Whether you are building new or upgrading your existing intranet platform, the planning process is one of the most important stages in any intranet project. This is the time to clarify what your intranet must deliver and how it will contribute to organisational goals, get buy in from stakeholders and ensure adequate resourcing to make the project a success.
Why build an intranet?
An effective intranet can deliver significant benefits to your organisation as an essential component of the broader Digital Workplace.
With a shifting business climate and the current trend toward remote and hybrid work, most CEOs and CFOs now appreciate the necessity of an accessible, secure digital workplace platform.
Effective communication
Social engagement
Knowledge management
Collaboration and teamwork
Leadership and transparency
Consistent onboarding
Idea sharing and innovation
Business goals and key stakeholders
What is the purpose of this intranet? What business problems will it solve?
It is impossible to overstate the importance of user consultation at this stage both to ensure the intranet delivers value and to build ownership and engagement.
How will the success of the intranet be quantified? Ensure the reporting and analysis processes are in place to benchmark and measure changes.
The 6I’s of Digital Transformation
Create a strong business case, manage stakeholders and deliver ROI by focusing on high-impact initiatives.
Research potential intranet platforms
Get a clear idea understanding of available intranet solutions and their capabilities. Read reports, talk to industry colleagues, watch as many demos as you can, ask questions and understand the marketplace.
Consider likely budget, technical mandatories & regulatory requirements, system integrations, as well as the digital maturity of your users and the organisation as a whole.
Beautiful, Scalable, Mobile native.
Intranet Project Planning
What is in scope for this project? Which integrations or features can be deployed later? How will content be prioritised for migration? Who should be on the project team? Your intranet project plan should answer these questions and provide a framework for:
Timelines & Milestones
Try to identify key impacts on timings and any constraints
- Ideal launch date
- Major milestones to be achieved and any dependencies
- Content migration approach & timings
- Any constraints such as competing projects, major acquisitions, retiring systems or key resources going on leave.
Design
Intranet design is a specialised skill – your designer must be aware of the capabilities and limitations of your chosen platform. SharePoint for example has very particular design features that must be considered.
Launch and Adoption
An intranet without users is a very expensive waste of cloud space.
How will you approach user engagement and training? Which channels will be used and what resources will be required? How will you provide technical support? Who will be your champions
Build an Intranet Business Case
Even though the need for a digital platform is clear, many CFOs and other bean counters require a business case to approve budget for a new intranet. It’s a considerable project which will incur external costs and utilise internal resources, both during the project and ongoing.
While time consuming, a well prepared intranet business case can provide an excellent road map for the project, clearly defining deliverables and timelines and helping to manage stakeholder expectations.
5 Steps to a Compelling
Intranet Business Case
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