Involve management and board members in vision workshops for an organization's intranet. Because - in my experience - intranet is not the daily subject of directors, it is important to offer handles for the development of the vision. You can do this as follows:
Determine strategic themes or pillars that the intranet vision should tie in with or consist of. Common pillars are: knowledge sharing, collaboration, location and time independent working, freedom and flexibility for employees, openness, integration of applications, personalization and security. Make it lively by using photos, videos and the stories of employees.
Offer different levels of ambition and outline the global consequences of each level of ambition. For example, consider the personalization pillar: where do you want to be in that area in 5 years? From just personalized news provision to a fully customizable, tailor-made intranet environment. What are the consequences of each level? What are the risks and expected investments (don't make this too concrete - don't use figures, etc.)?
Determine priority and urgency . How important is determining this level for our organization? This provides input for the development of the strategy and the roadmap for further development.
During the session, it may happen that participants do not dare to make choices . Because they cannot fully foresee the consequences – in terms of investments, safety, etc. It is important to emphasize that it is about the 'dot on the horizon': a further elaboration and testing against practice will follow. Sharpening and adjusting is always possible. It is about where we want to be together in the future. It is also highly recommended to test and recalibrate the vision annually with the same group of people . You will see that the future image has already changed considerably.
One thing is certain: the session(s) with management and directors will provide enough material for discussion for the senegal phone number list coming year. There will probably be more questions than answers in quite a few areas. And that is of course not a bad thing: it makes people think and that gets processes going within the organization.
It is therefore wise to draw up a conversation report in which all opinions and points of interest discussed are described and that can be used as a talking point . In addition, develop a popular version of the intranet vision. And ensure that this also provides a visual image in terms of design. Think of a video, poster, slide show, presentation , etc. Finally, it is worth considering summarizing the visions on the various themes into a vision statement . An example from McConnel :
'A friend you trust, who is always there to help you do what you have to do.'
Of course, the vision, like the strategy, is mainly an instrument and not an end goal. So don't put it on the homepage of your intranet
.No vision of the future of the intranet? Get inspired by trendwatchers!
Finally, a final tip for those who have no idea where the intranet will be in 5 years. Get inspired! There are wonderful reports available in which trend watchers such as Jane McConnel ( Global Intranet Trends for 2011 ) and the Nielsen Norman Group ( Intranet Design Annual 2011: Year's 10 Best Intranets ) analyze the most progressive intranets and describe global intranet megatrends. The most innovative intranets of today certainly contain elements where you want to be with your organization's intranet in a few years. Have fun getting inspired!
Series on intranet success factors
.