Intranet Communications and Internal Collaboration

You’ve heard the promise of Web 2.0: Connect, collaborate and create. Corporate intranets are the central repository of information about the company, from HR benefits to current news to the company’s position on corporate social responsibility. That’s where the opportunity lies – employees want the information, but find the intranet inaccessible, difficult to navigate and lacking a mechanism for them to provide feedback. Gagen MacDonald believes that migrating toward an intranet 2.0 strategy can significantly enhance business performance. Through culturally appropriate social media tools and collaborative platforms the intranet becomes not just a library, but a place for employees to connect with the company and collaborate with each other.

Applying these communications tools or changing the intranet is an evolution, not a revolution. The tools have to serve the business need – whether it’s to reduce time spent searching for the right data, or to facilitate collaboration across locations to reduce travel costs. From a cultural perspective, an interactive, user-generated intranet site might lie unused if the company culture is not ready for it. It begins by introducing the new communications channels that can help lead the culture by being just slightly ahead.

Gagen MacDonald helps clients create intranets that meet the strategic needs of the business. We take a phased development approach that begins from a fact-basis – a true understanding of what employees need and want to help them be more effective and efficient at work. A rigorous plan for execution and implementation ensures that the project is developed on-time and on-budget. Finally, we can help create a measurement approach that is as simple as a user survey or a more rigorous statistical analysis that links the intranet to core business metrics such as productivity and safety.

We partner with technology and design firms such as APCO Online and Son and Sons. We leverage their expertise in implementation of intranet technology integrated with the latest thinking in user experience to create a robust intranet that meets the needs of your business.

An intranet redesign is an exciting opportunity to create a strategic, dynamic business tool. Gagen MacDonald can partner with you create the path forward, blending our expertise in employee engagement and internal communications, with a deep understanding of best practice intranets.