Setting up an Intranet.

[check] This checklist provides guidance for organisations wishing to set up an Intranet.

There is a growing recognition that an organisation's competitiveness depends on the effective exploitation of its expertise and experience. The need to better organise and share knowledge within a company has come at a time when technology is making it possible. The combination of computer networking, Internet software and easily accessible corporate information is known as an Intranet.

It is important not to look on an Intranet as a purely technological entity. It is made up not only of hardware and software but also of information and the people creating, maintaining and using it. This means that the Intranet is not just the province of the IT department, but of the whole organisation.

Definition

An Intranet is a private, corporate network that uses Internet products and technologies. Access to an Intranet is controlled by the organisation which established it and is often restricted to employees. When suppliers or customers are given access to parts of it, the Intranet becomes an Extranet.

Advantages of Intranets

Intranets can provide:

faster and easier access to organisational information

faster and more efficient communication among employees

reduced paper distribution

access for all employees to the most up to date versions of documents.

Disadvantages of Intranets

The arguments for setting up an Intranet and the advantages they offer appear very compelling. However, it must be remembered that an Intranet:

requires a significant investment in resources, particularly in staff time - an Intranet requires at least one member of staff dedicated to its maintenance and all staff must be committed and involved

depends on an open organisational culture which encourages the sharing of knowledge

may not make a visible contribution to the bottom line.

Action checklist

1. Initiate the project

Senior management commitment is vital to the success of an Intranet. If this is not evident, insufficient money and resources will be assigned to it and employees will assume that the Intranet is a meaningless communications exercise. A project manager should be appointed. She or he will need excellent communication and interpersonal skills as well as in-depth knowledge of the organisation and above average IT skills. Assemble a project team comprising a mix of staff from various departments and at various levels.

Establish the resources that the Intranet can draw on in terms of:

* existing or new IT facilities

* people, both for the project team and to provide the information content

* financial resources

* consultancy expertise.

Visit one or two organisations which already have Intranets, and publicise internally the fact that there will be an Intranet. Holding a competition to name the Intranet is a good method of generating publicity.

2. Draw up the specification

Once the budget has been set, objectives for the Intranet should be established. These give direction to the project and might include:

* improving communication and information flow amongst employees

* improving customer service

* facilitating cross-functional teams and projects.

With these objectives in mind a list of Intranet applications can be compiled. These applications could include:</p> <pre> Company magazines

Product and service guides ISO9001:2001 documentation and quality manuals New product information Software and hardware user guides Job vacancies Details of customers and suppliers </pre> <p>3. Put together an Intranet implementation plan

This will detail the applications and contents that will be used on the Intranet, who will use which parts of the Intranet, who will provide the information and be responsible for maintenance, and a timetable for action. Remember, this plan will only serve as a guideline and may need to be amended. The rate of implementation may increase as experience is gained of managing and developing an Intranet, or problems may slow down the process.

4. Ensure the hardware and software is in place

A standard configuration for an Intranet consists of a computer network and World Wide Web (WWW) server software plus a client browser which enables users to view the information held. In setting up an Intranet also consider WWW publishing tools, security software and usage tracking tools. Powerful content management software systems, enabling non-experts to add or edit information, are becoming more widely available.

5. Design the Intranet

The design of the graphical content of the Intranet is in many ways as important as the information that it contains. Skilful design will ensure that users are attracted to it and can easily navigate around it. If you do not have the necessary design skills within your organisation, employ a graphic designer to establish the design and to devise templates so that ongoing work can be carried out in-house.

6. Build the Intranet

Within each of the functions that will provide content for the Intranet, at least one person should be given the responsibility of creating the content to the correct style guidelines, placing it on the Intranet, and keeping it up to date. Do not underestimate the time that this will require. Even updating the pages of a small department will probably require one to two days per month, averaged over a year.

The person in charge should continually monitor the information on the Intranet so that, with an overall view, links between seemingly unrelated information can be created. For example, the production department may not realise that the information they hold could be linked through to a marketing document.

7. Implement the Intranet

Key considerations in the implementation stages of the Intranet project life cycle are:

* Promotion. Initial and continual promotion of the Intranet is essential. Write press releases to update people on new additions to its contents and run a competition on the best ideas for an Intranet application.

* Data protection. If your Intranet enables access to personal information then the regulations in the Data Protection Act must be adhered to - see Useful Address below for the contact details of the UK's Information Commissioner. If your Intranet is available in other countries, make sure you comply with laws there too.

* Copyright. Legislation in the copyright field has two key implications for the corporate Intranet. Firstly, employees must ensure that they have permission to reproduce items subject to copyright if they wish to include them on the Intranet. Secondly, information held on the Intranet is the copyright property of the organisation and therefore cannot be reproduced without permission from the organisation.

* Libellous/illegal material. It must be impressed on employees from the outset that the Intranet is the same as any other mechanism of corporate communication. Anything which originates from it has the same status as information sent out on company headed notepaper and consequently, nothing should be said or done on an Intranet which would not be said or done via more traditional forms of communication. Laws of libel and those applying to the broadcast or transmission of illegal material apply to Intranets.

* Intranet usage policy. The dangers of infringing the law demonstrate the need to have a clearly defined policy on what is, and is not, acceptable usage of the company Intranet. The policy must set out clearly the purposes for which the Intranet is designed and the purposes to which it may be put. Disciplinary action for failure to comply with the policy must be explained and acted upon where necessary.

* Training. Training should only be given to those who will be able to use the Intranet immediately. For those departments which will gain access later, awareness seminars detailing what is happening, and when they can expect to have access are more useful. It may be advisable to consider training first of all those who are most likely to champion the Intranet. Their enthusiasm means they are in the right frame of mind to receive and take on board training offered, and will be happy to assist other members of the department. Part of the training programme for Intranet use should examine strategies to deal with information, ensuring that it is used to its best effect and avoiding information overload.

8. Operate and evaluate

Ongoing management, promotion and training is essential to ensure the success of the Intranet. The opinions of Intranet users and non-users must be sought to enable modifications and improvements in the content and design. All feedback and Intranet success stories must be relayed to senior management and communicated to all employees.

Dos and don'ts when setting up an Intranet

Do

* Go to see Intranets in operation in other organisations and learn from their experiences.

* Set firm objectives for the Intranet - they will prove invaluable in measuring success.

* Employ an outside designer if the necessary skills are not available in-house.

Don't

* Think that Intranets can be set up on a shoestring budget - allow for ongoing costs.

* Be too ambitious at first - start with simple pages that are easy to maintain and let the Intranet expand over time.

* Forget to communicate the success of the Intranet to everyone within the organisation.

* Stop! Continually evaluate and improve the effectiveness of the Intranet.

Useful reading

Books:

e HR: using intranets to improve the effectiveness of your people, Bryan Hopkins and James Markham Aldershot: Gower, 2003

Intranets: a guide to their design, implementation and management, Paul Blackmore London: Aslib, 2001

Managing the corporate intranet, Mitra Miller, Andrew J Roehr and Benjamin Bernard New York NY: John Wiley, 1998

Journal articles:

HR intranets IDS HR Studies, Nov, no. 175, 2004, whole issue

Implementing an intranet in a global organisation, Paul Pedley Business Information Review, Sep, vol. 20, no. 3, pp136-143

Useful address

Information Commissioner, Whycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Tel: [phone] www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Thought starters

* How How well informed are all staff about the company, its products, competitors and suppliers?

* How much valuable information resides only in people's minds? What if they leave?

* An intranet should be seen as part of the corporate memory bank.