Collaboration

Ahhh…reinventing the wheel. It’s an age-old tradition for a lot of organizations, especially when it comes to technology. Some new class of productivity software comes along and the entire IT organization has to come to a grinding halt while an ECM strategy is defined. Or maybe it’s an ERP strategy. Or maybe it’s a CRM strategy. Sound familiar? Even been locked in the “paralysis by analysis” situation where you can’t get anyone to decide because there are just too many so-called “experts”, “gurus” and “SMEs” guiding the conversation?

When building a business case around a social Intranet, there are a few key components to consider. Here are five suggested features that you might ask your potential vendors to demonstrate.

Imagine, for a moment, that you have accepted a new position as a corporate executive tasked with figuring our how to make your company work better, faster, cheaper. Along with the details of your position, you have been informed that you have access to a wealth of competitive intelligence, product experience, and innovative thinking at your fingertips. Sounds like a recipe for success, right?

When developing your Intranet, it’s best not to develop in a vacuum. You may not be the best person to make decisions on how employees will use the intranet to do their job. Be sure to identify employees that will be involved in the maintenance of the portal and get everyone involved in the design process. Create an Intranet Governance Council that will include at least one member from each department throughout your company. Bigger departments might have 2 or 3. Let the members of the governance council represent their department and tell you what employees in their department need to be able to do their job more efficiently.