“Intranets get plenty of complaints. With cluttered homepages, out of date content, poor search engines and information people don’t want, too many employees just don’t have faith in their organization’s intranet. And on top of this, senior executives can’t see the value in spending so much on something with so little return. So how can you get your intranet to deliver real value?”
The introduction promoting Melcrum’s new intranet manual, Transforming your intranet, hits the nail on the head. The point is that most intranets are a mess and yet they hold so much potential value – if executed properly. If you’re at all connected to managing an intranet, you need this manual. Written by a number of leading intranet minds – including chapters by myself (on measuring intranet value) and Carmine Porco (on Content Management) – Transforming your intranet is the best how-to-manual you can get your hands on (next to this blog of course J)!
“Written to turn your organization’s intranet into the time-saving, value-creating tool it was always meant to be. You’ll find out how to take your intranet to the next level by integrating the latest strategies, technologies and metrics, ensuring people can get to the right information when they want it and, ultimately, delivering business value. You’ll also learn how to prove value to senior managers, with measurement techniques that go beyond simply counting page hits.”
Here’s a sneak preview of the Table of Contents:
CHAPTER 1: STRATEGY
Strategy is the starting point for superior intranets. We show you everything you need to know about setting an intranet strategy that includes the vital elements of information, technology and governance.
What you’ll take away:
- A comprehensive strategy model with a detailed explanation of each element to help you write or benchmark your intranet strategy.
- A table with real-world examples of how intranets can meet business objectives.
- A table outlining how intranets can address business risks.
- Case studies on building employee buy-in at HP, 10 tactics to align the intranet with the business strategy at GlaxoSmithKline and 10 secrets of steady improvement at Sodexho.
CHAPTER 2: GOVERNANCE
We answer the questions: Who should be in charge of the intranet? How many editors do you need? How can you avoid the “headless chicken” model of intranet governance?
What you’ll take away:
- A diagram outlining the ideal governance structure, with an “executive content board” at the top of the hierarchy.
- The eight key elements of governance that an intranet team must have control in order to be effective.
CHAPTER 3: CONTENT MANAGEMENT
This chapter includes a cautionary tale: “One prominent financial services firm purchased a content management system for US$1.5 million. One year after implementation the CMS was scrapped.” We help you avoid the same fate with a step-by-step process for buying a content management system and setting up a content management process in your organization.
What you’ll take away:
- A sample plan for buying a content management system, taking you through the planning phase, gathering business requirements, negotiating and awarding the contract.
- Worksheets with sample questions for stakeholder interviews.
- An evaluation matrix to help you evaluate which content management system will best meet your unique requirements.
- Case studies on choosing a content management system from
See Transforming your intranet
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