Defining an Intranet Deployment Strategy

You’ve made the wise decision to launch a new, modern intranet in your organisation. You’re ready to improve employee engagement, increase collaboration and employee satisfaction all in one streamlined digital workplace! But where do you begin?

An intranet isn’t something you can simply deploy and leave to miraculously manifest into a successful hub for all your organisation’s communication needs overnight. It takes a little TLC, and a fair bit of planning. We have some tips that will help you with your journey.

Don’t let your intranet project be yet another failed IT project

One of the primary reasons IT projects fail is that, more often than not, new technology has been deployed without thinking about why employees will want to use it. You don’t want to be one of those organisations who fail to see the benefit of their investments. Stay well prepared for any issue which could obstruct the deployment of your new intranet.

Make sure you have a master plan

To quote Benjamin Franklin, “Remember that time is money”. Before you begin it’s so important to ensure that your budget and proposed timeframes are realistic. If you set too tight a schedule you’re highly likely to run into issues, which if you run over your deadline can cause extra costs to be incurred.

Similarly, if all aspects of launching a new intranet aren’t taken into account when planning your budget, you could run into problems. Budget complications can postpone the progress of the deployment, leading to costly delays.

Note down your objectives. Keeping a record of the reasons you want to deploy, or update, your intranet can help prevent you from going off track. It can provide a point of reference over your deployment journey which you can check in on to ensure your intranet is on track to achieving what you intended it to do.

Need help putting together an intranet business case? Download our eBook and template and get started right now.

Now tap into your user base

Once you have your budget, timeframes and goals in place, it’s time to get some employees involved. Try to get employees involved as early as possible! After all, they are the ones who you really want to be championing and utilising the intranet once it’s deployed. A great initial step to encouraging employee involvement is to ask their suggestions for a name for your organisation’s intranet. Pick out a few of the best suggestions and hold a vote to select the favourite. This will initiate discussions and a level of excitement around the pending rollout.

Next, assemble the masses! Well maybe just a small handful of key employees to start with. Getting a group of employees together to discuss what they want from intranet, which key functionalities will really aid them in their working lives, can greatly benefit wider engagement.

These individuals should get training beyond the basics, create intranet champions! Capitalise on their knowledge and enthusiasm by getting them to deliver training sessions and connect with other groups throughout the organisation. Peer-to-peer learning is usually more successful than escalating the training down the chain of command.

Your intranet has been designed, developed and deployed. Now to really make the most of it. We have put together our top 10 tips for encouraging and increasing employee collaboration.

Educating the masses

Investing time in training is a necessity! It’s a fine balance between educating your employees and overloading them with too much information. This is where your intranet champions could really shine. Hold group sessions so you can cater to particular job roles or locations. People need a strong reason to convert from their old comfortable habits into new ones. Instil into them how the technology you’re deploying will really make a difference to their day-to-day routines.

As much as influence from their peers is important, employees will follow the example set at the top. Senior leaders should have a strong presence on your intranet. Engaging with employees throughout the organisation will only increase adoption and engagement even further.

Training is complete, launch day is impending, what next? Before launch day you want to ensure you have some guidelines in place for your intranet. Yes, it’s a place where contributions and collaborations should be encouraged, but some policies need to be put in place. Clearly establish what is acceptable, or not, to post on a corporate intranet.

Spread the word

Don’t let your intranet launch creep up without a buzz! Whether it’s company-wide emails, notifications on your enterprise social media, posters around the office or launch teaser videos, get the word out there! Incorporate your organisation’s branding throughout your intranet. Whether it be company colours, logos or company values, show how proud you are of everything your organisation stands for.

A little praise goes a long way! Be sure to have an area where success stories and thanks between employees can be shared and recognised. Creating a digital workplace where all members of your organisation can collaborate, communicate and really come together will only increase your success.

Even after launch day, don’t let the momentum come to a halt! Promote regular feedback opportunities where you’re open to hearing the good, the bad and the ugly. Your intranet will be an ever-developing platform and it’s important your employees know that their input matters.

Need a bit of help proposing your plan for a new, improved, modern intranet to your stakeholders? Our free eBook is the perfect guide to building a convincing, successful business case. Download yours today.[vc_row][vc_column][vc_cta h2=”CTA for eBook, Whitepaper, Webinar or Event” style=”3d”]Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

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