the scope and nature of the project. We also carry out research with senior stakeholders too as their perspective is critical too.
Carrying out research builds up trust with your users which continues after the intranet is launched and gives credibility to your intranet design and features.
Testing and validation
During any intranet project the intranet design and development will go through any number of iterations. Involving users is the secret to ensuring each iteration is better than the last. The type of involvement and testing can be in several different ways:
- General user feedback on your intranet design and build-in progress is critical. This can happen at various stages but teams often ask for feedback when they have something new to show for example at a wireframe, prototype and initial build stage. In an agile development, user feedback may be focused on the specific features which have been developed within a sprint.
- Usability testing involves carrying out testing to ensure your users can actually use your intranet. Users may be asked to complete certain tasks to see what works and it improvements need to be made.
- Card-sorting and tree-testing: Most intranet projects will involve designing an information architecture which makes sense for uses. Card -sorting and tree-testing are types of testing which can help you define and then refine a user-centred navigation for your intranet.
- Formal user acceptance testing. Finally, consider involving some of your users in a formal round of testing, using test scripts and so on.
Helping with change management
The use of intranets and related tools is usually not mandatory. It takes an ongoing change management effort to drive adoption, embed new ways of working and introduce new features.
Staying close to your users can make a massive contribution to any change initiative.
We always advocate using a network of champions to help launch an intranet. These champions are usually involved on a voluntary basis, are energetic and enthusiastic and act as local champions and experts. They present the intranet to peers in the context of how it can be used for different locations, departments and roles. Peer recommendation and local context really helps drive adoption.
Often champions are the very same users whove been involved in the research, design and testing phases of your intranet project. They not only help with the intranet launch but can also continue to provide feedback.
Increasingly intranets are being launched as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). An MVP approach not only gets your intranet up and running quicker but subsequent changes and enhancements are based on real usage and the subsequent feedback from employees. This means your intranet can continuously improve.
Often the relationships and communication channels you’ve built up with your champions and other users continue from the end of the formal project into the business as usual phase. Your core audience continues to influence your direction.
Keep close!
It pays to stay close to your users from the first day of your project to the day you launch. You need to stay close going forward too! Not only will this deliver an intranet which is based on needs and will work effectively, it will also allow you to build advocacy, trust and engagement with your users. And thats the best possible start for any intranet!
How intranets deliver key services and apps for employees
What does an intranet do?
Many employees will say it provides them with news. Others might say it helps them collaborate with colleagues. Some may pause and start to list out specific processes, such as allowing them to access manuals and forms or onboard new employees. Some employees may simply say the intranet lets them know whats on the staff restaurant menu!
One of the great things about intranets is that they can deliver a whole range of different key services and apps to employees, all in one place. A good intranet is extremely versatile and flexible. Yes, it helps deliver internal communications, but it also helps employees get things done. Early on we listened to our clients who wanted their intranet to be a platform for services and apps, so we built many powerful features and capabilities into the Wizdom solution. Now our clients tell us that they can deliver the services employees demand.
Why apps belong on the intranet
The benefit of having some key apps and services is on the intranet is that they:
- are in one place and can be easily found and accessed by employees
- can fill the gaps in capabilities provided by other systems
- can reduce costs by replacing legacy systems
- can improve processes by digitising services which were managed by email, spreadsheets or even paper
- can help to reduce the mountain of email
- are on a flexible platform where it is easy to add new services to meet emerging needs
- can leverage the better usability and better interfaces of a good intranet.
Here are just some of the key services and apps a good intranet should deliver. Of course, these are all ones weve built into the Wizdom intranet!
Manage projects
Managing projects is a key activity across any organisation but many employees dont use solutions which could make the process easier and more efficient. Using the intranet for project management has many benefits as all employees can use the relevant tools.
A good intranet should provide secure spaces for each project where teams can access documents, view tasks, co-ordinate calendars, record time, check milestones and see contact information. It also is a place to streamline team communication and collaboration.
An intranet-based project workspace means everybody is on the same page, can stay in touch and be focused on the project and related tasks.
Access collections of official documents
At times employees will need to access all the latest versions of official organisational documents such as the employee handbook or procedures for managing clients.
Everybody needs to be confident that they are accessing all the very latest versions. An intranet should have a clear, tightly-controlled central collection of key documents, where the latest versions are clearly displayed.
This collection saves time as employees know where to find what they need and reduces risk because they are not referencing out-of-date policies.
Complete forms and requests
Employees have to make many requests which may need approval from managers from requesting annual leave to a new laptop to booking catering for a meeting. Sometimes this is done by email or even completing a paper form!
A good intranet allows employees to complete these forms online and provides workflow to allow the necessary approvals. The intranet should also allow flexibility to create forms to cover a wide variety of scenarios.
Onboard new employees
It can be overwhelming for employees joining a new organisation. There is a huge amount of information to take in all at once, as well as an endless list of forms to fill in and people to meet!
A strong intranet makes the whole onboarding experience much easier for new joiners and more efficient for organisations. A special onboarding site can link to much of the information new employees need to digest, including checklists of tasks to complete.
They can find information about the people they need to see and complete important forms. Everyone benefits, as a positive onboarding programme has been shown to reduce employee turnover.
Locate experts and assemble teams
How often have you struggled to find the right person to either ask a question or to be part of a team youre assembling for a new client project?
Looking for an expert in a particular niche can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. Its time-consuming and can also be fruitless. A good intranet makes this task much easier. Searchable employee profiles with details of individual expertise can help you locate the person at the right time.
Social networking capabilities allow you to post a question to the network. Expertise location and assembling project teams can now be a breeze!
Manage the IT help desk
Managing an IT help desk usually needs specialist software where employees can submit requests, get a ticket number and view progress of their issue. Doing this via the intranet is very helpful as it can be presented alongside FAQs, content and even a support community.
Were not quite there yet, but well be unveiling this very useful application later in 2017!
View the weekly menu
We know this is an intranet favorite, so weve even built a stylish way to present the staff restaurant menu!
The intranet is the perfect home for apps
The intranet is the central channel within the digital workplace, and the perfect home for key apps and services which can be used by all employees.
These make daily work for employees just that little easier as well as deliver efficiencies and cost savings for organisations. If youre choosing a new intranet solution, or just improving the one youve already got, its worth investigating whether you can consolidate apps and services on to the intranet.
This will help you on your journey towards the digital workplace and a modern, flexible work platform that organisations and employees love!
If you want to learn more about our many features, contact us.
The original article was published here.
Microsoft unveils whole host of Office 365, SharePoint and OneDrive updates at #MSIgnite
Ignite 2017, Microsofts annual conference where anything and everything new coming out of Redmon is discussed, is well underway and as expected, the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 is going to see a lot of improvements within Office 365, and in particular SharePoint and OneDrive.
Jeff Teper announced Tuesday that there is going to be a new SharePoint 2019 (part of a whole Office 2019 package) server release that is expected to be in preview from the middle of 2018, however as yet there is no other information around that. He also went on to discuss a range of other services and features that we will start to see on First Release (or rather, Targeted Release as Microsoft now plans to call it) over the coming 6 months.
Here is what we know so far…
New SharePoint Hub Sites
Hub Sites are going to be the latest addition to the recently created Modern Sites that Microsoft have been rolling out. The Hub sites interface will allow users to bring together related sites to roll up news and activity, to simplify search, and to create cohesion with shared navigation and look-and-feel.
It seems that Hub Sites arent going to replace Publishing Sites, particularly if organisations are using customised WebParts and extensions. However, Microsoft does see them as being primarily used for knowledge sharing in contrast to a Communication Site which will be used to tell your story, share your work and showcase your product across the organization.
A Whole New SharePoint Admin Centre
Bill Baer, Senior Product Manager (SharePoint) announced a whole new SharePoint Admin Centre interface that is designed to surface the most important information and quickly help you discover some of the most important information about the service, both its health, and how your organization is using SharePoint Online.
It will also improve upon Site Management and Device Access something that has had a complete overhaul in recent months to include features such as conditional access policies across user, location, and device pivots to help you secure access to your information.
Improvements to Communication Sites
Microsoft has announced that a whole range of new and improved WebParts are going to be released before the end of the year within Communication sites. These include things for Planner, Microsoft Forms, Group Calendar, File Viewer, Spacer and Divider, Twitter, and Connectors (to add third-party services). Microsoft also plans to improve the Yammer WebPart for Communications Sites so that it displays well within mobile apps, among other WebPart improvements.
New Microsoft Teams Features
Microsoft Teams also has some improvements in the pipeline. Soon, users will be able to display dynamic, data-driven pages and news articles, not just documents stored in SharePoint libraries within a tab in your Team.
It has also been announced that, in the not too distant future, Skype for Business will be replaced by Microsoft Teams.
Teams, which is still less than a year old, already contains features like instant messaging and file sharing with Skype, but will now integrate other capabilities like connectivity to phone networks, bringing features like voicemail, conference calls and call transfers. This will be based on the Skype infrastructure, which already powers audio and video communications in the application.
Microsoft have not provided a timeline for this transition, and judging by analysts commentary this isnt expected to be any time before mid-2019.
Office 365 Security & Compliance
Security and Compliance has seen a lot of improvement over the past year and Microsoft are planning to continue this work by adding Multi-Geo Capabilities in Office 365 essentially allowing organisations to choose which regions are used for storing, as well as search indexing of their data.
In addition to this, Microsoft have also announced that device access policies for content stored and consumed within SharePoint and OneDrive can be specified at site collection level, allowing organisations to limit access from these devices on a site by site basis, based on the classification of the content.
