Intranet governance begets intranet success

As is the
case with most websites or intranets it is simply impossible to achieve any
long-lasting success without a clearly defined ownership and management
structure. Intranet governance provides clarity and rules: namely the titles,
roles and responsibilities of its owners, managers, stakeholders and
contributors. However, at the heart of a successful model, is a powerful
executive with purse strings, supported by a solid intranet team.

 

Here are
some of the most frequently asked questions regarding governance and a
successful intranet, culled from the Q&A of my webinar on Intranet
Governance (the highest attended webinar to date) last month:

 

Q- How do you define what a great intranet is?

 

A – A great intranet:

 

• operates from a thorough, well defined plan;
• is managed by a rigorous governance model supported by a powerful
  senior executive and a solid management team;
• has a reasonable budget for both technical and content development;
• features solid, purposeful content and tools that actively support
  the day-to-day work of employees; and
• delivers a solid return on investment in the form of cost savings /
  cost avoidance and increased sales.

 

Down the
complete Good
to Great Intranet Matrix (a guide for evolving your intranet from good to
great).

 

Q – What is the governance model that fits companies
who have made the move to social media on their intranet?

 

A – Governance depends on the culture, company and the
management and stakeholders involved. Social media MUST have governance though it
should fall under the central intranet governance unless the social media tools
are purely separate and owned separately from the intranet / portal home.

 

A successful social media governance model requires:

 

• A defined owner with clout
• Defined roles & responsibilities for all
• Policies (rules) for contributing content
• Terms of use

 

Q – Can you talk to setting up a steering committee in
more detail, especially when all stakeholders feel that it is their intranet?

 

A – Follow a proper intranet
assessment to ensure that all key intranet stakeholders (managers and
executives with a full, partial or perceived ownership stake in the intranet or
its major sections and tools) have a formal opportunity to provide input and to
itemize their key requirements. From assessment you move into intranet
planning that actively engages these key stakeholders and culminates in the
development of one of four key intranet governance models that all (or at least
most) agree to adopt for their own.

 

They key is building consensus. If the stakeholder
environment is particularly fractured and not given to teamwork, or have
competing priorities, then a third-party, non-partisan can help facilitate the
process and break down the political barriers.

 

Also read:

Intranet
strategy: planning a successful intranet

Intranet
Assessment

 

Q – Is there a template for comprehensive Governance
Planning?

 

A – We do not have a free template because that is
actually a service that we provide, and each organization is different and unique
and requires their own governance model. While there are four distinct types of
governance models (see Intranet
Governance: Ownership, Management & Policy) we (Prescient Digital Media) has never created the exact same
governance model twice. If you do not have experience with intranet governance
models then you may benefit from hiring an outside intranet
consultant to assist with the process.

 

Also
read:

How
to hire an intranet consultant

 

Q – I feel that I own the intranet because I started
it by myself 3 years ago, but I’m not sure how to set up a real steering
committee.

 

A – If people don’t feel that you own it then you will
be challenged or replaced as the owner – you need to get an executive champion (someone
in senior management, preferably the C-suite). If you are being challenged for
the ownership of the intranet, then you most definitely need to hire an
external intranet
consultant or expert to help you navigate these politics.

 

Q – How are policies and standards enforced? How do
you make people respond to a new initiative?

 

A – Use a combination of the carrot and the stick:
reward participants, and punish the non-conformists. If the intranet is a good
one, with centralized technology and content management then the intranet
should sell itself (and would undoubtedly be less expensive for other groups to
use as their platform then maintaining and operating their own). However, if
they move to the central system, they have to sign-off on the governance (which
is also baked into the CMS or portal). For those that won’t cooperate, then
don’t link to their site, ensure the search engine doesn’t index them, and
don’t let them use the root intranet URL (this effectively banishes them to a
corner of the corporate universe that isn’t easily found without the exact
URL).

 

About the
author: Toby Ward is an intranet consultant (Internet consultant too) and the
founder of Prescient Digital Media.
He has worked with and improved many, many company intranets including Amgen,
HSBC, Mastercard, Manulife, PepsiCo, Royal Bank, etc. Toby and his company are
consultants for hire and can build your intranet or improve an existing
intranet You may contact
this intranet consultant directly via the Prescient Digital Media website
or email him at: toby{at}prescientdigital{dot}com.

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