5 steps on the journey to a digital work environment

It wasn’t too long ago when an intranet was simply the means by which your Communications department published information for employee consumption. Today, however, the intranet is so much more: it is a vehicle for standardizing internal processes and improving the mutual and social relationships of your employees. The problem with this is that, in many cases, employees simply don’t buy into the real value of an intranet. Instead, they place a much higher value on (social) collaboration solutions, communication and social media channels.

So, here are five steps to transforming your intranet into a true platform for cooperation and communication:

Step 1: Analyze and set the objectives of your organization

What do you want to achieve in communication and collaboration, and what are the biggest problems you want to resolve? It is vital to ask your employees these questions, rather than second guess them. Do they want to find information faster? Do they want to collaborate better and more easily? Use workshops to answer such questions and to provide a scope for your digital work environment project.

Step 2: Designing a platform

Establish the functionality of the platform, determine the (governance) rights and roles, and then start with some "quick wins", for example, a news portal for the Communication department, or a collaborative environment for the Product Development department. And consider the roll-out strategy. Will it begin with a pilot, or with a large-scale launch? 

Step 3: Change and train

Work up a communication and training plan for the new environment. Put in place an adoption strategy and ensure that the platform continues to be provided with relevant (new) information. Without this fresh content, the new intranet loses its relevance for the organization.

Step 4: Implementation as a dress rehearsal

After the platform has been designed, it is time for the roll-out. View this step as a dress rehearsal for organization-wide usage. Adjustments can still be made at this stage.

Step 5: Get started with the digital work experience

Announce your new intranet with a bang. Make videos, hang up posters, send out an invitation - 'Our new work environment, have you been there?' - to all users. Add the personal touch with intranet ‘champions’ answering questions and offering advice.

Involvement in the platform

Finally, encourage your new digital work environment to grow within the organization. The start-up phase described above is simply the beginning of a living platform that grows and flourishes.