An intranet is a private network within an organisation which uses internet protocols. Intranets are primarily used as a central point in an organisation for disseminating information, tools and applications to internal staff. Intranets often have a logical structure based on the processes and activities staff perform every day. This may be reflected in the language used and in the information architecture.

Why should I?

An intranet is a valuable tool for information sharing and communications across an agency. A well-developed and managed intranet can improve productivity by making corporate information easily accessible and easy to update. It can also help agencies meet their obligations about providing and promoting guidance and policies for example, policies on procurement, recruitment and occupational health and safety.

What should I do?

The planning and implementation of your intranet is strategically important to your agency’s internal communications – there are a number of areas you need to consider to make sure your intranet is as effective as possible. As well as decisions on hardware and software, like Content Management Systems, there are also participation issues and features to be supported to consider.

Useful features of an intranet structure might include:

• Dedicated staff to maintain the intranet and keep content current.
• Feedback mechanisms – possibly even social media tools – for users to comment on what they want and what they don’t like about the intranet. You need not rely on public social networking tools, there are enterprise-level social networking tools.

How do I?

Firstly, you will need to undertake research to establish the needs of your agency, the potential uses of an intranet and the experiences of other agencies. From this research, you can determine the intranet goals and appoint an intranet business owner. You will need to put together a cross-functional team to cover off all facets of the site and determine whether a centralised or decentralised publication model will work best in your agency. Lastly, you need to put together appropriate governance models.

Then you can start to develop the intranet. Points to keep in mind are:

• apply user-centred design techniques
• schedule regular evaluation of the intranet
• incorporate ‘killer applications’ and make the intranet a place for ‘doing things’
• ensure high-quality content
• consider the most appropriate structure for the intranet
• establish content review processes
• ensure that the intranet meets accessibility standards
• consider recordkeeping issues
• consider implementing a content management system
• security and privacy measures.

Remember to market the intranet to staff and monitor use within the agency to ensure maximum benefit from the intranet.

Subjects:

• intranets