The WIC's most valuable intranets of 2012 (based on end user feedback)

       

by Andrew Wright

This article lists the most valuable intranets for 2012 as identified by the Worldwide Intranet Challenge (WIC).*

This includes the 3 top ranked organisations for each category from a total of 50 participating organisations. The scores and rankings are based on feedback given by actual intranet end users. In addition, tips and links to case studies from the highly ranked organisations are also provided.

 

Top rated intranets for 2012

1. Aspen Technology, Inc - 115.39 
2. RSPB  - 109.75  
3. Medibank Hotwire - 107.35   

 

References

Slideshare: Success factors and lessons learned from more than 100 benchmarked intranets
Case study: Weston Solutions: Could this be the world's most effective intranet?
Case study: Discovery Health staff say their intranet is the best
Case study: Intranet users rank Bupa Australia's intranet number 1
Webinar: Worldwide Intranet Challenge (WIC) Webinar: Weston Solutions Case Study
Case study: The Worldwide Intranet Challenge - Wyeth MENA is number 1 (Case Study)

 

 

Catgegory ratings (based on survey questions)

I like the intranet home page (score is out of 4)

1. Rijkswaterstaat - 3.04 
2. RSPB - 3.01 
3. NRMA Motoring & Services - 2.99  

Youtube: The Rijkswaterstaat intranet
Article: RSPB intranet scoops global award

Tips from leading intranets:

• Provide a continuous stream of fresh content
• Provide personalised content - eg. news, work tasks
• Make sure there is some fun on the home page

 

I can personalise the intranet

1. Rijkswaterstaat - 2.96  
2. IMS Health - 2.37  
3. Yorkshire Water - 2.37  

Tips:

• Make the personalisation automatic (eg. deliver news updates based on a person's profile)
• Give people the ability to add their own links to the home page

 

I can find the information I need on the intranet

1. Sulzer Metco - 2.67  
2. Aspen Technology, Inc - 2.67 
3. GS1 Australia - 2.62  

Tips:

• Provide access to the most important content from the intranet home page
• Do not confuse collaboration content with 'approved' and qualified content - ensure the two content types are clearly demarcated
• Be fanatical about archiving and removing redundant content and content that doesn't get used

 

Publish content

1. nSynergy - 2.20  
2. Aspen Technology, Inc - 2.02 
3. Rijkswaterstaat - 1.76  

Case study: Delivering an interactive intranet: case study from #1 ranked interactive intranet: nSynergy

 

 

Discuss work topics

1. nSynergy - 2.84  
2. Arup #2 - 1.68  
3. Rijkswaterstaat - 1.28 

Interview: With Faith Wainwright of Arup

Tips:

• Online discussion and collaboration is more cultural than technical
• Senior leadership MUST set the example
• Discussion tools need to be easy to use, preferably integrated with email

 

Collaborate with other staff online

1. nSynergy - 2.52 
2. Aspen Technology, Inc - 1.91
3. Nykredit - 1.28  

Case Study: Nykredit: Collaboration evolution delivers on vision

• Integrate different platforms  - eg. combine instant message, video conferencing, unified communications and desktop sharing into a seamless end user experience
• Ensure the right culture exists - staff not scared to collaborate, collaboration is encouraged 

 

Complete online forms

1. Virgin Media UK - 2.13  
2. Medibank Health Solutions - 2.09  
3. Energex - 2.00  

Tips:

• Implement the most popular forms first to obtain buy-in
• Integrate forms with job tasks

 

Find instructions for completing work tasks

1. Medibank - Client Pages - 2.94 
2. Medibank - Hotwire - 2.24  
3. Transfield Worley Ltd - 2.02 

Case study: Building a task based intranet using SharePoint (AGL case study)

 

Staff details

1. RSPB - 3.52  
2. Transfield Worley Ltd - 3.28  
3. Arup Group Ltd - 3.26 

Tips:

• Complete as many profile details as possible from existing HR systems
• Allow staff to update their own details
• Run a competition where the winner only gets a prize if their staff details are up-to-date
• Include photos of staff (if possible)
• Integrate 'linkable' staff names with other content types (eg. links to intranet pages, documents)

 

News about our organisation & industry

1. RSPB - 3.29 
2. Telecom NZ - 3.06  
3. Yorkshire Water - 3.00  

Tips:

• Most important is to have a regular supply of quality news stories
• Analyse effectiveness of news stories - which stories are popular, who are the popular authors,
• News items need to have clear objectives (eg. to improve employee engagement, to make staff aware of process changes)

A repository of re-usable documents

1. Aspen Technology, Inc - 2.81  
2. Domino's Pizza - 2.35  
3. Sulzer Chemtech - 2.24  

Tips:

• Don't just simply provide a huge list of un-indexed documents - ensure there is appropriate meta data assigned so staff can locate the documents they need to meet their specific requirements
• Archive old documents
• Index documents by the roles and activities they support eg. sales proposals should be indexed by Sales Team

 

Information about our products/services

1. Domino's Pizza - 2.79  
2. Aspen Technology, Inc - 2.68 
3. Fisher & Paykel Finance - 2.66 

Tips:

• Ensure front line staff have easy access to this information
• Ensure that if product or service information is updated, there is a way for staff to acknowledge that they are aware of the change and can ask for additional help if needed
• Maintain not only your own product/service information but also an overview of your competitors. This way your staff will know how your product/service is superior.

Information about our customers

1. Aspen Technology, Inc - 2.20  
2. Domino's Pizza - 2.15  
3. Energex - 2.04  

 

Information for new starters

1. Aspen Technology, Inc - 2.90 
2. RSPB - 2.81  
3. Fisher & Paykel Finance - 2.66 

Tips:

• Created a page specifically for new starters
• Create an electronic checklist of tasks to be completed within the first few days and make it available from the intranet

 

Content on the intranet is accurate

1. RSPB - 2.94 
2. Fisher & Paykel Finance - 2.78  
3. Sulzer Chemtech - 2.77  

Tips:

• Use automated reminders to ensure content authors acknowledge that their content is still relevant
• Conduct regular content audits - review usage reports
• Provide a feedback mechanism for staff to report out-of-date content
• Ensure collaborative and 'work-in-progress' type content is clearly separated from the 'official' quality intranet content. Use the analogy of the factory and a retail outlet to explain these different content types

 

I can see what's new or what's changed on the intranet

1. WWF-UK - 2.70 
2. Fisher & Paykel Finance - 2.67  
3. nSynergy - 2.56  

Tips:

• Provide weekly email updates about what's new or updated on the intranet - do not send more than one a week as staff will get sick of them
• Provide a dedicated page on the intranet where staff can see not only what items have been added or changed but also a brief description of the change

 

The intranet is always available (the following questions are out of 2)

1. National Audit Office - 1.93  
2. Atradius - 1.91  
3. Transfield Worley Ltd - 1.90  

Case study: ASHA: Collaborate, Combine, and Manage: Keys to Successful Intranet Adoption

 

Pages on the intranet load quickly

1. Yorkshire Water - 1.80  
2. National Audit Office - 1.75  
3. St Barbara - 1.75  

Case Study: Ros Business Consulting: End users and experts agree on what makes a good intranet

Tips:

• Buy the IT team a cappuccino every Friday morning
• Buy the best hardware available
• Ensure the intranet has it's own dedicated server

 

I can access the intranet off-site

1. RSPB - 1.82  
2. nSynergy - 1.80  
3. University of Manchester - 1.77  

Tips:

• Organisational culture needs to support flexible working and have trust in staff - more important than the technology

 

Access the intranet using a mobile device

1. Domino's Pizza - 1.32  
2. University of Manchester - 1.22  
3. RSPB - 1.14  

Tips:

• Implement just a few simple mobile intranet applications - don't expect staff to troll through 1000's of intranet pages on their mobile phone

 

Overall value (out of 4)

1. Medibank - Hotwire - 3.32  
2. Medibank - Client Pages - 3.21 
3. WWF-UK - 3.17  

Tips:

• Focus on helping staff complete business tasks more effectively
• Engage and interact with staff through discussion forums, activity streams and other interactive methods
• Have solid intranet governance processes in place that are embedded in the organisational roles and responsibilities
• Have visible support from senior management and the CEO

 

* What is the Worldwide Intranet Challenge?

The WIC is a free online benchmarking service that enables organisations to obtain feedback from their employees about what they think of their intranet. This feedback can then be compared with other participating organisations to identify those intranets that rate the highest in various topics. Read the FAQ page for more information.

So far in total over 32,000 intranet end users from 123 organisations in 22 different countries have completed the survey.

 

Register now to benchmark your intranet from an end user perspective

If you are interested in finding out exactly how your intranet compares with over 120 other organisations, why not participate in the WIC? The WIC is a free online benchmark survey that asks your end users what they think about your intranet and then allows you to benchmark this information against other participating organisations. So why not register for the Worldwide Intranet Challenge (WIC).