Now that the summer is just around the corner, there is no better time to review your Intranet strategy. Summer tends to be a slower time for business because of vacations and postponed projects. For the next couple months people are out of the office more, decisions are postponed and the office tends to have a more relaxed vibe.
This is a perfect opportunity to look at your Intranet and the processes that accompany it. Here are few suggestions on how to review your Intranet strategy.
Survey Says
The users are the most important part of your Intranet. The people that use it every day to find important information and obtain corporate wisdom from it’s contents. Create a simple 5-10 question survey to ask questions that will help point you in the direction of what areas are working and what areas are not. The survey should me mandatory for all employees who access the Intranet.
Stats
Ensure you have a good look at the stats for the Intranet. Key metrics to look for are:
What pages are being accessed the most
What pages are being access the least
What features are popular based on traffic
What department is getting the most use from the Intranet
Who are your champions?
By looking at your stats and the results of your survey you should be able to find out who your champions are. Champions play an important role in improving your Intranet and getting more people involved. They are a valuable resource that will help your Intranet be successful. Think of them as your Intranet ambassadors. Have them write a page or blog about why they use the Intranet and how others can benefit like they do.
New Technologies
Summer is the best time to look at the market and see what new technologies or features are available for your Intranet. For example micro blogging has become very popular with Intranets or integrate a group chat tool for a few months to see what works and what doesn’t with your user base. Using the results of your survey and stats will help you decide what new features you should try.
Putting it all together
As Fall approaches you will need to use the data you have collected to update and optimize your Intranet. The survey will tell you what is working and what is not. Anything that is not working needs to be removed or updated so that it does. Your Intranet champions will have been interviewed and encouraged to evangelize the benefits of the Intranet and you will added few new features and technologies that will help your company experience the benefits of a finely tuned Intranet.
This process should be done every year to keep your Intranet a value creator for your company.