OVERVIEW
Located on beautiful Cape Breton Island in Canada, Cape Breton University (CBU) delivers a comprehensive set of educational programs across a range of disciplines to over 5,000 students from 50 countries. CBU are dedicated to building a sustainable future for the island and place a high value on their people and culture as well as academic thought leadership.
THE BUSINESS GOAL
As a university that is dedicated to excellence in teaching and learning, CBU required a platform to promote knowledge sharing and innovation.
CBU were also looking to develop a more efficient process for all departments to access information related to processes, dates, timelines and policies to ensure they were delivering consistent information to students.
Better ways of creating, storing, updating and finding information would help teaching staff spend less time on administration and be able to focus more on their academic work. There were also opportunities to refine the onboarding process, helping new starters settle in with practical information and a sense of the CBU culture.
The solution also needed to reflect their branding and unique culture, providing opportunities to share and celebrate successes.
HOW WE HELPED
WebVine worked with the CBU team to identify their requirements and design a solution that would meet their requirements. Intranet Discovery & Design workshops are an essential part of the process to understand the challenges and goals behind the need for an intranet so the end solution delivers true value.
Using the information from the workshops, the WebVine team proposed an intranet solution using the Injio SharePoint accelerator to connect, inform and inspire the people of CBU.
Using CBU’s brand guidelines, a new intranet was created with a focus on clean design and user experience. A home page news carousel, events calendar and targeted announcements ensure staff are updated on the latest developments, particularly with COVID-19 causing havoc in the education sector. An image and video gallery were added to share event photos and celebrate the unique natural environment of the campus, and a Facebook feed to ensure staff stayed across CBU’s active social presence.
The magic links module was deployed to allow users to personalise their intranet and quickly reach frequently accessed pages, documents and colleagues.
Finally, a new Knowledge Base app was created to help CBU staff locate relevant information easily. Formatted in an expandable accordion style with search by content, category, date or tag, the FAQs can contain rich media like images and video, and are simple to access via mobile.
BUSINESS OUTCOMES
COVID-19 presented challenges for students and staff alike. While the intranet was not built with this in mind, it has proven an invaluable resource for staff working from home. The internal communications team at CBU have been able to leverage the platform throughout lockdown to share updates and maintain a sense of connection and continuity.
Injio’s comprehensive staff directory – fully integrated with Active Directory – has also helped colleagues find each other and connect. People can be easily recognised for their contributions and embodiment of CBU values via the employee recognition feature. There is even an Employment Opportunities section to highlight positions available and a Classifieds to pick up a bargain!
