I believe in the connecting power of social media. And with that idea in mind, I spent almost two years – via the communications department, together with IT – preparing a social intranet in a large company. Two years? Yes, two years. Time that was mainly taken up by convincing decision-makers, adjusting the vision on communication and obtaining sufficient IT hours.
Fortunately, there is good news. We managed to get everyone to come together. But that was sometimes quite difficult. Are you in a similar situation? I learned a few things from this long run-up. And I have listed them for you. Ten things to consider before you start a social intranet.
1. You are not alone in the world
Don't just try to imagine what the ideal world looks like. Put groups of colleagues together and ask them about their list to data wishes. The social media experts, the intranet experts, the business experts. What are their wishes for a new intranet? Map it out, process it in the requirements and link it back. In this way, you create a new intranet together where collaboration and knowledge sharing are self-evident. And you also have a group of enthusiastic internal ambassadors from the start.
It seems obvious, but it is more difficult than you think: work from an organizational goal and strategy. What contribution does the new intranet make to this on a macro level? And on a micro level; which business processes or communication flows can you improve or accelerate by using internal social media?
This will make it clear that the social intranet is more than just a soft change wish and 'a toy of the Communications department'. After all, this category usually does not get priority if there are also wishes that are a direct result of, for example, changed legislation or regulations.