Maximising Intranet usage

Keep them coming...
We launched our new intranet four months ago, and we're already seeing interest start to dip, with people going back to old habits. Used properly, the Intranet has the potential to be the most important channel of communication in the organisation - allowing key messages to reach staff instantly; providing a means of collaboration; and banishing the mental and physical barriers that serve to create silos across the departments.

There is of course a balance to be struck in any efforts to increase usage of a corporate intranet. Whilst you want people to use it, it must also serve the business needs of the organisation. So whilst there's room for the odd timewaster, this must be carefully balanced so as not to detract from the real purpose of the site.

Here are some things I'm already offering on the department's homepage:

Latest news

An obvious one really - pulling in press releases from the public-facing site, along with links to newsletters. This means the page will usually have something fresh to offer, and gives the user a feeling of being connected to the 'wider picture'.

Recent additions

A great way to promote new content.

Popular downloads

Again, a great way to highlight new files, but also to give people a shortcut to commonly accessed documents such as HR forms. The web stats for the site lends a hand here, highlighting the most popular files.

Dates and events

A really popular feature, and another one that gives the page a feeling of being linked to the wider world. Here we link to local events; such as festivals, lectures or exhibitions; as well as national and international campaigns (which for October includes Black History Month, International Walk to School Month and School Libraries Month).

So what next? We're somewhat limited by technology, but here are a few possibilities:

RSS feeds

It would be great to provide some external content - national news, weather, local events for example. Many sites offering this sort of information also offer RSS Feeds which we could quite easily pull into our pages. To this end I've created a test page with feeds from BBC news, Yahoo weather and a local events site. I'll be opening this up for consultation shortly, and hope the response will be a positive one. I'll also be encouraging suggestions for other feeds.

The feeds are pulled in using a nice Javascript generator available at itde.vccs.edu/rss2js.

Cartoon strips

Daily cartoon strips such as Garfield and Dilbert are very popular, but there is a syndication cost attached to using them, making it an unlikely option. Even so, for those with a budget they can offer a really strong daily pull factor.