What is a successful intranet?

An intranet’s success depends on how well it is accepted by the people that matter most - the intranet end users. No matter how nice the intranet might look, how much effort has gone into it or how good the content might be, if staff are not using it, it's a big waste of time and money.

This worskhop looks at what it takes to build and deliver a first class intranet - one that staff will use!

Using over 20 case studies from intranets that have obtained positive feedback from their own end users, you will discover tricks and tips to deliver a successful intranet. The workshop is based on comprehensive research and analysis over a 2 year period from the Worldwide Intranet Challenge (WIC) including feedback from:

• Over 20,000 intranet end users
• From 60 organisations,
• In 14 countries.

Who should attend?

Anyone interested in designing, building, maintaining or managing a more useful intranet or delivering a new intranet.

This includes communication managers, IT managers, intranet owners, SharePoint managers or consultants, internal communicators, content management professionals, knowledge managers, business process professionals, HR managers, organisational development professionals, information architects, usability specialists and people responsible for managing intranet software or a content management system (CMS).

Note: This is a hands on interactive workshop. You may bring a WiFi-enabled laptop if you wish (though this is optional). Also bring screen shots of your current intranet (or new designs) as well for discussion.

What you will learn

During this workshop you will learn:

• What staff want from an intranet (and it's more than just news, documents and a staff directory!)
• Techniques to deliver an intranet that will keep your staff coming back
• How to keep your accountant happy - 8 ways an intranet can add bottom-line value to your organisation 
• The 9 phases of intranet delivery
• How to bullet proof your navigation by identifying information types, properties, relationships and multiple navigation paths
• 'Contextual integration' - what it means and how it can transform your intranet
• How to identify & deliver:
  • A contextual view of business tasks, and
  • Information and tools needed to support these tasks
• The power of prototyping to obtain stakeholder buy-in
• How to improve emplyee engagement through effective management of news, communication & collaboration on the intranet
• How to keep your intranet alive by:
  • Identifying the right roles and responsibilties
  • Continually monitoring & reporting intranet success and effectiveness

During the workshop you will also:

• Complete a benchmark exercise on your existing intranet (if you have one) enabling you to compare your intranet with a database of over 50 other intranets
• Develop an individual action plan (or business case) that will identify and prioritise intranet improvement tasks, based on your intranet and business objectives
• As a group, build a task-based intranet prototype

When you return to your office you will have access to:

• A database of best practice intranet case studies,
• Supporting references, and
• Tips and tricks of leading intranets. 

How is this workshop is different?

This is the first workshop of its kind to be based on comprehensive research of real intranet end users. Throughout the workshop we will refer to practices from leading intranets, as identified by end users, to illustrate effective intranet development and design approaches.

Workshop Outline

The workshop covers the following topics:

• Phases of building and designing an intranet
• Building a business case or action plan for your intranet
• Structuring your intranet content
  • Identifying information types, attributes and relationships
  • Designing 'information views'
• Prototyping options
• Designing the look and feel
  • Home page design
  • Template design
• Developing your content
  • Identifying task based content
  • Identifying content that supports these tasks
  • Contextual integration
  • Staff details
• Developing an approach to communication
• Making your intranet dynamic (social)
  • Online lists & forms
  • Online discussions & collaboration spaces
  • Tagging and commenting
• Maintaining & managing your intranet (governance)
  • Roles and responsibilites needed to maintain the intranet
  • Using the intranet itself to manage governance
  • Establishing a dynamic publishing community
• Managing & measuring intranet performance
  • Mobile and off-site access
  • Personalisation
  • Measuring success

All topics include:

• Tips, tricks and advice from leading intranets
• Relevant references and supporting material
• Examples and demonstrations
• Group and individual exercises

About your presenter

Andrew Wright is the founder of the Worldwide Intranet Challenge (WIC) - a web based survey that allows organisations to obtain and benchmark feedback from their staff about what they think of their intranet. Feedback from the WIC has been analysed to identify the best intranet practice case studies referred to during the course.

Over 20,000 intranet users from 60 organisations have participated in the WIC including AkzoNobel, Amvest, Ernst & Young, Deloittes, Arcelormittal, the European Space Agency and Arup.  Read more about the WIC.

He also publishes the Worldwide Intranet Challenge blog that contains many useful articles about intranets and how to improve them.

He has worked with intranets for the past 10 years using a range of tools such as SharePoint, IBM Websphere, and Lotus Notes. He has consulted for many organisations including KPMG, AGL Australia & the Coles Group.

He also runs the largest Linkedin group about intranets - the Worldwide Intranet Challenge - with over 10,000 members. He has presented at conferences both internationally and locally in Australia. He holds a Masters in Information Systems Engineering. 

You can read more about Andrew on his LinkedIn profile.

Getting there

The venue for this event is the impressive St James building in Oxford St.

St James’ can be found on the doorstep of Manchester city centre. It's also in a prime location for Manchester’s transport links, with main train stations, bus and tram links just a short walk away. With motorway junctions just a few miles out of the city centre and a variety of public car parks nearby, St James’ ensures that your commute can be made as convenient as possible.

Comments from previous participants

"The course materials are extremely comprehensive and I have left the training thinking about how I will aproach my new Intranet." - Geri Overberg, Medibank

"Access to, and structure of, the resources. Very helpful to have the information sorted the way it is." - Jill Roche, World Vision

Fees, terms and conditions

The fee for this course covers all written materials, internet access, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and after-course drinks.

All fees are payable in full before the course. Cancellations received less than 14 days before the start of the course will be subject to the full fee. For non-attendance at a course there will be no refunds and the full fee will be payable. Substitutions may be made at any time without additional cost.

In the unlikely event that the course is cancelled, we will automatically make a full refund but will not be liable for any consequential loss of travel or accommodation fees due to cancellation of the course.