Next in line for our interview series with our speakers at Enterprise Digital Workplace SUMMIT is Mike Blair. Mike is the SharePoint expert at Charles Taylor, a service provider for the global insurance markets. He has recently started an Intranet relaunch and will share his lessons-learned on his journey from an old-style comms tool to a modern working environment.

In our interview he already shared some of his insights.

(1) Mike – you will be sharing your lessons-learnd from a recent Intranet relaunch in your company at Enterprise Digital SUMMIT in June. What can we expect?

Mike Blair: When implementing a new technology/new way of working, having a piece of software that is significantly better than the previous solution isn’t the only consideration. A change in behaviour and in culture is sometimes required.

(2) I totally agree but before discussing your change approach – I think it is good to get a better view on the scope of your project – also technology-wise. So – briefly – from what state of Intranet have you been starting and to what idea have you been moving in your journey?

Mike Blair: I started working in Charles Taylor about 18months ago. The intranet at the time was based on SharePoint 2007. As a platform it was an older style communications tool. News and information was pushed from the top down with no engagement from colleagues. Information was out dated and irrelevant. My vision is to make the intranet fit for the modern workplace. Constantly evolving and developing. Feedback is crucial and encouraged.

(3) What were the rough steps you have been undertaken within the last 18 month?

Mike Blair: Re-engaging with the business and asking them to review the content that their audience consumed. A lot of which was out of date. On a business by business area we reviewed their own area of the intranet and redesigned based on a loose frame work and the wishes of that department. I also under took the upgrade of the intranet look and and feel, to make it look less like SharePoint. Once the content was in order I then begin to investigate replacing the intranet. With a drive to move away from a pure SharePoint solution to an intranet in a box solution.

(4) What are the key features that you see important for supporting the engagement?

Mike Blair: I think constant contact with your audience is key in measuring engagement. This can be achieved multiple ways. Usability testing, surveys, analytics and focus groups.

On our Intranet home page we had a feedback form where people can tell us how they feel about the site. In addition to this there is an monthly Intranet steer-co. In the steer-co we discuss feedback, analytics and new content.

(5) What are your further ideas for the future of your project?

Mike Blair: Deeper integration with other company areas. Continue to monitor and develop the environment by using our benchmark toolkit. Ideas and development to be driven by the business needs and not by what the Steerco think should be there.

(6) What are your expectations for the Enterprise Digital Workplace SUMMIT?

Mike Blair: From Enterprise Digital Workplace Summit I hope to meet other like minded Intranet professionals, exchange ideas and experiences. Also a good opportunity to check the pulse of the industry to see where the digital workplace is going, what is trending and lessons learned.

We thank Mike for answering our questions.

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Bjoern Negelmann

Björn Negelmann verantwortet die inhaltlichen Teile der Veranstaltungsaktivitäten von Kongress Media und ist darüber hinaus auch Kopf des an Kongress Media angeschlossenen Research-Hauses N:Sight Research. Er reflektiert seine Beobachtungen über die Entwicklung der Themen sowohl in den Corporate-Blogs von Kongress Media und N:Sight als auch in den Fachblogs Enterprise Digital Blog (zum Social Collaboration & Future of Work Thema), auf Espresso-Digital.de (zum Thema Social Kommunikation & Marketing) sowie im Digital Experience Blog (zum Thema Digital Experience & die Transformation in Marketing, Vertrieb und Service). Darüber hinaus moderiert und betreut er die diversen Online-Communities und Online-Veranstaltungen von Kongress Media.

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