Intranet Pioneer will be going, going, gone…soon!

Just a quick reminder that there are only a few more days before this site and its digital content disappears into….I don’t know where (ideas anyone?), maybe some digital vortex.  Please make sure you access , download, whatever, any content that will help you before then.

I will be moving on to pastures new that are away from intranets in future!  It’s been a wonderful few years as Intranet Pioneer!  My thanks to everyone I have met at conferences, had the privilege to work with, readers of my book and blog posts or connected with on social media.

Good luck for the future to you!  (I think we may need it in these troubled times)

Opening up Pandora’s Intranet box

I plan to close this site by 30 June 2019.  Before closure you can have free access to a treasure trove of posts over the past 10 years giving expert insight on the development of intranets, digital workplaces and how to manage these and what to do.

For this limited period there will also be a 50% discount if you contact me directly to buy my book ‘Digital Success or Digital Disaster’ that covers the best ways to manage an intranet and digital workplace.

Please take advantage of this once in a lifetime chance and share this with your friends and colleagues.  I don’t want you to miss out and regret it later.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone!

Succeed with SharePoint. Here’s how…

Introduction

People still have a feeling of trepidation when using SharePoint, especially for the first time. How to use the right features in the right manner? How to adopt the right approach so everyone benefits? It can take a lot of effort, hard work and time with SharePoint. And that just seems to be the beginning of the daily challenges you have to act upon.

It is important to treat SharePoint in the same way you would with any other technology. Yes, it may have more features. Yes, it can seem overpowering by its reputation. Yes, it can even transform the way people in your organisation work. It can be done but it is not easy. Based on my experiences here is how to do it with detailed examples here.

Strategy

It is no good just developing a ‘SharePoint strategy’. While that may serve the needs that SharePoint can deliver, it is not a guarantee it will meet all your business requirements.

Business requirements

Whichever approach is taken – user stories, user journeys, etc. – make sure the requirements have been agreed with your stakeholders first, including what is mandatory, desirable or optional.

Standards

Key SharePoint features e.g. Content Owner can match your Standards for publishing e.g. Ownership. You need to make sure your key features give a consistently good experience.

Roles and responsibilities

You can set up roles and responsibilities at every level to align with SharePoint. One of the biggest headaches is the name of the roles used by SharePoint and the complex responsibilities each role has. It can be easy to allocate a level of responsibility to the wrong role because it has a different name

Summary

Successfully implementing and managing SharePoint gives publishers and users confidence. People accessing information know it can be relied upon and be available consistently across all SharePoint sites and site collections. Publishers are aware of how to seek permission to publish and how to access pages, they understand SharePoint features and how governance is embedded. Find out how…!

Digital Workplace Strategy & Design

I have been involved in the digital workplace for over 20 years as a practitioner and consultant.  I found Digital Workplace Strategy & Design very helpful and it will be of help to everyone connected or interested in this critical area that is growing with importance.

Digital Workplace Strategy & Design explains the why, the what and the how to transforming your organisation so it can achieve the full range of benefits a digital workplace should offer, putting the user – employees – as the main focus.

This book is more than just how to use technology.  It is about changing the whole focus of your organisation.  How to change employees behaviour?  What is the overall value of a service?  What do people really need to help with their work?  These questions and many others that want to ask will be answered in this book.

Following the six guiding principles will help you to understand how a new approach will succeed where maybe other attempts have failed.  Adopting the five steps to creating a digital workplace strategy will help you to design the services that employees demand.

With diagrams, examples, quotes and case studies this books gives a comprehensive view of why the digital workplace is critical to all employees and how organisations need to adopt the right approach.  It is a book that you can come back to for specific sections to refresh your memory after absorbing the learning from your initial reading of this book.

I wish I had Digital Workplace Strategy & Design with me when I first started my career and benefit from Oscar and Henrik’s combined wisdom each working day.  However you can do that by reading this book and change your organisation’s approach!

Ssshh! Secrets to SharePoint’s success

Wherever I go people ask me “Is SharePoint ‘good’ or ‘bad’?” and “How do I manage SharePoint successfully?”.  My answer is covered in a new chapter to “Digital Success or Digital Disaster” that explores the pitfalls and benefits of using SharePoint to underpin your intranet, and shows how you can implement it successfully.

Everyone has heard horror stories of how intranets have failed or succumbed to the perils of SharePoint. But people have seen examples of how SharePoint has transformed intranets successfully.  Somewhere in between is the reality that most of us experience.

SharePoint has been described as being like the best sweet shop in town. Anyone can have all the sweets on all the shelves to try. The problem is that you are outside the shop saying “Be careful what you try. Too many sweets can be bad for you.”

That analogy has proven to be oh so true, time and time again. Even after many new versions and enhanced features in SharePoint, improving what it offers, intranet practitioners can still have a feeling of trepidation when confronted with SharePoint, especially for the first time.

So how is the best way to use SharePoint?  What features can meet your requirements?  How does moving to Office 365 work?

Al of this can be done following my approach in “Digital Success or Digital Disaster” without too much hard work, missed deadlines or sleepless nights!

Launch of DigitalMode!

I am delighted to announce the launch of DigitalMode with my Co-founder, the one and only Julian Goode! DigitalMode will help you make that elusive digital breakthrough for your business by:

• Engaging new customers using different ways to communicate
• Managing digital channels to sustain the improvements
• Showing the benefits you will gain with tangible examples
• Improving satisfaction of your customers
• Increasing the growth of your business

DigitalMode will help you to grow your business in a digital world using our unique innovative approach. DigitalMode can help you:

• Increase your revenue
• Market more effectively
• Engage your audiences
• Improve customer insight
• Plan strategically
• Manage your content

Find out now about DigitalMode!