When you’re starting an intranet project, one of the challenges is generating some excitement amongst your staff about what is to come.
I consulted with an organisation to set up a ‘taster day’ for their employees.
The idea was to get everyone involved and feel part of the process, by recognising why a new site was needed and stimulating ideas for content.
My three main aims were to get staff excited, enthused and engaged about their new intranet.
I invited staff to take part in four different activities from the ‘Journey’. I adapted each activity to be carried out in the form of a 15 minute game to make them fun and encourage as much interaction as possible. These consisted of:
- Build a page – Two teams were given a board each on which they were asked to create an intranet page layout using prewritten cards. Each team was then asked to present back why they had chosen their layout.
- Cart sort – Participants were asked to create a logical layout of content using post it notes. I encouraged everyone to keep moving.
- Black Hat – I described the attributes of a terrible intranet, and then asked for ideas and how they can be resolved. This resulted in a rapid exchanging of suggestions.
- Branding – To give everyone some visual stimulation, I showed them a number of intranet brands and asked them to highlight 3 good points and 3 bad points. I also asked them to think of intranet names.
Throughout the day photos were taken, which we used to create a storyboard for each activity and the key points that were covered.
I found that the event really empowered staff, giving them a good idea of what an intranet project would involve whilst generating some excitement about what was to come. In addition, it helped to identify individuals who contributed some interesting ideas, and could get involved in the next phase of planning.
