IT and communications disconnect: improving employee experience through harmonized intranet systems
In today's digital age, the selection of an intranet software is a crucial decision for any organization. To ensure success, a cross-functional steering committee or internal champions from multiple departments, including IT and Communications professionals, should be involved in the decision-making process [3]. This approach fosters collaboration, mutual respect, and guarantees that the chosen platform meets diverse organizational needs effectively.
The core members of this steering committee include IT experts, communications professionals, representatives from HR, knowledge management, and other key stakeholder groups. IT experts understand technical requirements, integration capabilities, scalability, and security, while communications professionals focus on usability, content strategy, adoption, and employee engagement aspects. By involving a diverse group, the organization ensures that technical feasibility and communication effectiveness are balanced, leading to greater buy-in and successful intranet adoption.
The committee's primary tasks include defining clear, shared objectives aligned with overall organizational goals, creating governance plans detailing roles, responsibilities, and content ownership, evaluating vendor options, and piloting programs with representative users to identify adoption barriers [1][3][5]. By establishing structured governance, the organization can avoid the pitfalls of using SharePoint as an intranet, such as the proliferation of disjointed SharePoint sites with duplicated and outdated content.
Communications professionals are often more familiar with the emerging tools that impact their work, especially when it comes to creating and managing a meaningful employee experience. They will be responsible for publishing content, organizing information, and driving adoption of the intranet once it becomes a daily ritual for employees. On the other hand, IT professionals ensure the intranet remains secure, stable, and scalable, as the intranet is not just software; it's an employee communications, engagement, and experience strategy.
In many organizations, IT controls enterprise licenses for platforms like Microsoft SharePoint and ServiceNow, and there's often pressure to maximize these investments, even if it means stretching their original use cases and purpose. Purpose-built intranet platforms, designed with communications in mind, are worth considering for organizations where employee communications and experience are high priorities. ServiceNow, while excelling at workflow automation and IT service management, is not optimized for communication or content engagement.
The corporate intranet is a critical digital hub that binds an organization and serves as a launchpad for various resources. When done well, the intranet reinforces culture and streamlines work. When done poorly, it becomes a graveyard of outdated documents, unread announcements, and broken links. Therefore, greater collaboration and mutual respect between IT and Communications is needed for the sake of employees.
In conclusion, by involving a diverse group and establishing structured governance, organizations can ensure that their intranet software selection process is balanced, leading to greater buy-in and successful intranet adoption. The intranet, as a strategic communications platform, plays a significant role in employee engagement and organizational success, making it essential for IT and Communications professionals to collaborate ongoing to ensure its continued effectiveness.
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