The heart of office information

By ADAM GIFFORD

The work environment is increasingly defined by the intranet, that mix of information and applications served up to the office desktop through a web browser.

Even organisations with rudimentary external websites may be developing rich and complex internal web-based environments.

Mike Ogle from systems integrator Simpl says intranets vary between workplaces and are constantly evolving as ideas are tested.

"Terms like intranet, extranet and portal get kicked around a bit. You may have a website for communicating with the world at large, an extranet to give partners and key clients access to the more specific information they may need, and the intranet, which can be human resource-focused," Ogle says.

"It is about communication to staff, ensuring conformance to process and making an organisation efficient from an internal perspective."

He says technologies such as Microsoft.Net make it easier to construct an intranet customised to the organisation and with a better user interface than some of their older applications.

The way organisations manage people and set their internal culture is also evolving.

Terabyte chief executive Rowan Schaaf says creating a centralised information repository cuts the time staff spend looking for what they need to do their job, whether that is HR reference material, operations manuals, brand guidelines or marketing images.

If it is designed and maintained properly, knowledge should reside in the intranet rather than in the heads of gatekeepers.

"Because employees have access to knowledge, a self-service environment is created," Schaaf says.

"It allows employees to collaborate across physical divides and in multiple time zones. It can also help to create a workplace community, especially in larger organisations, allowing employees to feel more connected to the goals and objectives of the company."

He says the messaging and language on intranets should be far more direct and to the point than on websites. Content should be ordered for ease of discovery rather than story-telling.

"There is a greater level of focus on functionality and a significant reduction in use of graphics and multi-media elements.

"It can be highly personalised, not only with information delivery but in providing resources for specific employees, such as collaborative project management tools, calendars and task lists."

Terabyte has drawn on the work of internet usability guru Jakob Nielsen to develop high-level guidelines for intranet development, including simple and consistent navigation across pages, a visible search bar on every page and clear labels and links.

In his latest annual review of intranet trends, Nielsen says the best intranet designs emphasise workflow support, self-service content management and offloading tasks from email to collaboration tools.

Creating and maintaining an intranet will require investment in a content management system, which has the benefit of shifting responsibility for maintaining the system from the IT team to content contributors.

Larger organisations may need some workflow management to control the publication process.

However, Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand creative director interactive Tom Eslinger says too many controls can stifle an intranet.

The advertising agency has an intranet linking its Auckland and Wellington offices which it calls the Heart.

"It has everything on it from meeting schedules to articles we have from around the world, little funky things, pictures from events which people can write captions for and fun tools so people can do funky stuff," Eslinger says. "It means everyone can publish, not just the creatives but the finance and admin people as well."

He said it includes a blog where staff can link to interesting websites or post sketches and ideas for wider discussion.

"It means you are able to go back later and look at an entire string of conversation, or put up work and articles and get discussion going."

By encouraging collective dialogue, ideas don't get lost in the email system.

The Heart offers a more informal environment than the extranet, which includes the client briefing and approval system so clients can be shown work off-site or browse archives and image banks for their account.

Eslinger says Saatchi's global intranet to allow teams from around the world to work on accounts and projects is an essential tool.

Jakob Nielsen