It’s been anticipated that the global enterprise software market will exceed US$ 500 Billion by 2022. (Reuters)
Yet despite this size & scale, one astonishing thing I’ve learnt is that while many organizations have impressive objectives and mission statements, a staggering number of these organizations don’t prioritize an intranet platform that will support their employees to do their job. Some organizations don’t have one, relying on multiple siloed systems, and many of those that do, attempt to work with multiple outdated systems that by it’s very composition, equate to a frustrating user experience. It’s akin to building a house on quicksand and expecting a first class output at the end of the day.
Great intranets are the heartbeat of your organization and help identify goals, capture knowledge, trends and talking points among users, teams & locations. This data is gold dust to leadership, and the management of such is moving to the forefront of leaderships mind.
Designing and building the intranet doesn’t always have to take on a big bang approach. It certainly can, if an organization is ready for it and the right change agents are at the helm, but it’s equally as effective when an organization starts small, and builds incrementally, taking its users with it and ensuring a cultural and functional fit. Sometimes, going from 0-60 is too much too soon, and we get that.
Flexibility & control are key. Let’s start with the backbone of the organization – People! Underpinning your intranet with an intuitive People Directory, that allows users have a sense of ownership in their profile, which supports them in finding and engaging with one another, is a great place to start. Supporting employee engagement, by way of providing an application that users look forward to using on a day-to-day basis, lays a strong foundation for a sense of ownership and acceptance at the beginning – which is crucial at the subsequent implementation phase(s).
Build it, and they will come, as they say.
