Internal communication in a project of this size and calibre is always going to be a massive challenge. Our works are spread across an 80km stretch of rural England, with a workforce of c3000 at peak from a mixture of backgrounds, companies and communication devices.
Earlier this month we implemented the EKFB smartHUB, a project I have been working on in the background for around ten months with support from the team. The smartHUB consists of our intranet and Business Management System, and ties together a multitude of other systems and software, acting as a launch pad into all things EKFB.
It’s a powerful tool with a lot of capability, and we’re looking at 5 top reasons why we need an intranet…
1.Bring everyone together
In the current virtual world in which we live, an intranet can act as a central base for many people working from home. It’s where they can go to get their updates, interact with other colleagues and get a general sense of what’s happening at work. It’s a space for your brand to come to life and help everyone feel part of something bigger.
2.Push out official updates across the whole business
Information is key, but not when it’s incorrect. An intranet is a great way of centrally controlling what communication goes out to people. It’s a space where your team can read or watch official updates, keeping everyone informed and on the same page. The comment function allows people to ask questions when things are unclear and avoid the churn of the rumour mill.
3.Introduce new starters to the Team
The smartHUB houses masses of information about every department, including who’s in each team, a department summary, vision, relevant documents, news, updates and so much more. It’s the perfect place for our new starters to go to understand more about each function and the overall business structure. New starters can look people up and quickly contact them, and everyone is identifiable by their profile picture, making it even easier for new people to get to grips with what everyone does when they meet face to face.
4.Stop siloed working
Siloed working has been a real issue in our industry for several years, and it needs to be avoided on a project of this scale. The smartHUB not only gives an overview of the different systems each team uses, but is also houses documents including policies, procedures and standards relevant to each team on their homepages. This makes it so much easier for everyone to understand how other departments function, and how to work with them in the most efficient way. Each department homepage also has an update board, where any messages, updates, files or any other form of communication can be easily shared with the wider team at the click of a button.
5.Reduce emails
It’s every company’s dream to reduce their number of daily emails! The smartHUB does just that; it offers smart solutions for communication. This includes news style ‘stories’, which can be added to the homepage and/or specific department pages. Each page also has its own blog, making it easy for users to access historical communications quickly and easily without flooding their inbox. Users can @ tag other users, whole departments, groups or locations and write messages to create targeted communications.