effective internal communication

within a distributed organization

Urszula Kandefer Grzegorz Mazurek

 Table of Contents

Introduction.................................3 Establishing an intranet promotion

strategy within a company...................... 92
What is an intranet?....................6
Launching a portal.................................94
Importance of the intranet system
for an organization.................................. 6 Monitoring and development
of the system........................................ 96
Purposes for intranet implementation............ 7
Intranet Creation Software...................... 96
Implementation benefits.......................... 13
The implementation model –
independently vs outsourcing................... 99
Using the Intranet Portal............17
Intranet as an instrument for innovation...... 17
Practical examples
Intranet management – practical advices.... 19 of the implementation
How one of the world’s best of intranet systems...................100
intranets was created?........................... 27 Provident Poland intranet portal.............. 100
Modern solutions to implement Internal promotion of the intranet –
within an intranet – chatbots.................... 56 Mostostal Warszawa SA...................... 102
Electronic Document Workflow +
Intranet in practice ................................ 65
Intranets
The most common myths within enterprises –
concerning intranet................................ 71 research results.......................105
Test methodology and characteristics....... 106
Stages of system design System operation.................................107
and implementation...................75
Platform management.......................... 110
Pre-implementation analysis......................76
Benefits of using the system................... 112
Identifying the needs of the user of an intranet
System usability.................................. 112
portal, and design of the system............... 77
Social elements.................................. 113
Internal communication of
an organization in a distributed Research results................................... 115
work structure........................................78
Methods and techniques for testing
effectiveness and smooth
of intranet performance...........................87

2
 Introduction

Internal communication is a function for management, which, through dynamic contact with
employees, affects various elements within organization; like, operation efficiency, effectiveness
of performed tasks, loyalty, and motivation. Modern technological tools, so above all intranets are
indispensable in almost every organization, and remain a heart of communication system by direc-
tly and indirectly determining its functioning.

With intranet, one knows more, better eliminates unnecessary actions, and improves the func-
tioning of an organization. It is also a meaningful change concerning company culture, e.g.,
co-creation of values. Functionalities like suggesting ideas and evaluating them, or discussions
in internal social spaces are able to completely change the whole organizational culture, an appro-
ach to work, and professional duties. However, above all, the intranet serves to save money and
increase work efficiency. Many processes can be automated, and the properly constructed data-
bases generated from the dispersed knowledge of employees will provide a broader perspective
on a situation within a company.

This e-book is a compendium of knowledge about intranet systems, their functions, possibili-
ties, goals for which they are designed, and benefits that can be achieved with their use. Already
in 2016, as a result of cooperation between Ideo Sp. z o.o. experts and Kozminski University, the
publication „Intranet - effective internal communication in an organization”, important in the litera-
ture, was created. It also served as the basis for subsequent materials, now created in digital form,
compiling knowledge about Intranets. The latest guide is an update and enrichment of the knowled-
ge collected and analyzed by experts in recent years, during which there have been many changes
in the approach to internal communication in organizations.

The reader will find here key information about the system and its possibilities, and also tips on how
to implement or manage it. There is also a proprietary empirical research, which presents a broad
perspective on how intranet systems are used within enterprises. The publication is supplemented
by additional information from both subject literature, and business practice.

*The aforementioned book ‘Intranet – skuteczna komunika-

cja wewnętrzna w organizacji’, published by Poltext Publishing
House 2018, forms the basis for this publication.

3
 The book is recommended by

„ I do really like the statement “a well-functioning intranet is the one

that makes its users fearful at the thought of working without it ...”
The company’s intranet should be like the Internet. Are You worried
about not being able to access the Internet? Personally, I am. Even
though I remember the times „before”.

In the book, there is everything that the specialists in internal

communication should know before starting to design such a system
in a company.

I recommend to read this publication, especially if you intend to implement or develop

intranet within your companies, or if you want to expand your knowledge in this field.

The authors of this publication did a wonderful job!

Maja Biernacka, author of a blog titled Komunikacja wewnętrzna od kuchni

„ The book by Urszula Kandefer and Grzegorz Mazurek discusses a key area concerning
organization of internal communication in contemporary enterprises – the intranet.

Apart from taking up the topic which is rarely discussed (especially by

Polish authors), its great advantage is the combination of academic
and practical perspectives.

In addition to the introduction about origins, essence, and goals concerning intranet, the
reader will find there practical advice for system management, case studies from Polish
market and results of a study on experiences after using such systems (on a sample of over
200 managers).

THINKTANK centre for dialogue and analysis

4
„ If I were asked the question about whether or not there exists a compendium of knowledge
on internal communication and Intranet, I would not be straightforward. However, this e-bo-
ok is undoubtedly an interesting publication discussing this topic. The presented solutions
will definitely interest not only people who encounter this issue for the first time, but also
experts in this field.

Urszula Kandefer and Grzegorz Mazurek has found a clear and acces-
sible way to describe how to design and develop Intranets to serve
internal communication.

The guidebook presents the process of building a competitive advantage of your

organization and thus improving business functioning. It is a very good case study
and a mandatory reading for anyone who is interested in the issue of internal
communication.”

Artur Wichliński, Director of the Technology and Operations Division

at the Wschów Bank Spółdzielczy

5
 What is an intranet?

Importance of the intranet system for an organization

Intranets have been functioning in organizations over the years. However, in order to be effective,
they must be continuously developed – like while using websites, their functions, or provided possi-
bilities change e.g., content creation. Nowadays, it is clearly visible that intranets are being dynami-
cally transformed into comprehensive and multifunctional cooperation platforms, which involve all
employees in creating a broadly understood value in an organization.

„ The intranet is to be seen as a tool, i.e., a multi-function, flexible,

convenient, and willingly used in modern reality.

6
Regardless of whether the intranet is implemented in small and medium-sized enterprise, huge
corporation, or institution and public organization. It is not (and should not be) a tool with fixed
parameters and uniform characteristics; in such case it would be a universal system – fulfilling all
needs without the necessity to introduce changes. However, unfortunately (or rather fortunately)
it is not like that. The intranet requires a strictly defined context and environment in which it is to
function; it must reflect organization’s specificity, its culture, needs, and potential.

Those are the factors that determine its layout – functions, mechanisms, and personalization level.
That is why intranet is flexible and useful in almost every organization – regardless of its nature or
size.

The intranet is not only a tool, but also an investment. It is a product implemented for many years.
Of course, with the development of an organization, its successive expansion will probably be
necessary. However, a well-made ground – along with emerging needs – provide the possibility to
easily add new functionalities.

It is worth remembering that there are „elements” that should not be overlooked – the employees.
They will use an intranet in their daily work, so, the system should meet their real needs (not only
those of a company as a whole). First of all, it is not to make the performance of daily tasks and
duties more difficult. Even if it sounds like a cliché, but:

„ A well-functioning intranet is the one that makes its users fearful

at the thought of working without it ...”.

Purposes for intranet implementation

Intranet is a tool – or rather – a platform that can be used for many different purposes. Here, we
present you some of them and point out their key elements and implementation measures.
An intranet:

1. Improves document workflow

The Intranet supports solving problems related to the duplication and dispersion of
documents. Those which are available in an electronic form provide a possibility to
be more efficiently archived. Also a search engine and filtering make searching faster
and more effective.

7
2. Enhances performance

Intranet portals support a smooth experience exchange and provide a possibility

to use many ready-made templates and documents. The time saved on search or
re-creation of these forms can be used in other, more productive way. Various func-
tions implemented on the intranet also provide the possibility to automate some
processes.

3. Improves work organization

Remote working in particular can cause all sorts of organizational confusion. The
idea to access documents is extremely convenient and provides better work organi-
zation. Nevertheless, this aspect is to be improved all the time. An access to a calen-
dar in which one is able to keep notes or set up meetings seems now to be a basic
requirement. Moreover, solutions such as the possibility to add tasks to do and assi-
gning them to appropriate employees also do work well. When it comes to file exchan-
ge and an option to select a deadline, they enable more efficient work organization
regardless of the place from which this process is performed.

4. Builds an organizational culture – knowledge sharing

Intranet significantly improves the creation of an organizational culture, which is

based primarily on the knowledge and experience exchange. With its use, employees
have the opportunity to learn values and competences that are particularly important
in a given company. The functions available within an intranet facilitate transferring
the personal knowledge to other employees, and as a result – create conditions for
the continuous increase in competences. Therefore, it is possible to create a central
knowledge repository within an organization.

5. Enhances employee opinion survey

Intranet tools, such as surveys or tests, support collecting and analysing employees’
opinion. As a result, the employer is able to easily monitor various issues without the
need to tediously ask every single person the same questions.

Through the changes caused by the pandemic, direct contact is rather limited, both
at the employee-employee and employer-employee level. That is why the control
is so important. Ensuring that subordinates are satisfied with the conditions, their
productivity at remote work has not decreased, (comparing to this performed in the
office), or simply getting to know their opinion, is possible through surveys.

8
They may concern every topic, and also every form – a simple survey or an extensive
interview with multimedia. Creating and conducting such surveys is useful not only
for an employer, who gets to know the employees’ point of view, but also for them,
who are not feeling ‘left alone.’ While working remotely, one may easily feel a detach-
ment from a company. Such surveys are like a binder, they provide a completely diffe-
rent, deep communication form.

It should be remembered that such contact and, in general, communi-

cation are particularly important when everything - work, relaxation, and
family life take place within the same space. Then, the employer’s interest
works particularly well in the eyes of employees.

6. Supports HR

It may be difficult to cooperate with other employees, especially if they work remo-
tely. Therefore, the information workflow should be at the highest possible level, even
(or perhaps especially) in matters such as absences.

Leave management, absences module, access to the requests database, possibi-

lity to obtain information about the available days of leave – these are just some
procedures provided by the intranet in order to support the HR department. These
solutions significantly improve the work in human resources department and make
employees’ life easier.

The leave module clearly presents absences - after checking the details, everyone is
to able to check whether it is a long absence or only a few days leave. An additional
advantage is determining its type, e.g., maternity, sick, or holiday leave. If necessary,
it is also possible to check which employee is to substitute a person during their
absence.

7. Helps in virtual onboarding

Introducing a new employee into the company’s reality (especially in large enterpri-
ses) is complicated, even when the process is carried out on a stationary basis. It is
particularly difficult when the new employee does not have contact with people with
whom they are to carry out projects or has never been at the company’s headquar-
ters. Of course, it is always worth for such a meeting to take place live (even if it is
known that the work will be performed 100% remotely). Until then, an intranet may be
an extremely valuable tool.

9
The onboarding process should be carried out by connecting with an employee, e.g.,
on a zoom. When introducing them into aspects, it is also worth using an intranet.
There can be even a separate module to be dedicated for this purpose. It is worth
including there a document presenting, for example, company’s history, its depart-
ments, or values - this will make it much easier to understand the atmosphere. During
such a meeting, discussing individual intranet modules allow the newly-employed
person to navigate around the application on their own, and as a result give the possi-
bility to get to know the areas most useful for their work.

Therefore, by using a remote application, the probability to feel left alone is much
lower. In turn, for the HR team, such a solution is rather time-saving. Not only are
numerous issues already explained within the system, but also if a new employee
has any questions, there is a search engine which may be used to find answers.

An interesting solution is to prepare something like a ‘new employee orien-

tation checklist.’ This is a set of tasks to perform in a virtual way before
starting to work. By ticking the squares, such a person what has already
been done and what other duties are to perform. As soon as the checklist
is ready, the information is sent, for example, to the HR department, or to
supervisor. This will let managers or people supporting new employees
know that they have become familiar with all the necessary information
about the company, their duties, or general rules in within the company.

8. Builds relations

Tools available within intranet, such as chat or employee blogs, contribute to building
relationships between co-workers. While using the function of a social intranet, this
feature is particularly emphasized, and adding such a module increases platform’s
attractiveness.

Even if it is an external application, it is worth providing a quite easy UX,

e.g., through a clickable icon that moves the user directly to chat, zoom,
forum, discussion, etc.

10
That is the most comfortable solution for providing such a simple and quick way of
presenting the staff. The employee database contains the most valuable information:

• Employee photo
• First and last name
• Position
• Room number (if stationary)
• Phone number and internal phone number (if applicable)
• Determining whether the employee is working remotely or stationary
• Possibility to send a private message
This is an extremely important module which allows for getting to know the staff,
even if working remotely. Furthermore, employees should be encouraged to keep
their information up-to-date so that they will be useful to the entire team. A particu-
larly interesting solution is to create a short video presentation on which employees
can say a few words about themselves.

When a new employee is added to the database, the information about

this while the work is performed remotely may not always reach the entire
team. Therefore, a separate column, for presenting new team member,
should appear on the main page or in the news.

9. Remote/hybrid work

Companies which headquarters or branches are in different locations, and the ones
which work in a remote or hybrid model, will certainly appreciate the possibility of
using intranet on a daily basis. They will find all most important tools in one place:
document database, chat, news, employee database, remote desktops, etc. Regard-
less of the place from which one works or even the time of the day – such a person
is always able to perform their tasks.

It is important to establish rules for working, especially if it is to be performed remo-

tely or in a hybrid manner. The intranet is a comfortable tool, which allows for placing
not only all the necessary documentation (e.g., regulations or protocols), but also
for aggregating all files, or links to programs used when working outside the offi-
ce. For this purpose, it is possible to create a separate repository or simply use the
already existing document database. Clear presentation of rules in one place will be
very convenient for employees, it will give the opportunity to systematize important
documents, information, and rules and, most importantly, build a sense of safety and
a feeling that everything is under control.

11
Placing such data and information require an instruction on how to find
or use them. For this purpose, it is worth conducting a short training or
meeting so that a newly-employed person will have the possibility to ask
questions.

10. Integrates dispersed apps

Integration of reporting, communication, or archiving systems within intranets signi-

ficantly reduces coordination costs concerning such prosaic activities as logging
into systems or copying files. Data centralization also provides better opportunities
to monitor performance and simply saves time and budget.

11. Generates downward innovations

While using intranet’s social modules, employees are able not only to submit down-
ward initiatives, but also discuss them and vote on those which they consider most
useful and feasible. A gamification mechanism also generates additional motivation
and commitment among employees. However, defined goals depend on the imple-
mentation initiator, and their hierarchy and thus implementation level are subject to
the specificity of a given organization.

12. Streamlines accounting issues

Limited contact with the finance department due to working outside the office may
have negative effects. The issues related to finances are particularly important and
should not be ignored. Basic information about the payout, settlement types, e.g.,
bonuses, insurance fees, extra hours, etc. This is particularly important in industries
in which the payout system depends on results, is set at an hourly rate, etc. Clear
overview of such information, while working remotely, enables eliminating unclarities
and prevents future conflicts. As those are such sensitive data, they should be availa-
ble to the employee whenever they need or want to check them.

12
Brief for good intranet
Analyze your needs, think ideas
and write them down

Download interactive brief

Implementation benefits

Before explaining the way to use intranet and presenting its advantages, we considered it initial
to briefly demonstrate benefits of this system. Due to the fact that this is a multifaceted tool, its
influence is observed in different aspects of both every-day and long-term work.

The system provides many advantages which are strictly related to implementation purposes. The
most common ones are:

• reducing costs concerning company’s internal correspondence,

• improving communication and resource management,
• collecting initial information and documents in one location,
• facilitating access to information, shortening time of their search, eliminating organizatio-
nal chaos (electronic version of articles, procedures, regulations strictly connected with
a search engine increases work efficiency and improves the information workflow within
a company),
• creating a knowledge base, developing the company’s intellectual capital (a knowledge

13
 exchange allows employees to publish valuable information, discuss industry-related topics,
and also motivates them to share their knowledge with colleagues),
• supporting organization’s culture (especially if an intranet serves to change the current one),
• faster introducing a new employee into a work environment,
• possibility of assigning selected information to particular groups of employees.

„ Intranet platform affect the effectiveness of internal processes

in almost every organization.

Of course, it is the so-called ‘scale effect’ that is important – the larger the company is, and the
more employees it has, the quicker the „tangible” effects and savings will be visible. However, regar-
dless of company’s size or a market segment in which it operates the very nature of such tools and
benefits they provide remain unchanged.

This innovative platform offers significant profits for companies which employees perform their
duties outside offices. There are situations in which it is necessary to access the platform while
working remotely, during a business trip, or even on the way to/from the office. Adapting the plat-
form to the capabilities and limitations concerning mobile devices on which it can later be used
increases the efficiency of employees who exploit the system. It can be achieved (with a view to the
needs and specificity of a given platform) in two ways:

• platform optimization in terms on using on mobile devices - most often via RWD (Responsi-
ve Web Design), or AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages);
• design of a dedicated mobile app to quickly access the necessary content or functions from
within a mobile device.

Our portfolio projects

ThyssenKrupp Bosch DPD

Volvo
Intranet platform CRM Application Extranet platform Intranet platform

14
Benefits of using the system
On the basis on a study: „Intranets within Polish enterprises”. Its results are discussed in more detail
in the next part of the document.

Saving
employees' time 65,1%

Improved communication
between management
and employees
48,4%

Improved
organizational culture 31,8%

Ensuring control
over employees, processes 28,6%

Streamlining management -
implementing 27,1%
project mechanisms

Facilitate reporting
and implementation
of improvements 17,2%
and innovations in the company

Intranet does not

bring any benefits 8,8%

Other 2,5%

15
 Benefits of intranet implementation – 3 perspectives

For employees For the management staff For the organization as a whole

Source of information and Collecting, sharing, and analy- Possibility to collect, update, and organize
news about company. sing current company data company’s knowledge.
(financial, warehouse, sales,
Platform for communication human resources, commercial). Possibility to minimize losses of
and cooperation, which aims a so-called „information gap” after a team
to strengthen interpersonal Project management (monito- member leaves, and easier implementa-
contacts and facilitate team ring the status of tasks, assets tion of newly-employed.
work. allocation, tasks assignment,
and supervision over projects’ Building a culture of organization, forming
Mechanisms to coordinate and profitability). identity, loyalty and a sense of community
plan tasks. among employees.
HR management (monitoring
Convenient tool for employee the workload of employees’, Building a positive image of the employer,
issues (absences, business and planning work in the long creating a language of success.
trips). term).
Improving internal communication and
Enhancement of the tasks Communication platform and introducing a coherent communication
control. tools for creating information. policy.

Access to information which Efficient information and document work-

are necessary in strategic and flows with a view to different paths and
decision-making processes. levels of permission.

Reduction of costs of internal processes

and tasks implementation.

Increase in the efficiency of work (concer-

ning particular employees, departments,
and also organization as a whole) and
savings in time.

Knowledge management tools.

Tools to support team work.

Warming the atmosphere and improving

relationships between employees.

Integration of dispersed applications and

tools in one IT environment.

Access to numerous data and their

summaries to analyse and make deci-
sions concerning an organization.

16
 Using the Intranet Portal

Intranet is a communication tool designed for employees and partners of a given company. It is
a valuable source of data and knowledge for its users, which brings to an organization various
benefits. It provides an added value, so, among others, the positive image of an employer in the
eyes of the so-called ‘internal customer’, which reflects in their loyalty and efficiency. One may
easily deduce that a person who likes and respects their employer will be less inclined to changes
in this field. Thus, the intranet implementation may be an opportunity to build trust, improve rela-
tionships, or create an organizational culture in order to fully exploit the employees strengths.

Intranet as an instrument for innovation

Creating an „idea repository” or another similar module for submitting interesting and innovative
solutions, in the intranet significantly organizes the process of improving the platform. By equipping
it with mechanisms for active commenting and rating the submitted suggestions the employer not
only gets to know opinions of a wider group of users, but also accelerates the entire decision-ma-
king process.

17
An excellent example on how the platform should evolve is the implementation at FFiL Śnieźka SA.
An idea to introduce a tool to improve documents and information workflow was submitted by the
employees themselves.

„ A close cooperation of the FFiL Śnieżka SA team and Ideo Sp. z o.o.,
the company implementing the platform, resulted in the creation
of a system strictly adjusted to the needs and expectations which
the users have raised.

What is more, thanks to the commitment of both parties and the platform flexibility, it is constantly
modernized and supplemented with additional functions. Moreover, the suggestions for improve-
ments and introduction of new tools come mainly from the Śnieżka’s employees, who are actively
involved in platform optimization. In addition to the standard modules characteristic of the Elec-
tronic Documents Workflow, such as the letters workflow, or contract register, the system also has
functions such as a knowledge base, communicator, module for leaves and delegations, or a tool
for reserving the resources.

Employees participating in the processes of the platform improvement are given a tool that meets
their demands and definitely facilitates the everyday work. As they are co-responsible for its
success, it encourages them to actively use the system.

On the other hand, there is the Leon Koźmiński University, which intranet consists of functions for
project management, on which the employees are not only to view the implemented projects but
also to submit their initiatives in an open and transparent way. Then, every employee is able to vote
on these ideas with the use of a so-called “digital currency.” This function determines the most inte-
resting and the most valuable ideas. The best-rated ones are discussed by a steering committee.
Those are they who decide about the perspectives of given project - both the financial and strategi-
cal compatibility, select the ideas, and then dedicate them budget. Usually, the initiator becomes a
project manager who possesses all the rights and duties concerning given project. As a result, also
the employees responsible for some specific tasks have the opportunity to realize themselves in
the project structures in the tasks they initiated by recognizing the potential for development both
for the organization and for themselves.

18
INTRANET
Integrated platform for
communication and support
of business processes

Learn more

Intranet management – practical advices

Let’s assume that a company is already at the stage to introduce the intranet. The coordinator
has specified what they want, and chose a company to prepare and implement the system. It may
appear that it should be a so-called „smooth sailing from here” and the whole project will be perfor-
med easily. Well, actually not always.

The new tool may not be willingly accepted by the employees. In the end, those are they who will
perform their daily work on this platform. Of course, the dissatisfaction may be „suppressed” with
an official instruction. But, this is not a right solution – it can deepen the negative emotions and
reduce motivation to work.

Remember, such a problem must not occur. A lot depends on the employees’ attitude, their open-
ness to new solutions, knowledge of IT tools, etc. If a given company used such tools before, and
now they are only being updated, replaced, or consolidated, then the problem with dissatisfaction
is rather unlikely to happen. However, if employees have not previously used such a system, it is
possible that there may occur some kind of a conflict.

19
„ An ideal situation (to which every company should aim) is the moment
when employees are satisfied with the use of an intranet - it impro-
ves the work efficiency, builds the organizational culture, increases
loyalty to the company, and finally tightens interpersonal contacts.

Below, we present you with some hints on how to minimize the risk of difficulties concerning the
implementation and promotion within the company’s structures.

1. Inform about your plans

It is a good practice to lead an internal policy which is as open as it is possible.

This is an expression of trust between the company’s authorities and the people they
employ. This influences the motivation, and sense of commitment to the employer.

The intranet implementation is definitely one of the elements about which the employees should be
informed as quickly as it is possible. The new system is to be a great facilitation for them. but will
result in a significant change in procedures. Therefore, it is worth giving employees time to get used
to this idea. Moreover, they will appreciate the fact that the employee wants to share plans with
them.

2. Involve employees in the process of creation

It is worth considering the idea to involve employees in the discussions concerning

the system layout. After all, they are the ones who will use it in their daily work. Let’s
ask them about their needs concerning tools, solutions, functions, and facilities.

Of course, not all their ideas will be possible to implement. However, it is the very opportunity to
take an active part in the company’s development that makes them feel appreciated and respected.
Such activities make them feel more like they belong to the organization and know that their opinion
is important.

3. Allow employees to test

If there is such an option, let the employees, or a selected group of them, test the plat-
form – as a whole or individual modules. On the one hand, it is to engage employees
in the company’s life. On the other – the testing of a product always provides bene-
fits. It allows for diagnosing problems at an early stage, and even modify functions in order to make
them more effective and user-friendly.

Another advantage is the possibility to become familiar with an intranet, which will significantly
shorten the future operation training process.

20
 4. Make sure the intranet is user-friendly

Very often, the theory is not equal to practice. However, it is worth taking care that in
the case of the intranet both elements coincide.

The system should be intuitive, convenient, and easy to use, so that each user is satisfied with it.
This is particularly important when the employer have promised employees that this will be like
that. Otherwise, the effect will be the opposite – users will protest against its use.

5. Employees’ training

Although the intranet should be intuitive, after its implementation it is worth perfor-
ming employee training by the company providing the platform. The process aim
to share knowledge concerning platform possibilities and the way to take fully use it. It is parti-
cularly important that the entire editorial team and the persons responsible for the management
and administration of the individual modules participate in it. Most often, this type of training lasts
about a few hours. Performing it will surely bring long-term benefits.

Obviously, in large companies it is impossible to gather all employees in one place, or to conduct
individual trainings. In this case, we suggest a mid-way solution – training for individual depart-
ments, clear and concise instructions, video tutorials, or webinars.

As in the case of every product, errors and situations which make the smooth use of the platform
impossible may occur. All the employees should know who to contact in such a situation, and who
is responsible for the tech-support. It is also worth encouraging employees to report any ambi-
guities to the persons responsible for the intranet operation as quickly as it is possible.

6. Collect feedback regularly

Unfortunately, there is no solution to be perfect in every aspect. Furthermore, there

appear new needs and opportunities. It is a valuable practice to regularly review
employee feedback. While using short surveys, the employer is able to ask about
individual elements, opinions, and observations. The next part of an analysis should be employ-
ee-employer talks with a view to identify the problem and a best possible solution. Any significant
changes should be consulted with intranet users and tested by them.

Also, a comprehensive communication audit, which should include an intranet audit as an integral
part, should be performed. The execution frequency depends on the specificity of a given company.
However, one should keep in mind the regularity (most often such a research is carried out syste-
matically every 2 years).

21
 7. Monitoring the use of the platform

Many companies make a mistake that could potentially result in a failure. They forget
that even after the introduction of the platform, it should be monitored, analysed, and
improved. With an activity monitor, one is able to get to know its users, find out the content in which
they are particularly interested, and select appropriate communication tools.

Therefore, when choosing the program on which the company’s intranet will be based, it is worth
checking whether it has solutions that automate and facilitate the monitoring of, for instance, time
spent by users on the intranet, reading individual content, or the popularity of using specific modu-
les and functions.

8. Create engaging content

In addition to being helpful on everyday basis, and increasing the tasks efficiency, the
intranet must also „be alive” in order to support the process of shaping the organiza-
tional culture and a sense of identity. To do so, an interesting, valuable, and attractive (also visually)
content must regularly appear on its pages.

When it comes to valuable content, it should not be limited to educational materials, company
knowledge base, internal contact book, or repository of important documents. An intranet and
additionally implemented solutions create a convenient platform to build the company’s aware-
ness and strengthen the sense of loyalty. To present successes, current events, plans for the future,
reports, or analytical materials, we recommend to regularly sent newsletters.

Keep in mind that a company should be all about people. Therefore, they should be given a content
that is more engaging. It may be the presentation of employees’ achievements, appreciation of
those who contributed to the success of projects, presentation, e.g. through employee surveys,
profiles of current and new employees, encouragement to create interest groups, etc. As the old
saying goes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So, a great idea to diversify the regu-
lar mailing is to add a little entertainment (funny picture stories, interesting episodes, employee
competitions, etc.). Many ideas in this field refer to solutions used in media over the last few deca-
des. They may also be an inspiration.

The multifaceted use of an intranet will certainly encourage users to read the information collected
in there, and increase the sense of belonging to an organization.

22
 9. The intranet should be like internal social media

Social media, consisting of Web 2.0 and web apps that allow two-way communi-
cation by sharing content (photos, films, thoughts, opinions, and comments), have
become one of the biggest phenomena of today’s world.

In digital space, users share their opinions, ideas, and experiences. They actively participate in
discussions and content creation. It can even be said that they are included in social media - they
join professional groups and those concerning specific interests.

As an intranet is equipped with appropriate social tools, and allows for smooth interactions among
employees, it should function as social media. It provides not only the communication regarding
implemented projects, but also usual conversations. Even if such an escape from daily responsibi-
lities takes them a while, it will warm the atmosphere and build positive relations. Personal profiles,
newsletters, messengers, internal mail, discussion, and project groups – these are just some of the
solutions that help in achieving this goal. All you have to do is to present such functions to your
employees and encourage them to use them freely.

10. Encourage employee training

The company’s knowledge bases are not only a place to collect information concer-
ning company’s procedures. Of course, such data is necessary

for an organization to function properly. Each employee is able to find the content they are looking
for at any time, make sure how a specific task should be performed, or consolidate the knowledge
possessed.

However, the Intranet is also a space through which all kinds of educational and training materials
are distributed. Thanks to such a library, each employee can expand their knowledge and compe-
tences on their own. What should be remembered is that investing in professional development
is one of the most popular trends in modern business. Qualified and competent employees are
precious.

Many companies implement e-learning platforms together with an intranet. Their interactive and
visually attractive form supports learning, understanding and consolidating the knowledge . The
possibility to use this type of training reduces logistics costs – there is no need to hire a trainer,
organize a lecture space, cover travel costs. The effectiveness of this solution is particularly evident
when it comes to courses that all employees must perform, e.g. workplace health and safety course.

23
 11. Take care of user-friendly and effective tools

When designing the distribution of intranet’s individual elements, it is worth using the
knowledge provided by UX and UI. It provides a huge chance to achieve the greatest
possible ergonomics.

It is also extremely important to introduce a content structure, which is to maintain order among
the growing number of data. Without this, there may occur an internal chaos which may destroy the
benefits provided by system implementation. It is also important to think about tools to help users
search for information. Well-developed search engines (with the possibility to specify search phra-
ses) are significantly saving time needed to browse the archive.

12. Do not forget about mobile devices

The development of mobile devices and the popularization accessing Internet thro-
ugh them made a single employee no longer „attached” to their work place. Their
tasks and duties (of course, if it is possible) can be performed at any time and from any place.
Modern intranet systems cover such a model and are adapted for use also on mobile devices. Such
solutions provide more efficient information workflow in employee-organization relationship. One
can easily imagine a situation in which a sales representative immediately after a meeting with a
customer updates the contract concluded in the system, or sends an order. At the same time, the
company is able to start fulfilling it. A timely response to the customers’ needs and their fulfilment
lead to building a competitive advantage.

13. Motivational system for people involved

Some companies which are constantly working on improving and developing their
intranet platform implement motivational systems for employees. It is appreciated

both to submit constructive comments or modify ideas and add completely new solutions. For the
accepted and implemented ones, there are awards (not necessarily in the form of cash bonus).
Moreover, some companies reward initiatives and creative use of resources within an intranet.

14. Additional services accessed via intranet

Sometimes employees are given an opportunity to use additional services (in a paid
form or for free – it depends on a particular organization) that they can use

in their private life. The offered prices are usually lower than market ones, and the transactions have
a form of non-cash (costs are deducted from a salary).

24
Here are some examples to better illustrate this issue:

• purchasing cinema and theatre tickets;

• purchasing insurance for an employee and their family (e.g. travel insurance before the
upcoming holiday);
• ordering a multisport card;
• purchasing a medical package, looking for a doctor in the clinic provided by company;
• ordering a babysitter;
• purchasing products and services from a company.
In order for the intranet to be successful, the employees must consider it useful and facilitating the
performance of tasks. Its entertainment qualities play an equally important role. Who knows, maybe
it is the first thing that make employees get used to a new tool and persuades them to use it every
day!

15. Upgrade, develop, and improve

When growing your business, remember to develop the intranet too. Its improve-
ment, refreshing, and expansion is a natural progression that allows for preserving
its attractiveness and functionalities.

Most often, intranets function on a modular structure, on which the changes introduction is much
simpler. The above-mentioned process of new tools and modules testing should be given to
employees, or rather a group of „testers”. Their observations and comments aim to support making
improvements. As a result, the implementation and testing neither will affect other employees nor
the operation of an entire system.

Check out our other

intranet materials:

Download the LIST

Download interactive Brief

25
 Process digitization
and automation
Work more conveniently and efficiently

B2B Solutions E-learning

Business websites Mobile Apps

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Intranet and internal
communication

Bespoke
Internet Apps

System
integration

Online Stores +48 22 24 41 777

[email protected]
www.ideosoftware.com
 How one of the world’s best intranets was created?

Artur Wichliński
Director of the Technology and Operations Division,
Wschów Bank Spółdzielczy

Wschów Bank Spółdzielczy has one of the world best intranets, which awarded a silver medal
on the Step Two competition in Australia (2019), become one of the top ten in the world in the
Nielsen Norman Group (2020), and won first place on the Russian Intranet Awards (2021). Artur
Wichliński, the leader of the IT team of Wschów Bank Spółdzielczy, has agreed to talk to us
about the creation and further development of the platform, which is to serve not only employ-
ees, but also clients of the bank.

Łukasz Szymański: I got the information that there were 3 developers and 8 engineers working
on the design and implementation of the intranet. Was the decision about such a large IT team
made at the very beginning, or the number of employees involved increased throughout the
project?

Artur Wichliński: I must admit that the beginnings were rather challenging. However, that is what
inspired me to do things. I witnessed all the processes and my impact in them. Formerly, I worked
for 10 years at PKO BP, in which I had been gradually promoted. I changed the job in a commercial-
grade bank into Wschów Bank Spółdzielczy which I then perceived as rather local one. However,
my view on the locality was quickly verified. It was 2005, and the whole IT department consisted of
4 people. The bank has an immense potential, and it was in the phase of taking over other Coope-
rative Banks. In the peak period, it had 36 facilities. The IT team began to grow together with the
intranet platform and greater business needs concerning the IT department. In fact, we began with
one programmer and three engineers. Currently, there are 3 developers and 8 engineers, and that is
the team that constantly develops the system. Anyway, the use of the word „system” is not entirely
appropriate - this is the entire platform. Especially since it has been integrated with other applica-
tions within our organization.

27
ŁS: And how was it with the „zero point”? I mean the final decision to start working on the intra-
net on your own.

AW: At my previous job, I had the opportunity to encounter the beginnings of designing Help Desk
platforms. It was the very beginning of the 21st century, so these topics were just entering our
country. I was lucky enough to be able to watch the first solutions of this type. The decision to build
the Intranet was made quite fast, in fact immediately after I began to work in the Bank. The first
solutions were ready in August 2005. It is the time, when it was firstly announced that the intranet
comes into force in our organization. This was the start date for the design of our platform.

Fig. 1. First officially made intranet launch announcement

This was the first internal communication within our organization. Below, there is a comparison of
how the internal communication looks like now.

28
Fig. 2. Example of internal communication on the Bank’s Intranet

29
One might wonder whether building a platform was a good or a bad idea. Actually, I cannot objec-
tively answer this and I do not think there is a happy medium concerning intranet solutions. To
effectively implement and, more importantly, use such a program, it is necessary to know well the
structures of a company in which it is to operate. At that time, my organization was undergoing
a number of changes and was open to innovative technologies. I keep saying this: „The place in
which we are now and how we are perceived is due to all those people we encountered. Also, that
we listen to them and learn lessons from what we did before.

ŁS: Speaking of development, I must admit that this is one of the most extensive intranets I have
seen. For example, in Ideo, the Document Workflow module is a separate product that is often
integrated into the platform, and here it is one of the elements of the intranet.

AW: Yes, it’s true, our platform is extensive and contains a number of applications for specific busi-
ness needs. When building UX, we try to use a simple language so that the user is not overwhelmed
by the amount of information. The Document Workflow is a great example of such an integration.

Fig. 3. Document Workflow System

However, there are more similar systems, for instance the Help Desk, Electronic Version Change
System, or reporting portals. Believe me, these are just a couple of applications we’ve built for our
company.

30
 Fig. 4. Document Workflow System - details

Coming back to the above-mentioned document workflow. As it can be seen, over the years the
system has become very extensive. It provides a possibility of not only managing the incoming and
outgoing documents, or invoices. I would say that this is a step further, we have added the option
of versioning documents and, what is even more important, managing projects. While writing this
system we found out that on its basis, there is a possibility to facilitate the work of other depart-
ments. For instance, of the Management Board Office. For each meeting, this department has to
prepare a list of matters to be discussed. Why not to improve the process? An employee of Bank
Headquarters or Facility who needs a written consent of the Management Board does not swamp
them with documents but performs this action electronically. Already at the stage of writing, it is
possible to assess whether a decision of the Management Board will be needed.

31
 Fig. 5. Document Workflow System – details, provision of a document to the meeting of the Management Board

Fig. 6. Summary of issues to be discussed on the Management Board meeting

With the use of such a mechanism, meeting agendas are automatically created and defined. Of
course, they can be freely modified and rearranged. The changes can be made only by users who
have appropriate permissions in the system. This is one example of how, with the use of (rather
simple) application, it is possible to automate other areas of business, also these which are invi-
sible to an external customer. Of course, the internal user still needs feedback, and this solution
makes it possible to obtain it.

ŁS: I assume that having a system which is fully adopted to your needs must it be very convenient.

AW: Yes, that is true. However, the path we had to take to obtain it was not straightforward. At the
beginning, the management board didn’t really believe in what we were doing, however, we were
given a carte blanche. But don’t get me wrong, I agree with their approach, we entered such areas
of business, in which one should be extremely careful. From the perspective of time, I can say that

32
our effort was worth it, and it was a great investment.

The business environment is constantly changing, and the efficiency of an organization depends
on how it adapts to it. It is very convenient because we are able to handle the needs of the back offi-
ce ourselves. But it does not make any sense to be completely independent, therefore, we also use
ready-made solutions. All activities must be motivated by terms of business - it just has to pay off.

ŁS: Such a system can be modified for the needs almost at any point. Especially now, as there
appeared a need to work remotely.

AW: Of course, and an example is a Helpdesk. I mean, there are other products of this type, but this
one is our own, which can be individually adapted to our employees.

Fig. 7. HelpDesk

33
 Fig. 8. Preview of a request

I know that this is not a perfect system, and probably I can point out its imperfections, of which
systems of our competition does not consist. I do always ask myself first, do we need such exten-
sive applications to perform simple actions?

34
 Fig. 9. Request details

Information is an advantage in business, and we provide it to our employees. Every staff member is
for us like an internal client, whose needs are for us as important as those of external ones. In our
solution, we implemented a lot of functions to support HR, for instance, at each point, one is able to
check the status of the employee, I mean his/her availability.

35
 Fig. 10. Home page concerning information of absence

Fig. 11. Document Workflow System information of absence

36
 Fig. 12. Help Desk information of absence

In combination with the messaging apps, which are integrated to Bank’s intranet, it is a really power-
ful management tool. So, in fact when the remote work appeared, nothing has really changed. The
years of preparation did their job and our vision worked, so we were ready for it. The bank functio-
ned normally thanks to solutions that had been developed before.

ŁS: As for the Helpdesk – is it used only to the internal management of employees, or also to
serve clients?

AW: Help Desk supports both internal and external clients. The application is used to support online
banking users. Together with NetTeam Solutions from Wroc³aw, we have prepared a system for
handling CallCenter. It is a project that was created in cooperation with us and was adjusted to our
needs.

37
 Fig. 13. The verification system to support the Call Centre

The systems communicate with the Bank’s core systems via API. Each customer call is recorded.
Moreover, to each client contact, there is a notification issued in the Help Desk. That is why our
solution was appreciated in 2012 and received an award of IT Leader from the Gazeta Bankowa,
which is a good example of the fact that our solutions are integrated with other systems. This is
what building the ecosystem in which we work is all about.

ŁS: Are your clients able to use this system, e.g., to report any irregularities?

AW: Yes, the client can report issues on the functioning of the application. The user receives a requ-
est number per each contact, to which they can always refer.

38
 Fig. 14. Call Centre requests list

ŁS: Depending on the type of application, do they receive some kind of instruction that would
allow, for example, for an automatic response?

AW: Yes, but this function works only for internal clients. For this purpose, we implemented the Know-
ledge Base, which consists of such modules as Documentation and Helpdesk. The employee repor-
ting a problem is asked „Have you checked whether a solution is not included in the Knowledge Base?”

Fig. 15. Entry in knowledge base concerning a recurring problem

39
Another novelty is the „glossary of specific terms”. In every organization, we use jargon to which we
got used. However, not all new employees, or those from other departments understand what we
are talking or writing about.

Fig. 16. Glossary of Specific Terms

Each of the employees is able to turn on suggestions concerning terms used within the Intranet,
which are for us like mental shortcuts.

Fig. 17. User’s profile

40
The platform in all its applications will show such suggestions after hovering over the word one is
interested in.

Fig. 18. Suggestion of specific terms

ŁS: Over time, the bank has been developed along with increasing database of information to be
placed on the intranet. How do you aggregate such a large amount of information, so that it all
creates a coherent and efficient system?

AW: For the system to operate efficiently we needed all the staff to actively participate in it. We have
involved every person in the construction of internal communication - everyone can post informa-
tion. Over the years, we have learned how to make use of it. We convinced our staff that they will
always find the required information on the intranet. If it is not there, one can always submit a requ-
est and a designated person will show them where to find a topic of interest. We also conducted
a benchmark of our solution by independent specialists from IntraTeam from Denmark. It was not
easy to subject our solution to such an assessment. However, they indicated the areas that needed
to be improved, which turned out to be precious. On a basis of these experiences, we introduced
tags which were initially implemented in the Document Workflow System.

41
 Fig. 19. Tag Definitions

Fig. 20. Usage of tags on the Document Workflow System

ŁS: So, you want to say that the intranet would not work so well in some areas if it wasn’t becau-
se the experience of employees?

AW: The intranet wouldn’t work at all if it wasn’t because of the employees. There may be great
solutions, but if there is no involvement - it will not work. We keep saying that intranet life’s meaning
are the people who create it.

The Electronic Version Change is an example of a system that takes advantage of employees’
experience via tests on applications that are meant to reach production environments.

42
43
 Fig. 21. Electronic Version Change System

ŁS: I see that also in your company the process of building an intranet with the active partici-
pation of employees contributes to their involvement. On the other hand, it is difficult to build
from scratch such an extensive system which is at the same time fully tailored to the needs of
a company.

AW: That is right, but even now, there are not many companies that provide this kind of compre-
hensive solutions for banks. It was our visionary approach that brought desired results. The system
has been designed for many years and based on our experience and desire to simplify processes.
I am happy for it, especially that it is willingly used and appreciated by our employees.

ŁS: Nowadays, the fact that employees use the intranet is like a standard, because it has been
available „since always”. However, I guess that initially it was necessary to encourage them to
use it. How was it like?

AW: It was not easy at all. They had their habits, you know. Over time, the staff has been becoming
increasingly convinced about this system, and the fact that everything is to be found in one place.
Also in internal communication, we refer to the information that are contained within the intranet.
There are trainings on e-learning platform concerning the use of Intranet. As every single person
within the company claims that everything is to be performed within one platform, there is no way
out and you start using it. Of course - one is always afraid of novelties, but fears must be overcome,
and I think in this aspect we have succeeded.

44
ŁS: And when it comes to the introduction of a new employee in such a complex system, what
does it look like?

AW: It only sounds bad. The user receives a personalized system and is granted access accor-
ding to the acquired knowledge. Everything takes place on the e-learning platform, on which all the
necessary trainings are included.

ŁS: Over time, the intranet found recognition not only among employees, but also began to win
numerous awards and prizes...

AW: I feel like boasting about our successes. They would not become true if it were not for our deve-
lopers: Tomasz Wójcik, Łukasz Zychal, Kamil Kamiński. At this point, I would also like to mention the
developers who no longer work in our organization but have achieved the so-called milestones in
the work on our solution Tomasz Turkowski, Sebastian Ratajczak. And the rest of the team, which
tests and simplifies the processes: Sebastian Mika, Marek Kała, Magdalena Ślotała, Adam Jankow-
ski, Artur Proniuk, Marcin Wach, and Ryszard Plizga. One of our first awards was Lider Wsparcia
IT – Transformacja [an award concerning the leader of IT support given year by year by the Polish
organization - HDI Poland], where our application to support HelpDesk was appreciated. It was the
time when we believed that we do a great job and other successes started to appear year after year.

ŁS: Yes, as we have mentioned earlier there were many more awards. So, let me ask you direc-
tly: why are you doing this? If we, as an IT company, together with the Client, receive an award
for intranet, it is actually an award for us as implementers. But for the Bank, such prizes do not
seem to be important from a business point of view.

AW: Good question. In order to develop, we need information about trends within digital jobs.
What solutions are used and, most importantly, to which direction is the attention drawn by world
experts in the field of Intranets. Before each such contest, I talk to the development team about the
risks and time that we need to prepare. See for yourself how the UX of our solution has changed
over the years. Unfortunately, we do not have in the archives the layout of our application between
2005-2010.

45
Fig. 22. Intranet 2011-2012

46
Fig. 23. Intranet 2013-2014

47
Fig. 24. Intranet summer 2019

48
Fig. 25. Intranet 2021

49
 Fig. 26. Intranet 2022

Believe me, every process of preparation for a competition makes us look at our platform from a
distinct perspective. We always learn something new, and this is the biggest inspiration for us to start.

ŁS: I do really like your approach; it is not surprising that the intranet works so well. After winning
so many awards and seeing the amount of work which you have done, you must feel that you are
simply incredibly good at it.

AW: In my case, it was the opposite – it taught me a lot of humility. To be honest, participation
in such contests can sometimes be exhausting. I must admit that my confidence is decreasing
from one competition to another. However, it should be the other way around. We neither think of
ourselves as leaders, nor do we stand above others. And probably that is our key to success. There
are a lot of great solutions and teams that create them, so the competition is strong.

ŁS: The intranet is constantly being developed, and its complexity is greater. How do you mana-
ge to maintain order and transparency of the system?

AW: As I said before, we observe what the IT world performs. We change the UX by learning from
others. Each application consists of a history of changes, which allows us to maintain order. Another
important issue is what our users think. Those are they who force changes in the ecosystem.

50
ŁS: What is the indicator that shows that the areas to be optimized or not? On what basis do you
decide on the order to carry out these works? Or are these decisions intuitive?

AW: I always measure such projects in terms of business and economy. In the first place, there is
always the reasonability of building an application and its usefulness. However, I do often follow my
instinct and intuition for some ideas.

ŁS: The Intranet offers users a lot of options – which of them are most used or are most useful
in everyday work?

AW: If I were to answer your question, we would have hours of material. The access to all appli-
cations that we use is hidden within the intranet. Then, there is the Help Desk and the Document
Workflow System, an internal online store for ordering various types of products, dedicated service
requests for credit and monitoring departments containing workflow of processes.

ŁS: Is there any specific function that translates into an increase in turnover in the company?

AW: Actually, I think it would be difficult to choose one. The ecosystem built for the needs of the
Bank is complex. It is difficult to find only one function.

ŁS: So, it can be said that the intranet is an initial part of the work of your employees?

AW: We decided once to perform a test during which the platform was not available for users. I will
put it this way - it was the first and the last time when we carried out such an experiment. After only
a while the phone lines were overloaded.

The employee has in one place all condensed information needed in the workplace. Such a person
does not have to look for them, and that is a way in which Intranet is profiled for the user.

51
 Fig. 27. Overview of some of the apps on the Intranet

ŁS: I wonder what analytics looks like on your Intranet and how detailed it is?

AW: It all depends on the application. For example, in internal communication, we count the number
of views of a given article.

Fig. 28. Viewing figures of the content

52
A Help Desk request has automatically calculated SLA so that the user knows what the maximum
time for the realization is.

Fig. 29. SLA for service requests

Once a month, based on surveys which we sent randomly to users, we check their satisfaction with
the quality of processed applications by all departments of the Headquarters. The study of the load
of employees with applications and projects is available for the management in the Work Calendar
application.

Fig. 30. The requests and projects that the employee is working on

53
 Fig. 31. The head of the department sees all his employees and their workload (requests, projects)

ŁS: Recently, I came across information that you want to implement a chatbot instead of an
extensive intranet system.

AW: Yes, we designed a chatbot. It was a difficult task because we wrote it within the Intranet,
which does not interact with the Internet. So, the room for manoeuvre was rather limited.

Fig. 32. Chatbot

54
We will be developing the bot in the direction of simplifying the processes of communication and
searching for information on the Intranet. We use it for submitting service requests and that is the
way in which we will continue to optimize this process. This is certainly a kind of novelty for internal
platforms. I will also mention another simplification - rather a banal one. We no longer use sticky
notes to leave short messages. Recently, such a function has appeared within the Intranet platform.

Fig. 33. Sticky notes

Fig. 34. Sticky notes details

ŁS: Thank you for such a comprehensive conversation and I wish you success in the implemen-
tation of further plans.

AW: Thank you very much.

55
 Modern solutions to implement within an intranet – chatbots

I. Chatbot - what is it and for what purpose is it used

Actually, a chatbot is nothing new. Such a tool has been on the market for many years. It owes its
success to numerous factors, but one of the most important is the popularity of online and remo-
te communication. Messenger, Hangout, Teams, and many other tools, thanks to their flexibility,
globality, and support for dynamic conversation, have become more convenient communication
forms, than, for example, an e-mail. They are used both for private conversations, consumer-brand
communication, and for business purposes (work coordination, internal communication).

ONLINE MESSAGGING APPS AND REMOTE COMMUNICATION

SIGIFUCANLY DOMINATED THE CONTEMPORARY DIALOGUE –
BOTH IN PRIVATE AND IN BUSINESS.

With the increase in the popularity of messenger apps, in particular on the second level (consu-
mer communication), there was a need to optimize processes in organizations. Customers quickly
adapted messengers as a channel for submitting inquiries, complaints, or orders. And due to the
tool characteristics, they naturally began to expect a quick response from a company. In practice,
this meant for entrepreneurs the need to delegate a person(s) to communicate with customers
also in this way. This was either expanding the scope of the employee’s duties or creating a new job
place. In both cases, this involves incurring additional costs, and may take the risk of human error
or even delays related to the ability to serve only one person at the same time. As a rule, queries
should be handled during working hours, which means that those submitted after 4 or 5 p.m. must
wait for the next day causing impatience to customers.

56
Customers in the US and Germany prefer to contact Customer Service
Office via chat because:

I prefer to use chat to other apps

for communication
I can receive information that corresponds
to my current location
Message history can be synchronized
on different devices

It is useful when receiving

large photo files
Allows you to contact Wi-Fi
without cellular coverage

Allows for a message history with support

It is more convenient - there is no need

to use an additional application

Helps to solve problems faster

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Source: https://greenparrot.pl/nasza-oferta/chatbot/; data: 2016

This situation is not the most optimal one from an economic and business point of view. The
search for a solution made companies think of a new tool - a chatbot. A computer program which
interacts with a user through natural language was a chance to put an end to communication
problems. However, there was one question which arouse in the heads of management boards -
how will customers react to it? Will they be okay with having a conversation with a machine, will the
machine be able to recognize the natural language? The reality has shown that the answers to all
that questions are positive.

CHATBOT IS NOT JUST A MACHINE TO TRANSFER INFORMA-

TION. IT MAY PERFORM MORE COMPLEX ROLES AND TASKS.

It was several years ago, both the technology has developed, and chatbots have spread (their popula-
rization was due to the presence in Messenger and on Facebook profiles of companies). Their original
purpose was to provide simple information and answers to users’ questions. Over time, their capabi-
lities have increased, and they have been given new roles in communication.

57
Customer Service

The basic task of each chatbot is to answer simple or frequently asked questions. With this func-
tion, they support Customer Service Departments by giving the consultants a possibility not to
focus on every, even the most trivial topic. When it comes to the user, it is a more convenient and
faster way to get answers than the FAQ.

Consultant

There are more and more companies which use chatbots as consultants, which is to help to find
or select the suitable products, and even to provide inspiration. It is an effective mechanism, espe-
cially when it comes to clothing or interior design e-commerce, in which the „shop-the-look” func-
tion is used - but it’s not just their domain. The inspirations provided by the tool play their role also
in the tourism or real estate industry. A bot, which is connected to the database of photos and
descriptions, after receiving answers to several questions from the user, provides personalized
suggestions. Moreover, after a customer makes a choice, the bot can give them with more detailed
information or direct them to the appropriate product card.

Leader

It turned out very quickly that bots are appropriate tools not only for providing information to users,
but also for conducting various marketing campaigns, such as competitions. Thanks to automa-
tion, they are able to simultaneously respond to a large number of requests, or guide users indi-
vidually through action scenarios, in a way that is inaccessible for people. Reality has shown that
consumers actually liked using such a type of bots.

Over the last years, chatbots have proven their usefulness for companies around the world, not
only in customer service, marketing support, but also in building relationships with customers.
They are a part of modern process and communication optimization, which makes companies
achieve more with lower costs and time savings.

58
 Advantages of using chatbot

• Savings in time & costs

• Acceleration in communication with customers
• Limitation of duties of a Customer Service
• Dynamic support for marketing
• Attractive communication form
• Facilitation in the acquisition of information
• The image of a modern company
• Availability 24/7
• Reduction of time to reach information

85%
interactions with users
80%
interactions can be
60%
of users
will take place successfully handled by chatbot, is open to contact
without contact with the which reduces customer via chatbot
human being until 2023 service costs

There are two techniques used to build modern chatbots. The first one includes using paid plat-
forms, which are already available on the market. With an intuitive interface, one is able to design
extensive event scenarios and paths for the chatbot to guide the user. A significant part of the
current solutions make use of Facebook and Messenger, it responds to the needs of companies,
even if it imposes some rigid frameworks and platform restrictions. Similarly, there is a possibility
to build a bot which is plugged into the website.

59
The second solution is more advanced and demanding. A chatbot is be written from scratch by
a programmer. Similarly, to other IT solutions, the tailor-made ones are adjusted to the needs of a
given company, without restrictions concerning the „box” ones.

An additional advantage is the construction modularity, which allows to adjust it to the current
needs and expand it in the future. In this way, the FAQ tool does not have to have other functiona-
lities until such a need arises.

II. Using chatbot within an intranet

By presenting chatbots’ role and functionality, we tried to prove their usefulness and vital role in
modern communication, on various levels and spaces concerning the digital reality. The Internet
and its users are determinants of modern communication, which is dynamic, convenient, easy,
and instantaneous. Expectations which one obtained online became also habits and requirements
concerning offline life. It should be noted that many features of contemporary communication,
which may cause some difficulties for companies, are actually expected by modern business. The
speed and precision of the transmitted information, unlimited world-wide contact, basic processes
automation, savings in time and space - those are not only elements initial in external communica-
tion, but also in internal.

USING A CHATBOT TO COMMUNICATE WITHIN AN ORGANIZA-

TION IS QUITE AN INNOVATIVE IDEA. WITH SPECIFIC PREM-
ISES, IT HAS A HUGE POTENTIAL FOR OPTIMIZING INTERNAL
PROCESSES.

As a result of the above observations, there may arise one question - why are chatbots so rare in the
internal communication of a company? Why are they not an integral part of a basic communication
platform - the intranet? However, (depending on the construction) it is built for employees while the
Internet is for a wide audience.

It is difficult to answer this question clearly. A probable reason for this is the low conviction indica-
tor concerning the practicality of this solution among the entrepreneurs and decision makers. After
all, the chatbot itself is still building its reputation and recognition. Also, the intranet is not present
in every company and is not treated as mandatory.

60
This is a hypothesis that should be studied empirically as the additional costs or experimental natu-
re of the project may be the reasons.

This innovative concept is based on numerous observations of user behaviour and communica-
tion within companies. Numerous common points between the global network and the platform
prove that a chatbot can, with an advantageous effect, be used as a part of an intranet. As we
know, both users and consumers, look for fast, convenient, and intuitive solutions.

The novelty of using chatbots within intranet causes the fact that there are no adequate, ready-ma-
de solutions on the market yet. This, in a way, forces the developer to create a dedicated tool from
scratch basing on the solutions present on the commercial market. On the one hand, this increases
the costs of a chatbot implementation, but on the other, the final effect is tailored to the needs
concerning a particular organization, which in the long run is beneficial. It is also possible to main-
tain the flexibility and modularity of the bot in order to implement at a given moment only those
functionalities that are needed and remain open for future modifications and development.

Comparing such a solution to already made chatbots present on the market, there is one more
advantage. Many companies who offer such products monetize them by introducing (rather
unfavourable) limits – e.g., a limited number of inquiries to the bot, the number of users who can
use it at the same time, or provide Saxon subscription models. Such a policy is justified from the
viewpoint of the solution owners, especially when the sales strategy is based on reaching as many
customers as it is possible and maintaining them, while offering competitively low prices. However,
from the customer’s perspective, such a solution is less attractive. When building or purchasing a
custom solution, no additional costs are incurred in order to monetize the product.

As it was mentioned, the advantages which the tool gives are visible when a chatbot becomes an
addition to an intranet and an extension of its communication strategy. So, it is worth looking at
examples of its practical use.

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III. Examples of chatbot tasks within an intranet

In this article, the intranet has been compared to the Internet, and such an approach provides
far-reaching consequences in thinking about this tool. It has already been noticed that both tools
must use modern communication forms, to which the consumers are used to due to changes
in the commercial market. As it will be seen, a large part of the examples is based on the same
mechanisms.

INTRANET IS A MICRO-SCALE INTERNET WHEN IT COMES TO

COMMUNICATION. A CHATBOT PERFORMS SIMILAR DUTIES

The intranet in each organization has its own specificity, which corresponds, among others, to
the culture of work, expectations, and needs of its users. After all, there are organizations with
a purely pragmatic approach to such a platform which aim to control everyday tasks and internal
processes or treat it as a document database. On the other hand, other companies develop intranet
for it to be a place to publish business information, run a company blog, and a platform that can
be used by employees for their own creation. In this case, it is an extensive communication, which
is not only a way to optimize work, but also a tool that plays entertainment and integration roles.

Regardless of how an intranet is built, it becomes an element for communication, and it is a chat-
bot that allows for its further improvement and automation. Below, there are just a few examples
of applications that will clearly show a chatbot’s abilities concerning a company’s intranet.

Navigator

Searching for specific files and documents is a common and time-consuming problem in virtually
every organization. Even the proper organization of files and their segmentation on a network drive,
ftp, or repository will not completely eliminate the need to search and click folders time and time
again.

Chatbot is to help the user to significantly shorten the entire searching process. As it is connected
to company resources and the files are appropriately marked, it could provide a person with a path
leading to a specific document, article, or a folder with files. The only task of the employee would
be to click or copy the address displayed by the chatbot.

62
Reminder

As employees struggle with everyday accumulation of responsibilities, it is easy to forget about a

planned meeting or event – both connected with business and personal life. Linking a chatbot to
the company’s events calendar (simpler version) or, to the calendars of individual employees (more
difficult version) would allow to launch an additional channel for reminders and notifications.

Information entered into the system and communicator in this way has a greater chance to be
remembered and noticed than, for example, content sent to the e-mail inbox. In addition, with the
use of the appropriate command, the employee can ask the chatbot to show upcoming events, so
it is not necessary to search the resources manually.

The same mechanism can be used to inform the user about a new, important content on the intra-
net, which is to be read. It should be remembered that the overuse of this mechanism may lead to
ignoring notifications.

Finding employees

In large and territorially dispersed companies, there is a problem concerning the mutual recognition
of employees (especially the new ones), as well as specifying their competences or scope of duties.
A popular solution, which is commonly used, is digital database containing the basic information
about each employee. Again, searching for a specific person requires manual work (which, even if
not very time-consuming, can be also inconvenient).

This is a perfect task for a chatbot, which, when asked about a specific person, can display informa-
tion about them, attaching active links to an e-mail, phone, or a messenger. The ease and speed of
reaching the desired information depends to a considerable extent on how the data is categorized
within the database. In order to ensure a broad spectrum of usefulness, there are more than one
parameter concerning searching - e.g., telephone number, department, position, and even projects
in which the person is involved; of course, only in the case that such data is entered into the system.

Especially when thinking about new employees, information about them can contain descriptive
and navigational elements (such as a person accepting commercial offers, a shift manager, or a
contact person).

On-boarding

The above examples also improve and facilitate one of the processes often considered as - an
on-boarding. It is normal that it is not possible (and even not advisable) to exclude the human
factor, even in the form of the so-called „Buddy”. A knowledge transfer in a face-2-Face manner is
the most effective, and additionally builds relationships among employees.

63
 On the other hand, it often meets with the reluctance of older colleague, for them it is an additional
work to perform and often hundreds of questions distract them from their tasks and duties. A chat-
bot, as it is equipped with procedures and knowledge regarding the introduction of new employee,
is characterized by patience and understanding. With its use, new employees no longer have to ask
the same (often basic) questions to other employees and distract them from work. It may also be
more comfortable – after all, the conversation is conducted with a machine that does not judge
anyone.

From a business point of view, this approach to chatbot is economical and ergonomic.

It is not only work, but also a play

A commonly observed trend is to build a culture of organization, commitment, and loyalty of

employees, not only based on work but also common activities and entertainment. Gamification,
motivational programs, games, and competitions are just some of the mechanisms recommended
by the experts to be implemented in the organization. They also draw the attention of entrepreneurs
on cyclicality and regularity.

Consequently, (as the commercial market shows) chatbot is ideally suited for this type of stra-
tegy. The communication conducted with its use not only effectively reaches all recipients, but
also provides feedback. While using a chatbot, employees can solve competition tasks, send their
works, check the regulations, point rankings like, for example, the account status in the loyalty/
motivational program which are linked with the communicator. It takes away a significant part of
the organizers responsibilities and improves its course.

There are more and more possibilities of using a chatbot (also) for the internal needs of an organi-
zation. The tool’s flexibility and complexity allow for its implementation in almost every organiza-
tion, and support and automate company communication processes.

Our selected projects

Bosch Medicover Volvo Voltimum

Information Voltimum Plus

Extranet platform service portals Intranet platform loyalty program

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 Electronic Document Workflow + Intranet in practice

Intranet is an indispensable tool for internal communication in a company. According to the

traditional approach, it is rather a communication service. However, companies require nume-
rous processes to be carried out every day, and they result in a large amount of data and various
types of documents from commercial, HR, financial, etc. As a result, a system to independen-
tly create business processes and a tool for electronic document workflow remain a perfect
complement to Intranet functioning. It facilitates management of documents and information in
the company, provides every employee with a convenient access to them, and this accelerates the
decision-making process. Such an expanded intranet is a step further in the process of building a
comprehensive „Digital Workplace” initial in hybrid work.

Practical use of the Document Workflow System

Each organization provides dozens of documents. Also, from the outside (depending on the scale
of operation) there comes even several hundred documents per day. The case is complicated
because the people who are to process them work hybrid or remotely.

It is particularly important to provide quick and safe document workflow management. The system
supporting electronic document management provides easy (also remote) access to documents,
and a possibility to observe and control the implementation of each of them.

To experience the possibilities provided by Electronic Document Workflow in internal communica-

tion of companies, it is worth taking a look at what it improves. How are they used and what are the
advantages of such a tool in managing individual business processes?

1. Secure distribution of documents

The paper-based documents are provided „hand-to-hands,” and without a clearly defined workflow
path may be lost somewhere on desks, mail, or among other messages (also the electronic ones).

The properly configured processes for various types of documents allows for a very fast distribu-
tion of documents to the right people. As a result, the employee has all tasks to be fulfilled in one
place. Moreover, such a person is able to quickly find the already-processed documents.

2. Automatic downloading documents from different sources

The electronic document workflow system provides a possibility to obtain documents automatically
from various sources. This has a direct impact on the speed of receiving documents from contractors.
A prime example is downloading e-invoices from the mailbox. An invoice sent by a customer after
only a few minutes may already be sent to the appropriate person to start the acceptance process.

65
 3. Confidentiality of documents

Systematized company’s documentation provides improved control over the confidentiality of infor-
mation. First, it provides a possibility to send documents to a large group of people in a second.
On the other hand, it provides access to a given file only the designated persons. This is possible
thanks to an extensive system of premisses. There are numerous permission levels, a possibility
to assign permissions to individual employees, or even create groups of unchanged, standardized
access.

4. Task lists

The Electronic Document Workflow system automatically creates lists of, among others, tasks to
be performed by employees. It assures both recent data and completed ones and makes it easier
to coordinate the work of large teams involved in document processing.

5. Interdepartmental communication

It should be emphasized that Electronic Document Workflow is an indispensable tool when it comes
to multi-departmental companies. In such a case, internal communication encompasses numero-
us locations. A lot of documents are to be sent between separate departments almost every day.
The system enables an efficient formal communication inside and between all offices.

6. Status preview

The document workflow system has the function of previewing document status (e.g., processing,
accepting, rejecting, etc.). In this way, it provides a quick preview of a given case.

7. Automatic notifications

The employee while receiving a task to perform, a document to review, an invoice to describe, or a
request to accept, will automatically receive an e-mail notification.

8. Work automation

The main advantage concerning introduction of the Document Workflow System is the saving of
time. Because of the automation of activities, key employees in a company perform their tasks
more efficiently and conveniently. However, a properly designed and implemented process allows
also for a smooth transfer of documents between particular stages. The employee will not have to
wonder about what to do with a document after completing the received task.

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 9. „Eco-technology”

What is important, the electronic workflow of documents is a pro-ecological solution. Its use redu-
ces paper consumption. Traditional documents are being replaced by digital ones, which require no
paper, do not occupy space on shelves, and their transfer to another office does not cause trans-
port costs.

Dedicated solution

The above-mentioned functions are basic benefits of the implementation of the Electronic Docu-
ment Workflow System, which can be adapted to the needs of every organization.

In order to show you what the „development” looks like, we will use the example of Electronic
Payslips. They distribute information on remuneration, an extremely important document for each
employee. By developing the Document Workflow with this option, there are more functionalities
within only one system.

Electronic Document Workflow vs Corporate Intranet

Electronic Document Workflow is a valuable support for an Intranet, these solutions complement
each other. While combined, they are responsible for the processing, distribution, and prevention
of their duplication and dispersion. They provide effective archiving or determining the details of
individual data before being officially transferred to another stage.

What is more, Intranet is a tool through which employees or project teams share their knowledge
and work results, and work on documents together.

The results are then transferred to the document management module, and then they are used
in a given organization. The electronic workflow of documents is necessary for the formal work-
flow, processing, and document acceptance. On the other hand, the intranet is used to make them
public, to provide information (e.g., who is on a leave or who works remotely, etc.). Through it, it
is also possible to discuss individual arrangements. As it functions as a company’s information
website, it provides employees with the most important data.

The remote work, Electronic Document Workflow, and Intranet

These two tools are the basis for remote work. The intranet provides the most important informa-
tion concerning company, while the Electronic Document Workflow System provides a possibility
of working on documents from virtually anywhere. Electronic Document Workflow allows for digiti-
zing documents, also in another location, outside the organization.

This is possible regardless of the remote device type (tablet, smartphone, laptop). The logged in

67
users can freely manage documentation using an Intranet and Electronic Document Workflow
System. Regardless of the place where an employee currently performs work (in a company, home,
or on a business trip), this person can easily perform the assigned tasks, has access to information
on the basis of which it is possible to make decisions.

Also during the business trip, one has the ability to log in to the company network. In such a case,
the safety of sensitive data can be maintained by introducing additional protection - a VPN solution.

Practical application of Electronic Document Workflow System

in Intranet – example

How effective the system in combination with an intranet is can be presented by visualizing the
processing of a sample document. It is worth starting by indicating the main stages that are usually
covered by the workflow.

1. Document introduction.
2. Forwarding to the substantive description by the employees of the company.
3. Description and submission for approval.
4. Accept.

However, those are only general guidelines. The course depends mainly on the type of document
being processed and the internal rules and policies of a given company.

The traditional workflow is very limited when it comes to larger companies, it involves for instance
setting schedules that involve substitutions. And even more complicated when it comes to multi
-departmental companies. How to manage the holiday requests of several hundred or even several
thousand employees at the same time? How to choose leave dates so that employees are satisfied
and at the same time the company would not suffer from a downtime? The issue becomes a chal-
lenge during the holiday period.

Let’s analyse the time needed to process a single request

Estimated time in traditional workflow:

• verification of the amount of available leave – 0.5 h

• preparation of a document – 1 h (includes questions to the HR department in case of any
doubts)
• printout, submission for verification, conversation about holiday plans – 0.5 - 1 h

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 • verification with a view to the work schedule and substitution – 1 - 3 h
• acceptance and feedback to an employee – 0.5 h
• informing all employee that a given person will be unavailable for a given period – 1 – 3
hours (depending on the number of people with whom the employee cooperates)

= 4,5 – 9 h per document.

If it is necessary to transfer the document to another
company’s office, the time is extended by several more hours.

Estimated time when using an intranet and Electronic Document Workflow module

• filling in the application and verification of the available leave, selection of a substitute
person, and accepting are carried out in one step – within a few seconds
• verification of the application with a view to work schedule and holiday plans – up to 3
minutes
• acceptance of the application – a few seconds
• feedback to the employee about the accepted application - automatically
• informing all employees that a given person will be unavailable for a given period
– automatically

= a few minutes per document, while the completion

and acceptance take just a few seconds.
The number of departments, or hybrid work does
not affect the time.

The processing of data/applications/documents using the Intranet and Electronic Document Work-
flow System streamlines the work system by automating processes. It includes, among others,
functions such as:

• establishing permanent access to selected activities (e.g., accept),

• no need to submit a handwritten signature (e.g., on a leave request),

69
 • ready-made application and document forms which can be easily modified thanks to the
use of the low-code method,
• digitization of documents and function of remote completion,
• contextual preview of information facilitating the submission and verification of requests
(e.g. in the case of a leave request, it will be the number of available holiday days, the team’s
work schedule suggesting the least problematic holiday period, or the recommended person
who may act as a substitute for an employee on a leave.).

100 questions to ask...

About Intranet
Things to consider before
building your Intranet platform

Download the LIST

70
 The most common myths concerning intranet

Over the last couple of years, there appeared many false information concerning the functioning
of intranets, which should be refuted once and for all. Here are the most common „intranet myths”:

1. Intranet portal is an outdated and inefficient

solution

This opinion has been known for several years.

However, companies, including international corpo-
rations, still decide to use and implement intranet
systems. And there is a good reason for that.
An intranet is a tool that needs to be constantly
updated and customized to the employees’ needs.
The creation of intranet 2.0 or social intranet shows
that the tool is flexible, open to modifications,
and adapting to the market requirements.

2. Intranet works only in large corporations

This is definitely not true. Those are often the smaller

companies in which an intranet makes work much more
efficient and provides a significant reduction in costs. This
can be seen for instance on the example of the intranet
platforms use in public administration institutions.

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3. It does not require any further work

Even a well-functioning intranet requires a huge

amount of work and continuous effort to impro-
ve it. Only then is it to perform its role, i.e., be
a source of up-to-date information about the
company.

4. External protection is more important than

the internal one

While taking into consideration the internal networks, such an

important issue as security should not be ignored. And, despi-
te the fact that those are only employees who use the intra-
net, all the necessary security means should be preserved in
order to prevent, for example, data leakage, and access to it
by unauthorized persons.

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5. The more functions available, the better an intranet

It is not the number of functionalities that determines the smooth

intranet’s operation. The most important is their adaptation to the
requirements and specifics given by the company. A large number
of not used options causes
an unnecessary chaos and creates
the impression of content excess.

6. Introducing a social intranet reduces employee

productivity

It is a myth often repeated by employers. However, it is initial

to consider how much time is often wasted for an exchange
of e-mails (this phenomenon is called ‚ping-pong mail’). The
tools provided by the social intranet significantly reduce the
time needed to obtain the relevant information.

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7. Intranet is only to store files

Such a statement is like an insult to intranet. It can be used, among others,

to share knowledge, build relations between employees, improve the work of
the HR department, or conduct opinion surveys among people working in the
company.

8. A team of IT specialists is required to keep an

intranet running

Intranet maintenance means adding and updating

content, and removing outdated information – to do
so, it is not necessary to have specialized knowledge.
The convenience of their implementation depends on
a platform on which an intranet is built. However, it is
usually intuitive and efficient.

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 Stages of system design
and implementation

The process of intranet designing is actually similar to the implementation of other IT projects. It
requires good preparation, solid preliminary analysis - a thorough analysis of the objectives and
needs of clients (both management board and regular employees). It is also important to adjust the
project to the specifics of a given organization’s functioning – its culture, industry, type of activities,
and set objectives. In the next part of this chapter there will be presented the most essential
elements concerning design and implementation of an intranet.

Business Functional Execution and Benefits

needs design implementation for the client
analysis

75
 Pre-implementation analysis

The first stage of intranet implementation is a broadly understood analysis - of business processes,
number of future users and their needs, technologies that can be used, and a project implementa-
tion model (independently, or with the help of an IT company).

Beginning of the implementation works require answering the following questions

• What value should the intranet give to a company?

• How much will it cost?
• How is it to change the current processes in the organization?
• How to prepare employees for the implementation?
• Will company’s organizational culture reject the intranet or part of its planned functions?
• How should employees use an intranet?
• How will employees be trained to use the intranet?
• How to measure intranet’s success?
• Are the competitors using an intranet?

Getting answers to the above questions is simple. You should just ask employees (with the use of
individual interviews, focus interviews, or surveys). It may turn out that even a quick survey is to
provide answers that will help to optimize the process. Listening to employees may be crucial when
it comes to the implementation success from their point of view.

Answers to the above set of questions are grounds for the entire project because they relate to
issues, for instance, the purpose, benefits to be achieved, time limit of implementation, and environ-
mental conditions in which the project will be created.

A particularly important element of an analytical background is to choose whether a company

needs a dedicated or ready-made solution and is to implement the project independently or with
the help of an external entity – a specialized company.

It is worth remembering that even if the decision to implement the intranet was initially made befo-
re the pre-implementation analysis, its results should be reviewed. It may turn out that there is a
need for change within organizational structure or in its management. It does not necessarily have
to be done through the implementation of the intranet. The entire process is time-consuming and if
there is a possibility of employees’ rejection or the fact that implementation is unjustified, it is worth
to give this idea up. The costs and workload may not be adequate to the obtained effects.

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Identifying the needs of the user of an intranet portal, and design of the system

„ The success of the implementation is largely determined by the

proper analysis of users’ needs – that is the target group, which will
be the recipient of the content of the portal.

Please note that the intranet is intended to be a source of information for employees facilitating the
process of making decisions. Therefore, in order to fulfil this task, you must obtain answers to the
following questions:

• Who are or will be intranet users?

• What tasks do they perform during their daily work?
• What are their information requirements?
• In what way do they obtain information they need?
• What are their current habits?
• Should employees’ access to information vary (groups, access profiles)?
In the intranet designing process, surveys and interviews should be conducted among employees.
This will help you learn more about the needs of future portal users. Employees from selected
departments may also be invited to participate in the process. They will be the project leaders. Their
role is also to show other employees the benefits of intranet.

From the company’s (economic) point of view, an intranet is a tool generating business benefits.
For the average employee, it is another task to do (regular data completion) and one more system
that one needs to learn. It is therefore obvious that this may cause a kind of aversion.

It is initial to make the user-intranet interaction as convenient and intuitive as it is possible. For
instance, by implementing UX and UI.

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 Internal communication of an organization in a distributed work structure

Maja Biernacka
Internal Communication Consultant at bee DIFFERENT,
author of the BEHIND THE SCENES BLOG

Strengthen the internal communication in the remote and hybrid work model

Before the pandemic, many companies had to work in dispersed teams. My observations and
conducted research show that they did not really succeed in managing the internal communica-
tion in such a model. The emergence of the pandemic forced companies to remodel their working
styles, and ways of communication with employees. Therefore, both during this time, and now as
the enterprises are slowly returning to normal, there is still a chance to improve these aspects of
functioning. But... how? I suggest you start from analysing the grounds and checking whether they
work properly. Without them, even the best tools and combinations which contain an attractive
message may not be enough for internal communication to work well, at a satisfactory level for
employees.

Grounds for internal communication

There are such advantages of communication, without which, even if one does everything right,
this area will still function improperly. Without the mutual trust of the management and employees,
and without a regular and open dialogue, many efforts of the communication team will go down
the drain. So, what can you do to improve these 3 grounds - the trust, transparency, and regularity
in internal communication? I am here to help you.

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Rate the communication

You may perform a simple quiz below to check how does internal communication in your compa-
ny look like (Quiz on communication). But remember that this is not a full, professional research,
which should be conducted on a large group of respondents, i.e., a survey that I perform in compa-
nies as part of internal communication audits. This is like a simple and quick “self-diagnosis.”
It should provide you with reflections concerning the current state of communication within the
organization. To professionally and fully rate communication plan a research. It would be perfect if
it consisted of several research methods.

Quiz on communication

Answer the following questions by choosing one answer: yes, no, I do not have an
opinion. Note your answers.

1. Is the internal communication within your company conducted on the basis of a

before-developed communication plan?
2. Is there a defined attitude that the company wants to build among employees with
the use of internal communication?
3. Does your company have efficient tools for communicating with employees?
4. Do you think that, in your company, as a part of the internal communication, the
reasons for decisions made by management are explained to employees?
5. Are the employees able to ask the management questions?
6. Does the management comprehensively answer employees’ questions?
7. Do employees willingly share information and knowledge with their colleagues?
8. Do the employees know the strategic business goals?
9. Does your organization regularly provide employees with information about the
company’s financial results?
10. Do the employees in your company trust the management (e.g., senior leaders,
management board, directors, president)?
For each „yes”, give yourself 1 point and see how many you have out of 10.

79
An intranet is not the communication

Let us start by going back to the basics. Internal communication is not equal with the terms “intra-
net,” “internal newspaper,” or “e-newsletter.” These are crucial elements of the process – the tools by
which we implement the goals of communication. But that is not the key to success. These are only
our means to achieve the goal – important, and even initial. However, they are not the only tools
that you should focus on while implementing further internal communication actions.

A ground for communication is to build proper employees’ attitudes. To do so, you should first defi-
ne them. So, start from answering a few questions (by developing a map of empathy), which are set
below. Only by knowing the attitudes that you want to build, you can move to action. Without this,
the performance of daily tasks is getting nowhere, you just publish more and more articles and
videos on the intranet to justify the fact that you inform your employees. However, this is not enough.
First of all, you should define the attitude precisely, and then move on to planning and acting.

Map of empathy

How do you define the attitude you want to build among your employees? Answer the
following questions:

1. What should employees think about internal communication - its participants,

processes, and tools?
2. What are they supposed to feel during the communication process, while messa-
ging, or using tools?
3. What should they do, and how to behave in the communication process?
4. What should they see when they open a tool or when they talk to their employer and
colleagues?
5. What do they need to hear?

Ground 1: REGULARITY

Let us now turn to the grounds on which communication should be based. What does a regular
internal communication mean to you? What does “regularly” mean? How many times a week is it?
Does it really matter how many times? Yes, it does, but even more important is not how much, but
what we communicate, I mean - quality not quantity. If we take a look at the definition of the word
„regular,” the Longman Dictionary of English Language indicates that it is something happening
every hour, week, month, etc, usually with the same amount of time in between.

80
Now, answer the question: is internal communication planned in your company? Are there any rules
for that? Creating messages is not enough. Plans and rules are also important if you want to fulfil
perform well in this ground in internal communication in your company.

Regular does not mean frequent. Regular internal communication is not to generate much content.
It is to generate the appropriate content. And it brings us to the heart of the ground of regularity.
Regularly, so how often? I do not know. I am not a participant in the communication process in
your company. Ask the key persons. They are the addressers and addressees, i.e., employees. The
answer for a question of what the appropriate content means is actually the same. Just ask your
employees. When working during a pandemic or in a dispersed structure, these may be completely
different topics than in the days before.

Here, I will tell you what is worth paying attention to. Almost every employee is primarily interested
in himself. So, such a person wants information addressed to him or her. What should they include?
For instance, development opportunities, responsibilities, personally set goals, their contribution
and impact on what is happening in the company and how the work is evaluated. Information
concerning benefits, i.e., remuneration policy, benefits, social benefits, or working conditions, is also
important.

If employees are primarily interested in themselves, what about other information, such as the
company’s operation, business strategy, mission, or products? It should be also regularly included
in the communication. However, it should be introduced from the point of view of an employee.
There is no need to implement complex strategies. Instead, tell the employee how things affect
them, what it means to them, and what they need to change in their work to support the implemen-
tation of this strategy.

As you know the definition of regular communication in the company, answer one more question:
is internal communication in your company performed regularly?

Even if so, take a look at the hints below. I will tell you what is worth paying attention to when
you want to improve this ground of internal communication. I wish you would find there some
inspiration.

To be regular in communication in your company analyse the 4 areas:

• tools (are they regularly used; do employees know them and use regularly; are the tools
being modified – adapted to the changing situation in the company and outside it; are they
regularly promoted and is the regular training about their possibilities conducted; also, an
analysis of their condition should be regular);
• message (whether the regularity in the context of the message is defined; is it regularly
distributed, as it was planned, on time, regularly repeated and checked; does it respond to

81
 the expectations of the recipients);
• participants (in this section, assess how regularity of communication looks like, also in rela-
tions with management board; consider whether the key managers participate in communi-
cation; whether employees are constantly involved in the process; whether they share infor-
mation and knowledge; whether their needs are analysed);
• process (are your company’s communication processes written down and regularly used,
checked, analysed, and then modified).
I hope that you can see now how important the regularity in communication is and it is more than
just publishing messages 3 times a week.

Ground 2: TRANSPARENCY

The second important ground for communication in a company is the transparency. Let us begin
with clarifying what the word actually means. And again, I will start with a dictionary definition.
Transparent is easy to recognize, or predict, and clear when we talk about action. In internal commu-
nication, it is, for example, not pretending that something did not happen or that a question was not
asked. It is also a state when employees know what to expect, and when the message comes, they
do not have to interpret it from various perspectives or read between the lines. It is also willingly and
honestly sharing information, speaking directly and without fear.

So now think for a moment what a transparent internal communication means for you. And now, as
you know the definition: is internal communication transparent in your company?

In the study „Business communication in the pandemic” performed in May 2020 by Great Digital
in cooperation with me, 90% of the respondents (the research was focussed mainly on people
of HR and communication in Poland; the detailed report is to be found on my blog Komunikacja
wewnêtrzna od kuchni, in here) said that internal communication should be transparent, in the
meaning of honest. It is significant to be aware of the importance of transparency. In the next point,
the respondents were asked about what it is like in their companies. And here the results were
dramatic. Only 20% of respondents experience such a communication in their workplace! Incredi-
ble. Unfortunately, other aspects of communication seem to be similar – high expectations, poor
reality.

What can you do? As it was in the case of regularity, you should analyse how it works in your
company according to following 4 areas and consider what you can improve.

82
In the case of transparency, pay attention to:

• tools (whether employees know them; whether they know who is responsible for them, how
they operate, what they are used for and how to use them);
• message (whether it is clearly and openly communicated, honestly discussed, understo-
od, open, and accessible; whether it builds an attitude of information and understanding;
whether the decisions are explained; whether the employee knows and understands the
actions taken by the company and whether the company knows what information the
employees need);
• participants (whether they share information and knowledge among them; whether they
communicate openly or not; whether communication is based on respect);
• process (whether it is understandable and clear; whether it is public and there are no hidden
elements; whether employees know how it works, and what to expect).
Plan repair measures in your internal communication and make use of it. Do not forget to include
employees, especially the management board in this process.

Ground 3: TRUST

Finally, the third important ground of corporate communication. It is the trust, or more exactly the
belief that a person, or institution, can be trusted, that words it says, or information it provides are
true, and that a person has skills and can use them appropriately.

In the context of internal communication, it is a state when employees know what is happening
in the company, understand the sense of decisions made by leaders, accept these decisions, and
believe that those who run the company know what they are doing. It is also a state when employees
do not question the fact that the messages and decisions, rely on colleagues, and follow leaders.

Now it is your turn! Answer the two questions. Do you trust your employer? Does your employer
trust their employees?

In the first quarter of each year, an international communication company – Edelman – issues
an important document in the communication industry. It is the Trust Barometer which studies
the state of trust in societies around the world. I would like to draw your attention to a few results
from the 2021 report (a full overview of these reports is available on my blog, here). The study was
performed in 28 countries.

76% of respondents claimed to trust their employer, and 63% trusted their CEO. 61% of respondents
believe companies, and 57% - organizations. Only half of them trust governments and the media.
Almost 60% of respondents do not trust community leaders and business leaders because they lie
and deliberately mislead the public by saying things they know to be false or over-exaggerated. Only

83
40% trust their colleagues, so – hold on for a moment – I want to tell you something important:
more than half of your colleagues at work do not trust you! It is sad but true. We do not trust each
other. Unfortunately, in your company it may not be different.

Let us think about what to do to increase the level of trust among employees:

• tools (determine whether employees in your company believe that the tools work properly,
that they are matched to the company and its users, that they support the employee at work);
• message (do employees in the company understand the message, know the reasons for
the decisions, changes and accept them; are they sure that they will be informed when there
appears such a need; whether the message is honest, complete, exhaustive, has no ambi-
guities and the need to read between the lines);
• participants (answer the questions: do employees communicate without fear; are their
intentions sincere; do they trust each other, rely on each other, trust that the company and
its leaders know what they do; do they believe in explanations they receive from them; and
most importantly, do they accept these explanations, decisions, and changes);
• process (whether employees believe that it is well constructed, its course is thoughtful and
is performed properly).
Spend some time on it – it is the key to efficient internal communication. Once you have built the
grounds, plan how you will maintain them in communication with your employees. Working on
trust, regularity, and transparency is an endless process. A process, not a one-time thing.

3 levels in 3 grounds

I will make things a little more complicated at the end. Remember that in the context of the process
in internal communication, we cannot focus only on communication between the management
and the employees. In internal communication, there are three levels: top-down, bottom-up, and
horizontal communication.

When it comes to top-down communication, the employees expect the presence and visibility
of leaders, especially during a crisis. They want to be told that the leaders know what to do in a
given situation, have a plan, indicate how to behave, take care of the employees. In turn, bottom-up
communication is asking the employees questions, collecting feedback, examining and implemen-
ting changes on the basis of what we hear, but also involving employees in the co-creation of a
company.

It is also important to take care of horizontal communication. From the experience gained from
audits that I conduct, I know that it is often a weak link in companies’ communication. It is worth
taking a look at how the exchange of information and knowledge is performed between teams,
what information they expect and from whom, at what time and scope it is to be given, and with the

84
use of what tools. Check also the barriers to horizontal communication faced by its participants.

And tell your bosses – because I hope you do not need to hear it, that internal communication is a
dialogue, not a monologue. It should be for and about the employees and co-created by them. The
communication department is only to coordinate this process.

The effect of the 3 grounds is called ENGAGEMENT

Why are these 3 grounds of internal communication so important? They are keys to efficient and
smooth internal communication and also of the cooperation of all the process participants in
order to increase the level of engagement As you can see, it may be influenced also by the internal
communication. Taking care of the presence of such factors like regularity, transparency, and trust
is to have a positive effect on the engagement. The employees will be better informed, integrated
with a company and its values, and motivated.

We may be hearing that the level of engagement among employees is low, but it is worth consi-
dering that it has been so for many years. And if we go back a decade, for instance to a research
conducted in the USA, we will see that the level of engagement among employees has slightly
increased in recent years. I am far from quoting certain research, because after analysing a lot of
them I realized that every result is different, and sometimes even contradictory. Therefore, it would
be better to investigate this issue in your company so that we would know how it does look like in
here.

The level of engagement is influenced by numerous things. And one of them is the communication.
The work on the three above-mentioned grounds is to support a company in engagement-building
process. It will contribute to increase in factors which are important to business functioning. Accor-
ding to the research conducted by ADP Research Institute in 2015, the companies which employ
engaged employees are 10% higher rated by customers, 21% better in performance, and 22% more
profitable.

I will provide you with one last advantage. The internal communication influences also the financial
results, which you can see below on a graphic presenting a research of American company Towers
Warson. It was once tested that if one decides to invest 100$ in three companies of different inter-
nal communication level, the return on investment will be the greatest from the one which internal
communication level is the highest in 5 years’ time Lower return from the one with medium quality
of internal communication. And when it comes to the one with weak communication, one would
lose the money.

85
As you can see, it is worth taking care of company’s internal communication.

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86
 Methods and techniques for testing effectiveness and smooth
of intranet performance

In the case of both internet and intranet projects, the team responsible for implementation often
thinks that their work ends with the launch of the portal. Well, they are wrong.

„ The intranet project should be a process in which the system launch

is only one of the stages.

A small success for a system is a large number of users. However, a company should not rest on
laurels, even after discovering how effective it is. This does not mean that employee involvement
will be similar in the coming months. It is important to monitor website’s traffic and respond to
decreases concerning number of visits and other irregularities. The employer should then think of
a new, more interesting and useful content.

The indicators concerning effectiveness and efficiency of an intranet are to be measured from at
least two perspectives. The first is a survey concerning opinions of the users (user centric study),
and the second is based on the measurement of the activities performed in the system (site centric
study).

User centric study

The intranet user can be treated as a key figure in the entire process of intranet implementation,
management, and development. Then, the basic indicator that is to measure the broadly understo-
od term „success” is the users’ satisfaction. A useful element is a survey, which consists of thirteen
questions concerning many aspects of its use. Questions encourage employees to express their
opinions about the system. An optimal method to measure it will be the use of a five-point Likert
scale (1 – strongly disagree, 2 – disagree, 3 – difficult to say, 4 – agree, 5 – strongly agree), by
which a respondent indicates how much they agree or disagree with a given statement.

87
 Advantages of e-Learning platform

Optimization Effective implementation Effective improvement

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Standard questions

• The intranet provides me with important content which I need at work.

• Intranet content is up to date.
• Its layout is concise and a structure clear.
• The texts I read on the intranet are understandable.
• The intranet facilitates internal communication (with the use of employees’ contact database, management
messages, or discussion forums).
• When searching for information with a search engine, I am able to find the desired content within a reasonable
time.
• The intranet allows me to work more efficiently (internal workflow, support, or data recovery).
• I can work quickly with the intranet (fast page loading and downloading files).
• The intranet is easy to use (personalization, employees’ contact database).
• I am satisfied with the support I receive as I encounter a problem or have questions related to the intranet (online
help or help desk).
• The intranet provides me with up-to-date information about the company.
• On the intranet, I find valuable information that I can easily use in work.
• I am generally satisfied with the intranet.

88
In order to obtain a clear picture of the values of each indicator, it is necessary to calculate the
weighted average for each question and rank them according to the obtained results. It is impor-
tant to conduct such research cyclically (once a year) and to use the same tool (the same set of
questions) and a similar data collection technique (e.g., only an online questionnaire or only a paper
questionnaire). Also, a group of employees on whom the research is conducted should be as large
as it is possible and reflect the entire range of employees in the organization. Of course, thanks to
statistical studies, in the further analysis, it is possible to try to identify differences in answers, e.g.,
lower and higher position employees, different departments, or employees of different ages.

System testing (site centric)

Quantitative study is initial to ensure the long-term success of an intranet. They are facts, not
opinions – they result from the statistics of intranet use. The data is accessible thanks to an imple-
mented statistical system (e.g., Google Analytics). Such variables are number of visits and page-
views, time and length of visits, structure of visits during the day, week, month. Statistics also provi-
de information about the number of comments or documents added or a number of documents
downloaded by users. This type of information is a basis for quantitative analysis.

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89
It is also possible to extend the platform with appropriate tools for statistics and measurement
at the stage of creating (or parameterizing) the platform. Thanks to them it will be possible to
measure the effectiveness of processes that take place on the intranet or use intranet functions
at a certain stage. Only by measuring and comparing these parameters it is possible to check
whether the quality and speed of work were improved or deteriorated. Unfortunately, most often,
these parameters were not measured before the implementation of an intranet portal due to the
lack of appropriate tools.

Without knowing these indicators, it is difficult to check whether there is a need for optimization
or areas for optimization (sometimes even an immediate one). Here is an example – if you do not
know how often the service department has to explain to customers whether the product can be
packed in a box decorated with a bow or not, you also do not know whether adding the appropriate
information on a product card will improve the department work.

By checking statistics, you can quickly capture significant changes in traffic on your portal, analyse
the causes, and respond appropriately. There are often no suitable tools to analyse it and the deci-
sion-makers work on the basis of their instinct or are „waiting” for a serious failure that will show
where the problem is.

„ The portal maintainers must remember that the statistics should be

presented in the form of reports to the management, and in order to
build the feeling of success, they should be published on the intranet.
It is best to do this regularly, for example once a month or quarter.

In addition to the – quite obvious – quantitative indicators, there are other indicators which signi-
ficantly contribute to the development of a website, optimization of its structure, navigation, etc.
These may include:

• number of users, also a number of returning users,

• frequency of returning users,
• content that they read (whether those are only areas required for daily work, or also „common”
elements that do not have a direct impact on the work performed),
• intranet activity time,
• length of the visit,
• conversion rates,
• behaviour of a given user compared to others (maybe such a person has a problem with
a thing with which others do not have and requires individual training).

90
 Measuring the actions of intranet users is undeniably an initial action to be taken by the mana-
gement, without it, it is difficult to determine whether the executed system works properly and is
accepted by users.

Defining Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for internal processes should be as important as other
stages of portal planning and implementation. Most often, it does not require a huge amount of
work or huge investments. A software often provides enough data to measure at least some of
the KPIs (e.g., order processing time). The most important thing is to start. According to the Lean
Management philosophy, it is initial to constantly observe processes and think about what can be
performed better. If one does not observe and measure effectiveness, how is such a person able to
assess the effectiveness and validity of the implemented changes?

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 Establishing an intranet promotion strategy within a company

Once the shape of an intranet is known, it is worth introducing employees to the benefits which they
may obtain – both individually and for a company as a whole. A convenient solution is a visually
and substantively attractive presentation, which can be sent by e-mail. Each employee will be able
to get acquainted with it at any time and, if they want, send a message with questions to the people
responsible for intranet management.

An even better solution is to organize a meeting or promotional event on which it will be possible
to present the benefits of intranet implementation, and to answer employees’ questions, provide
specific information and allay their fears.

When discussing the benefits, the emphasis should be placed on the most important for the
employees and present them in the context of specific solutions that will be implemented:

• saving in time, work facilitation (everyone complains about the lack of time and the amount
of work, so any help is welcome in this context);
• enhancing internal contact (both for business, employee, and personal purposes – moments
of relax are also needed);
• easy and intuitive use (user-friendly tools do not require long trainings, and the process of
fulfilling tasks does not take a lot of time);
• acceleration of managing employee matters (electronic form and automation of certain
activities facilitate the managing of processes such as leave requests, delegations, etc.).
More and more companies which modernize or introduce an intranet platform decide to create a
„promotional campaign”.

In order to encourage users to actively use the intranet, it is worth considering the introduction
of the so-called gamification, which, with the use of competitive elements, increases employee
involvement.

Granting badges or points presented in a ranking effectively encourage employees to co-create an

intranet. In addition to internal satisfaction in some companies, employees award symbolic mate-
rial rewards, such as discounts, or gadgets for achieving a certain level. Gamification elements will
not only be used to report errors but can also contribute to greater interest in the intranet.

92
 Learn more

Examples of badge ideas to improve intranet functioning

• completion of all empty fields in a user profile,

• reporting suggestions concerning the intranet functioning,
• use of the newly introduced function,
• active knowledge sharing,
• becoming familiar with materials for new employees,
• participation in trainings on the e-learning platform.

When awarding prizes, you can follow the principle called S.A.P.S., which manages the opportu-
nities to be available after obtaining a particular level of involvement:

• status – levels: badges, rankings, points;

• access – privileges: access to things that are not available for all;
• power – moderator: editor;
• stuff – discounts: giveaways, discounts.

93
„ Employees should be encouraged to use an intranet and see a content.
Copying the information available in the website news tab will be
badly received in comparison to placing unique, interesting content
on the platform.

Moreover, it is worth encouraging users to interact and post comments on the published articles.
It is to help them to specify their thoughts, and also contribute to making an intranet a platform for
discussion and exchange of views.

Launching a portal

The intranet launch day is important for both the implementation team and employees, who are
now to use a new tool and to learn completely new functions. When planning the implementation
path, it is worth taking care of employees which may be afraid to use it.

Knowledge about the existence of an application may not be sufficient for some of the employees.
For it to be fully understood, it must be supported by their own experiences. Delaying the imple-
mentation (especially with a large number of tools, or in the case of employees of various techno-
logical advancements) may be even worse. Therefore, if technological advancement provides such
a possibility, a company which previously operated in a different system may implement a beta
version. There will be two systems for some time, and after the test period, the old application is
being turned off.

In promotional activities, the attention should be paid to the development of a clear message regar-
ding the date of the intranet premiere. When it comes to technical issues, it is also good to set
the implementation time at the beginning of a new day, i.e., at midnight or before the start of the
working day. This will minimize the risk of disinformation in companies where employees work late
or in shifts. It is important that in the implementation time a person responsible for it is present at
work. It is about guaranteeing the substantive background, both in the context of employee support
and app functioning. When implementing a large system, it is necessary to be aware that the imple-
mentation process may require a technical break, which must be communicated to employees in
advance.

94
„ The implementation date should be a date that is somehow special.

This can be a beginning of a week, first day of a month or a year. It is a characteristic element that
will make it easier for employees to remember the event. Of course, it is necessary to launch an
extensive campaign to remind of it in advance. Intensity of the campaign should increase about a
month before the premiere. This is an optimal moment as employees will both remember the date
and have time to prepare for changes. At this time, it is worth putting leaflets or posters with the
most important information about the system and its implementation in the places of meeting, e.g.,
kitchen, conference room.

Of course, an information campaign cannot be performed without the use of technologies which
not only quickly reach an employee, but also use interesting technical solutions. For this purpose, it
is good to use a mailing campaign. The first message should be strictly informative. For example,
a week before implementation, it is worth planning to send seven e-mails. Each of them will count
down from 7 to 0 – until the day of implementation. In order not to arouse the feeling reluctance
among employees and „spam” their mailboxes, it is worth taking care of something that will make
them willing to read more messages. A practical solution combined with maintaining interest is to
include interesting facts about an intranet.

If the company already has an intranet, it is worth using it for information purposes, for instance to
create internal messages generated by the system in the form of pop-ups, which are displayed as
an employee enters their account. It will not be intrusive and will reach those people who are most
interested in the introduced changes - the active users.

Regardless of which solution is chosen – it is necessary to make every effort to ensure that employ-
ees, in the day of implementation, have accurate data and are aware of the fact how the new
system is to look like. This is particularly important in enterprises that will use the new solution as
an employee support.

It is worth planning the system start day in advance. The effect of portal implementation can be
assessed after the first day of its use. Analysis of statistics, observation of how employees use
the system, informal conversations, short interviews, or a survey at the end of the working day are
examples of how to collect first impressions and comments on the system functioning.

95
 Monitoring and development of the system

The choice of a specialist who will be responsible for intranet implementation and comprehensi-
ve support is a crucial decision that determinates whether the application will be used for a long
time. There are many possibilities of internal software development but giving it to employees with
a request to submit comments and suggestions is the key to success. It is the fastest and most
effective method of creating a system that aims to meet the high expectations of users. As a result,
it will optimize their work most effectively.

„ The role of opinion leaders at the point of designing, implementing,

and functioning of an intranet is played by employees from various
departments. Those people become the so-called implementation
ambassadors not only in the organization, but in their teams.

This so-called „casting a vote” on the development of the intranet or the entire company into the
hands of employees is of vital importance as one wants to integrate them with an organization
in which they work. It is important to include an option to submit comments and ideas in each
employee’s account and adding to it suggestions of changes possible to implement. They, on the
one hand, support the opinions of employees, and on the other, will be useful in the context of deve-
loping intranet functions. It is also useful to add a list from which one is able to select components
or sets of questions. Of course, there should be a space for expressing opinions or the possibility
of posting a file, e.g., with ideas expressed in a visual way. Employees, while seeing the opportu-
nities available to them, will certainly approach their unusual role of testers with commitment and
positive attitude.

Intranet Creation Software

When it comes to choosing the providers of intranet software, there is plenty to choose from. There
are a few hundred well-known ones, who offer implementation of tools and intranets.

96
„ Of course, platforms provided by the largest providers are popular,
but they are not the only to choose from. There are various proprietary
systems on which intranets are built. Here, there are some examples
of platforms upon which intranets may be implemented.

Microsoft SharePoint

SharePoint is a platform developed by Microsoft. It is designed having in mind complex web appli-
cations. The SharePoint intranet portal is a method to centralize access to information in the
corporate network area. It is a tool enabling an enterprise to manage its data, applications, and
information. It also affects elements like increased employee engagement, centralization of the
management process, and reduction of costs concerning staff maintenance.

SharePoint is a multi-tasking platform which provides a possibility to manage and protect websites
and several types of files and documents imported in-between the server and the client. Moreover,
it enables cooperation and integration of network servers and data repositories. Microsoft Share-
Point can also be a development platform, with the use of which webmasters are able to expand
applications. An additional convenience is the possibility to use it as a cloud-based service.

Noodle Intranet

It is a SaaS platform, the biggest advantages of which is a flexible module of matching functions to
the needs of a given company. The system operates on the basis of smooth exchange of projects
and multimedia. Users can be given specific roles and access levels in which they can use distinct
functions. The tools contain fourteen basic applications, including: a multimedia library, a calendar,
a communication system with extensive tools. Additionally, it is possible to integrate with a number
of popular applications, e.g., Google Docs.

The work streamlines the workflow, within which it is possible to generate detailed reports, electro-
nic forms, databases, or an intuitive system of leave requests.

Noodle supports LDAP and IWA protocols authentication with Microsoft Active Directory, and Single
Sign On (SSO) with Kerberos.

Intranet Edito

Intranet Edito is a proprietary solution of Ideo Software. This platform, which has been developed
for over 10 years, has been used in numerous implementations. Thanks to its modular structure
and ease of development of additional functions, it successfully serves organizations of all sizes:
small and medium enterprises, corporations, and public administration units.

97
It is featured by an intuitive and easy-to-use panel for uncomplicated distribution of information
within the organization. There is also an option to provide contractors and external users with
access to selected content. As a result, the tool is an excellent choice for managing many business
processes.

The technologies used by Intranet Edito have been chosen in such a way to ensure high-quality IT
solutions, data security, ease of integration with various systems operating in the organization, and
a wide range of economic advantages. As a result, it does not limit the portal creation process.

Intranet Edito

The implemented system is to function regardless of the number of implemented modules. This
creates great opportunities for the development of a website and divides an implementation into
stages. This seems to be particularly important for clients who have a limited budget, and who
want to implement an intuitive intranet that will be easy to develop.

98
 The implementation model – independently vs outsourcing

The intranet project can be performed using company’s organizational resources, or by outsour-
cing. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages Disadvantages

• In-depth understanding of the • Lack of experience in implementa-

company’s functioning tion of an intranet
• Lower costs and better expenses • Lack of specialist knowledge neces-
Own resources – IT
control sary for the design of advanced
department
applications
• Possibility of faster system
expansion • Involvement in the project of employ-
ees who manage other tasks

• Having easy access to • Risk concerning lack of understanding

experts specializing in intranet offunctioning of the organization
implementation
• Possibility of leakage of confidential
• Faster implementation information
External company
• Possibility to use ready-made
solutions
• A fresh look at the processes within
a company

Some of the disadvantages can be eliminated or reduced – there can be relevant provisions of the
contract against leakage of confidential information, and knowledge and skills shortcomings can
be determined by conducting an internal analysis of resources.

Regardless of whether an intranet will be implemented independently, or by outsourcing, it is neces-

sary to create an implementation team and conduct a business analysis of the company at the
very beginning. A comprehensive analysis will allow to accurately outline the concept of the system
along with the definition of the implemented business processes and schedule a plan and metho-
dology of implementation.

When choosing a company offering a ready-made solution, or when deciding for the creation of a
dedicated external agency platform, it is worth considering several important aspects:

1. Experience
2. Skills and knowledge
3. Safety
4. Warranty and additional services
5. Communication

99
 Practical examples
of the implementation
of intranet systems

Provident Poland intranet portal

15 1 12
minute(s) hour hours
weekly monthly annually

12 hours x number of employees

≈
3 years of work saved
for the company within only one year

100
This is the time which Provident Polska employees saves after the introduction of a new, dedicated
intranet platform.

The most crucial element of the preparations was the audit of internal communication. On a basis
of these results, it was possible to establish interdependencies between communication tools,
check emerging problems, and determine the needs that should be met in the process of intranet
introduction. The audit consisted of:

• more than three hundred surveys conducted among employees at various positions in the
organization,
• interviews with employees of every department,
• discussion panels, brainstorming with experts, and work conducted in working groups.
Each of the above elements allowed to define and clarify the aspects on which the greatest empha-
sis should have been placed - both in the process of design and implementation of the system.
After analysing the audit results, it was possible to determine the most important problems and
areas that require dedicated solutions.

The result of all the work was the launch of an extensive platform with over forty which were
properly adapted and implemented functions.

Results achieved

1. Savings in time

According to the analysis, half of the people working in the company saved 15 minutes a week,
while the others saved more than a quarter of an hour every week. According to the company’s
data, about 80% of employees felt the effects of implementation - the improvement of comfort
and intuitiveness of portal navigation. This was achieved with the possibility to find the necessary
information faster.

2. Reduction of expenses

The introduced changes allowed the company to reduce expenses related to internal correspon-
dence, which now takes place mainly within the platform. This limits the use of paper and reduces
the number of generated documents. Apart from savings, the company also contributes to the
protection of the environment, which positively affects its image and is one of the steps in creating
an eco-friendly workplace.

101
 3. Increase in the popularity of the intranet

Visit statistics of the latest version of the intranet indicate that in 6 months its popularity has
doubled. This is also proved by the decrease in the number of e-mails sent with attachments, which
are now efficiently exchanged via the intranet.

The increase in the popularity of the intranet observed from month to month allows us to conclude
that it is becoming a key communication tool in the company.

In some areas, the process of communication is performed only with the use of intranet, and not,
as it has been so far, via e-mail.

4. Increased employee engagement

The tools available within the platform, including those of social functions, contributed to 2.5 times
increase in employee engagement. The possibility to post comments on publications and share the
knowledge positively impact building an organizational culture and community.

Internal promotion of the intranet – Mostostal Warszawa SA

In the case of Mostosal Warszawa SA, it was necessary to perform an in-depth pre-implementation
analysis due to the extensive team working at various levels. Before starting internal promotion, it
was necessary to learn the entire hierarchy, company specificity, and employee environment. The
project began with an analysis of the company’s situation at that time. In its understanding the
initiative of Mostostal Warszawa SA team was extremely helpful.

At the system design stage, the Ideo team prepared and sent to the client expanded surveys on the
overall situation of the company. Those were the tools and the way of exchanging information that
have been analysed in detail. The risks and weaknesses of the existing situation were also checked
with a view to improvement. The use of surveys also worked great in this case and gave a clear
picture and insight into the elements that required more work.

In the project for Mostostal Warszawa SA the time for consultations and introduction of any ideas
was the most important. The initial familiarization with the needs of the company determined the
direction of the project, the basis for implementation.

The general needs were divided into expectations of external departments as the needs and type
of use of the system can be different at various positions. The project manager on the client’s
side may know the general assumptions of the implemented intranet but does not need to have
a comprehensive knowledge.

102
We decided to send a survey to the employees of Mostostal Warszawa SA, which consisted of
many detailed questions, for instance:

• How intensively do you use emails in everyday work?

• Would a way to limit the number of emails help you in daily work?
• How would you rate your access to internal company information?
• How do you know the news concerning company?
• Would the possibility to quickly share information be useful in your daily work?
At the end of the analytical process, there was prepared a comprehensive document aggregating
all the most essential elements of the designed system:

• User specificity
• Editorial Team
• Motivational mechanisms
• Promotion campaign plan
It was a preparation for a meeting on the final shape of the designed system, which determined the
main directions of work.

„ The implementation for Mostostal Warszawa SA has been focused

on employee engagement from the very beginning of the promotion.
It was also important to provide the diversity of forms of action. They
have been divided into stages.

The first stage was a teaser promotion and was conducted two weeks before the planned launch
of the system. The concept was to arouse the interest of employees and at the same time commu-
nicate that significant changes will appear in the near future. As part of the campaign, a series of
posters were prepared, which clearly informed about the upcoming changes. The initiative to build
such a path of communication came from Mostostal Warszawa SA. Moreover, the meeting was
attended by employees involved in the implementation. As a result, the message was more perso-
nal, and the interest in the event of the rest of the staff increased. The posters were hung on the offi-
ce corridors, and their aim was to properly inform the personnel of all positions, or places of work.

The second stage of the information campaign was the official communication to employees on
the implementation. The form of the message was unique, which was a surprise for the part of the
staff which was not involved in the project.

103
 On the day of launching the system, a welcome pack appeared on each employee’s desk. It took the
form of an envelope containing a welcome letter from the management, a practical flash drive with
a presentation of the system and individual login data. It all has been packaged in an attractive way
referring to the corporate identity.

In the information campaign for Mostostal Warszawa SA, two aspects were combined – the element
of surprise with an interesting form of information transfer. Maintaining graphic consistency was a
continuation of the information dialogue between the implementation team and employees. Both
in the teaser promotion and at the time of informing about the implementation of the action were
not announced, and it allowed to build curiosity and interest in the system.

Our selected projects

Costa Coffee Santander BRW

Bespoke PWA
Loyalty Program Corporate website online store

Iparts DPD Medicover

Volvo
Advanced Information
Intranet platform e-commerce platform Intranet platform service portals

White Label PGNiG Bosch Lotto

Request 104 E-commerce

B2B Loyalty Program Management System Extranet platform redesign
 Intranets
within enterprises –
research results

As we wanted the guidebook to summarize the topic of Intranets thoroughly and comprehensi-
vely, we conducted a study within numerous enterprises.

During the development phase of the book „Intranet: Effective internal communication in the orga-
nization,” and the first edition of this guidebook (of the same title), we decided to conduct exten-
sive empirical research on a group of experts and managers working in enterprises of various
industries. They were to, among others, present a broad picture of the use of intranet systems in
enterprises, benefits, attitudes towards this type of solutions, or an approach to aspects like use of
social tools in intranet portals. However, the main purpose was to answer the following questions:

• In what way do employees use an intranet and is it the only system they use?
• How is an intranet system managed in enterprises?
• Which features do users find most or least useful?
• Are/what benefits are seen in the use of an intranet?
• How is the usefulness of the applied system assessed?
• What is the scale of use of social elements in intranet systems and what is the attitude of
users towards this type of solutions?

105
After observing how the pandemic and its result - popularization of remote and hybrid work, influ-
enced the reality of the functioning of enterprises, we decided to update our statistical data. During
the development of the second, refreshed edition of this guidebook, we conducted an expert
study. For this purpose, we consulted numerous experts cooperating with Ideo Software, who desi-
gn platforms for internal communication and cooperate with us daily. On the basis of their expe-
rience and market observations, we tried to interpret the changes in the using intranet platforms
in enterprises.

Test methodology and characteristics

Empirical research, constituting the basis for the expert study, was carried out in the first half of
2018 on a sample of 232 respondents with the use of an online questionnaire and individual invita-
tions addressed to specialists and managers of companies of various types of industry. 203 fully
completed questionnaires were qualified to prepare the results. The results cannot be considered
representative for the entire population, but they certainly constitute an interesting point in the
discussion on the state of use of intranet tools in medium-sized or large enterprises.

The study was conducted on a relatively diverse group of companies. Among the participants,
the largest number of companies constituted the service sector (55.7%). Companies that operate
simultaneously for the institutional sector (B2B) and the consumer sector (B2C) also dominate –
a total of 45%. What we found important in the process of getting an overall picture of the use of
intranets was to diversify the industries in which the surveyed companies operate. Any of them has
a decisive impact on the results obtained – the industry sector covers almost 19% of responses,
but at the same time the remaining over 80% is represented by as many as 10 other industries.
In terms of employment, slightly more than half of the responses (48.8%) come from large compa-
nies, i.e., those with more than 500 employees. The least (because only 7% of responses) comes
from companies with less than 10 employees.

The division of women (49.4%) and men (50.6%) is almost equal. What is worth indicating, the
respondents are primarily people in managerial positions – over 54% of the respondents are repre-
sentatives of the middle or higher level in organizations. The 34% of responses come from people
performing expert functions. In terms of age, the representatives of the so-called middle-aged
generation dominate – people aged 35–54 are almost half of the respondents. The percentage of
young people among the respondents, whose age is in the range of 15–34 years is relatively high
- they constitute nearly half of the respondents. People at their 55 or older occupy only 3% of all
study participants.

106
 System operation

The first set of questions in the empirical research refers to general comments and observations
regarding the use of the intranet in those companies. It turned out that intranet systems are not only
common (all respondents declared the use some form of such a system), but also actively used.

The observations of our experts show that over 71% of respondents (compared to 63% in 2018)
declared using the intranet at least once a day. However, the percentage of people who use the
intranet once a week or less has decreased by more than half. Currently, this group is represented
by 9.3% of users, compared to 19.34% in 2018.

How often do you use the company’s intranet?

2018 2022

4,2% Nonstop
5,1% 15%

13,21% Several times a day

6,13% 12,74%
19,1%
Every day
17,92%

Several times a week

29,25%
32,2%
20,75%
Once in a week
24,4%
Less often

Due to the popularization of remote and hybrid work, using intranet does no longer mean working
from an office. According to the survey, less than one in three respondents uses the intranet only
in the company in which they work. 72.6% of respondents currently declare using it both in the
company and remotely, which means a nearly double increase compared to 32.54% in 2018.

I use an intranet

2018 67,46% 32,54%

Only in a company In and outside of a company, remotely

2022
27,4% 72,6%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

107
The respondents were asked to indicate which functions of intranet systems they considered
most useful. With the use of average measurement method, we found out that the most useful
in the eyes of the respondents are functions, from the „HR world”, supporting the management of
personnel, knowledge base, and tools for internal communication.

Tools for reporting innovations and those using social mechanisms are assumed to be the least
useful. The relatively large growth of users’ interest and appreciation is given to intranet areas that
are related to the broadly understood development of competences, for instance, online training,
e-learning, etc.

The table below illustrates the dynamics of changeability in the usefulness of individual func-
tions of intranet platforms, which over the years have evolved towards a comprehensive digital
workplace.

Relevance of intranets’ functions

Very useful Unhelpful and rather

Indispensable
and useful unhelpful

2018 2022 2018 2022 2018 2022

Employee management (leaves,

remote work, requests, staff
31,0% 42,7% 53,7% 52,1% 15,2% 5,2%
matters, employee assessment,
etc.)
Knowledge bases (documents,
35,5% 36,4% 42,8% 57,4% 21,7% 6,2%
templates, training materials, etc.)
Internal communication (transfer of
29,6% 41,2% 48,2% 45,3% 22,2% 13,5%
information)
Competence development (needs
analysis, e-learning trainings, 19,2% 36,1% 42,8% 45,2% 37,9% 18,7%
knowledge verification, etc.)

Finance (settlements, invoicing,

15,3% 31,4% 45,8% 41,2% 38,9% 27,4%
placing orders, etc.)

Project management (schedules,

calendars, project creation, 13,8% 24,3% 44,8% 42,1% 41,4% 33,6%
timesheet, etc.)
Social communication (discussions,
13,3% 19,2% 33,5% 38,3% 53,2% 42,5%
comments, opinions, assessments)
Innovations creation (idea
8,9% 11,6% 40,9% 44,4% 50,2% 44%
submission and evaluation)

Source: Own study.

108
The surveyed people, after being asked a question of whether their companies use any other (not
intranet) solutions for internal communication, made very important statements. And almost as
much as every third respondent declared that an intranet system is the only tool used. Nearly 40%
of respondents also use additional tools, such as groups within commonly used messengers such
as WhatsApp and Teams, (which during the pandemic proved to be very useful to all organizations
and relatively easily available as an extension of their Office), or, in a smaller and smaller number
of cases, closed groups on the Facebook platform. More and more companies also use such solu-
tions as Trello or ClickUp (17.4%), in terms of communication around implemented projects. Less
than 10% of respondents use the Yammer. However, the „Other” answer (9.4%) comprised people
who declared using the Facebook Workplace and Slack (5% of respondents), Skype for Business
(5% of respondents), and Lync (3% of respondents).

2018 2022

We only use the intranet

8,4%

9,4% Closed group on

7,4% 28% Whatsapp, Microsoft Teams
31%

25,1%
ClickUp / Trello
11,2%
Closed group
on Facebook
14,8% 14,8%

6,9% Other
17,4%
25,6%
Yammer

An additional question, related to the overall picture of intranet usage concerned the system archi-
tecture. As many as 71% respondents declared that the intranet tool is an element of a larger
system (33% of responses) or is connected to other systems (almost 38% of responses). In 25% of
companies, intranet is a separate, self-contained solution. In the case of 4% of answers, the respon-
dents were not able to determine how the intranet works in their organizations

109
 Platform management

Answers to questions about departments which are responsible for management and develop-
ment of an intranet show that the dominant model of operation in this field is difficult to determine.
However, in the case of more than 30% of companies, it is the IT department that is responsible for
the ongoing management and development of intranets, other departments, such as marketing,
HR, or PR/communication, are also quite often indicated (almost 44% in total).

What we found interesting, in about 17% of cases, the respondents were unable to determine
a department that was responsible for platform management. In the case of the „Others” response,
they almost always referred to a situation in which there were several departments responsible for
intranet management and development.

Which department is responsible for the management and development

of an intranet?

2018 2022
11,9%
IT

10,89%
12,6%
PR
10,89% 33,2%
37,13%

I do not know
17,33%
16,9%
HR
23,76%

Marketing
25,4%

The key issue in the case of effective use of the intranet is not only the environment itself, the tool
and its functions, but above all the content that encourages users to use it. The conducted survey
provided us with knowledge about potential incentives for daily usage of intranet platforms. It
turned out that the most popular (and at the same time the most obvious) of them is the inclusion
of certain functions in an intranet area, which are not available to employees in any other way
(54.1% compared to 30.6% from 2018).

110
One in eight respondents pointed out that the system they use is convenient and useful, so there
is no need to encourage employees to use it. More than one in four respondents declares that
they were not encouraged to use an intranet. What is more, only 8.2% mention awards for the
most involved intranet users. Sometimes those are competitions for employees within an intranet
(12.5%), and sometimes (as it is indicated in the „Others” answer) those are interesting articles,
unique content or... setting the intranet as the default start page on company’s computers.

If we assume that more and more organizations treat the intranet / digital workplace as a stan-
dard tool for everyday work, it should not be surprising that no additional incentives are needed.

How does the company encourage you to use an intranet?

Features available
only within an Intranet

No encouragement

Intranet provides
multiple benefits

Obligatory signing in
to intranet

Contests within an Intranet

Regular presentation
of intranet benefits

Rewards for the most

active employees

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2018 2022

111
 Benefits of using the system

While answering this question, respondents were supposed to choose up to 3 answers. Accor-
ding to more than 73% of respondents (increase from 65% in 2018), thanks to the intranet, it
is possible to work more efficiently, faster and more effectively. Every second respondent sees
intranet advantages in improving communication between the management board and employees.
This statement is significant; it indicates how important it is to maintain contact between top-level
employees and the whole company.

Importantly, relatively many respondents (over 40%) also indicate that the company’s organiza-
tional culture has improved thanks to the intranet. At the same time, almost the same number of
respondents declare that thanks to the intranet, they managed to ensure control over employees
and processes inside the organization. Only less than 9% of respondents declared that the imple-
mentation of the intranet did not bring any noticeable benefits to the company. This is important
and indicates that benefits of implementing such systems are, often enough noticed by employees,
what is proven by answers to this question.

It is worth mentioning two more aspects. 19% of respondents indicate an access to e-learning
platforms. This is definitely due to changes - results of the pandemic, which accelerated the
digital transformation, also in the field of employee training. Approximately 14% respondents’
choice was the possibility of reporting and introducing improvements and innovations within intra-
net. The answers clearly indicate that in the surveyed companies, the intranet is perceived as a tool
for generating savings – in time and money, and more and more often as a convenient place to
transfer knowledge and skills useful in a given organization.

System usability

An additional set of questions concerning the usefulness of an intranet system. All in all, respon-
dents rated their systems highly. The best rated was the simplicity of the system (mostly its intuiti-
veness which results directly from the implementation of the UX). The user-system interaction and
its ease of use were also highly rated. It is though clear that the systems used in surveyed compa-
nies are designed correctly and their users do not notice problems in their functions, appearance,
navigation.

112
The usefulness of a platform
I disagree
I do strongly agree / /
It is difficult to say
I agree I definitely
disagree

2018 2022 2018 2022 2018 2022

Learning how to navigate the

79,34% 83,3 % 8,87% 7,1 % 11,82% 8,6 %
intranet was easy for me
My interaction with the intranet
service 70,97% 72,4 % 18,23% 17,3 % 10,84% 10,3 %
is transparent
I am the opinion that intranet
69,39% 74,6 % 15,76% 14,9 % 14,78% 10,5 %
service is easy to use
I think that it is easy to navigate
67,44% 71,8 % 13,30% 14,5 % 19,21% 13,7 %
within the intranet (menu)

Źródło: badania własne.

Social elements

Two more study questions concerned the use of social elements within the intranet platform. The
respondents were asked about their personal attitude to this type of solutions and the actual use of
such elements within the functioning intranets.

According to the obtained declarations, the respondents have positive attitudes towards such solu-
tions. Almost a half of the respondents consider them interesting and valuable, as tools that can
actually introduce changes to the organization, integrate the team, contribute to the implementa-
tion of innovations and improvements. What is interesting, every tenth respondent claims that the
use of these tools is impossible in the current organizational culture of their enterprise.

Approximately 16% of respondents have a rather negative attitude towards social elements within
company’s intranet. Nearly 8% indicate that it is simply a passing, unnecessary trend, another 8% of
respondents believe that employees would waste due to these functions, instead work. More than
19% of respondents are unable to express their opinion on the use of social elements, which may
indicate both the perceived complexity of this solution and the low awareness about the possibi-
lities that these tools have if they are properly used. Only 1.3% do not know what social elements
within intranet are.

The survey of opinions on social elements within intranets was confronted with the actual use of
such functions in the analyzed enterprises.

113
Which statement illustrates your opinion on social elements within intranet?

2018 2022
This is a tool for integrations
1,3% and improvements implementation
4,2%
6,5%
It is difficult to say
2,05%
7,69%
7,4%
7,69% Those tools are interesting,
but we have no time for them
40,51%
11,28%
12,2% It cannot be introduced
49,3%

14,87% Interesting but

15,90%
time-consuming solution

19,1% This is a temporary,

unnecessary trend

I have no idea what it is

38% declares not to use social elements. If social media are used, it is mainly because of a real-time
communication on messengers (54.2%). In some enterprises, the discussions are performed on
forums and discussion groups (27.7%), the calendar can be shared and there is an option to work
together on documents (29.2%).

What is important, as many as 33% of respondents agreed that the use of social elements may
relate to knowledge sharing. This statement is really important, and it is worth analysing it in the
future, e.g., in terms of methods of reaching this knowledge (central knowledge base + intuitive
search engine). Only 16% of the responses indicated that social elements are to support innovation
(submission of ideas concerning new products, services, improvements). It is a relatively small
number. However, in the comments to this question quite often (15 mentions) there was informa-
tion that the organization is just at the stage of implementing this type of elements as part of the
company’s intranet.

114
What social features of the intranet can be used in your company?

It is not used

Messengers, chats

Knowledge sharing

Discussion forum

Documents
sharing

Calendar sharing

Submission of innovations,
and ideas.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2018 2022

Research results

The conducted research presents an interesting overview on the use of intranet systems within
enterprises. Some valuable conclusions can be drawn both from the results of surveys of the
respondents – managers and specialists in organizations from many different industries, and from
actual data on the use of such systems. The most interesting conclusions are:

1. Intranet managers rarely use additional techniques to encourage employees to use such
system. The most common „incentive” is simply the fact that the platform offers features
(initial at work) that cannot be accessed in any other way. Relatively often, respondents indi-
cate that the system is simply useful for them at work, so they do not need to be encouraged
to use it. In connection with the answers concerning the usability of the systems, it can be
concluded that intranets in the surveyed enterprises are constructed correctly.

115
 2. They are often an element of bigger communication systems in enterprises. As many as
71% respondents declared that the intranet tool is an element of a larger system (33% of
responses) or is connected to other systems (almost 38% of responses). In 25% of compa-
nies, intranet is a separate solution.

3. It is transparent that the implementation of intranets in the surveyed companies is subor-

dinated to specific goals on obtaining benefits such as savings in time and money. This
is indicated by the answers concerning, among others, the most commonly used functions
and the perceived usefulness of individual elements. What is interesting, despite this „mate-
rial” benefits of an intranet, relatively many respondents focused on a change in the organiza-
tional culture or an improvement in the relationship between management and employees.

4. More and more intranet users see the importance of intranet as a catalyst for develop-
ment (knowledge). This can be transparently seen in the answers to the question about the
usefulness of some of the intranet elements, where the broadly understood knowledge base
is indicated as the most useful element of the system, and e-learning functions gain more
and more importance.

5. Intranet systems are managed by different departments. Although the IT department is at

the forefront (most often indicated as responsible for the management and development of
the intranet), a significant part of the answers also points to other departments (marketing,
PR, communication, HR). In many cases, the system is managed by several departments.

6. Social elements are used in a very small extent. If a company already uses them, it is
mainly for communication, work on current projects, or planning comments. Social media
are rarely used to support the generation of innovation, but now quite often (33.1%) to share
knowledge, which seems to be a nice result. There are also some respondents who notice
the potentially negative consequences of using these elements (loss of time, lack of notice-
able benefits).

„ Concluding, intranets are constant parts of today’s enterprises,

and their users are satisfied with the benefits they bring both to the
organization itself and to individual work.

Intranets are perceived pragmatically – as tools that are to bring savings and increase satisfac-
tion with the performed work.

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Systems used in enterprises are part of organization’s IT ecosystem. Solutions from global compa-
nies such as Facebook Workforce, Lync, Yammer and Trello are used quite rarely. This may be due
to the fact that, although the group of respondents and companies surveyed is very diverse in many
aspects, large companies predominate the entire survey. It is within them that the needs in the field
of internal communication are highly individualized and often require the creation of systems tailo-
red for the specificity of the organization.

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We are advisors first. We start each project with a profound diagnosis of problems and
an analysis of needs and goals, which a client wants to achieve.

At this stage, we talk not only with the client’s project manager but also with employees
who will use the application daily. We try to make the application meet everyone’s
expectations. We also consider the specifics of the market and industry in which the client
operates, the competition activities, and possible technological limitations.

Using proven and effective solutions, we create tools that develop a customer’s business.
Tools that we are proud of.

In our Software House, we support clients in the areas of:

Business websites Intranet Platforms eCommerce websites

Information portals Cloud / Hosting Shopware 6 development

Mobile Apps / PWA Bespoke Internet Apps B2B / SFA platforms

eLearning platforms Remote work support PIM Tools

System integration IT Outsourcing Loyalty programs

Schedule a free consultation

www.ideosoftware.com

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Urszula Kandefer – an expert in the field of Internet and intranet projects implementation, as well
as consulting related to internal communication with the use of innovative technologies. Since
2004, she has been working in Ideo, in which she manages IT projects. At first, she was a part of
the marketing and PR department of this company. However, since 2008, he has held the position
of Key Account Manager. She has a comprehensive knowledge and experience in the optimization
of communication and business processes, needs analysis, and selection of IT tools facilitating
everyday work and communication within organizations. She supervised projects concerning fields
as creating extensive websites and intranet portals, for instance, for Santander Consumer Bank,
Provident, TU Europa, Bank Polska Spółdzielczości, Mostostal Warszawa SA, Medical University of
Lublin, and the National Health Fund of Poland.

Grzegorz Mazurek – habilitated doctor, professor at the Kozminski University, an academic worker
at the Department of Marketing, leader of studies on a digital area at the University (master’s degree:
management in the virtual environment, master’s in digital marketing; postgraduate studies: online
marketing, e-commerce, digital business transformation, industry 4.0 manager). Member and foun-
der of the Institute for the Development of the Information Society. An independent internet marke-
ting consultant; associated with the Internet industry since 2000. He worked in PR and marketing
communication department of K2 Internet SA. He was an advisor in the area of Internet communi-
cation of the Senate of the Republic of Poland.

The book: ‚Intranet: Skuteczna komunikacja

wewnętrzna w organizacji’, published by Poltext
Publishing House 2018, forms the basis for this
publication.

Do you want to know more? Contact us!

www.ideosoftware.com

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