@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow How to Resuscitate your Intranet
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
How to Resuscitate your Intranet
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
Andrew Hesselden
I’m a freelance internal communications consultant. I help companies improve their intranets and communication channels
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
1.The real reason staff hate
your intranet 2.What you can do about it 3.How even the smallest of
How even small changes can make things much better
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
1.The real reason staff hate
your intranet 2.What you can do about it 3.How even small changes can
make things much better
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
1.The real reason staff hate
your intranet 2.What you can do about it 3.How even small changes
can make things much better
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
…you’ll get 5 Takeaways
“Our intranet is rubbish”
“Search doesn’t work”
“I can’t ever find what I need”
“The homepage is cluttered” “I just keep what I need in my favourites”
It’s so old fashioned
“The structure doesn’t make any sense”
“It’s really annoying”
“It’s slow”
“I never know if I’ve got the right page”
“Loads of broken links”
“It’s out of date” “Too much text to read”
What they say
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
Your little intranet vs
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
Client Story
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What was wrong… in a nutshell
• Intranet lacked structure
• Not much governance
• Minimal/no author training
• Lots of corporate waffle and far too much text
• Some accessibility issues
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
Visually…
• Text was all the same grey, with little contrast
• Body text was small
• Headings had no breathing space • Almost invisible hyperlinks… and inconsistent
hover behaviour
• Buttons were inconsistent • Lots of banners and very little white space
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
Planned a new structure
User Journeys & Card Sorting
Planned a new structure
Author Training
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Planned a new structure Intranet Engagement +10 to 20%
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5 Takeaways
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If your intranet feels tired... Consider:
• Current trends in user interface design in the outside world
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If it’s hard to navigate... Consider: • breadcrumbs • page titles • too many choices in menus? • hyperlink text
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
If users are frustrated... Consider:
• Are you are giving them what they need?
• Is it up front, on the rocks; no mixer, no umbrella?
@andrewhesselden #IntranetNow
If users ask for quick-links or are creating favourites… Consider:
• Is your intranet structured right?
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If issues keep reoccurring… train your authors…
Consider: • Usability • How to write for the web • Correct archiving processes etc