Background

yoko:10 was engaged to help improve communication channels and companywide information sharing for a busy, growing organisation. The engagement covered the design and development of SharePoint Online intranet and the planning, launch and adoption of Yammer communities.

Requirements

yoko:10’s client was experiencing a period of rapid growth. Recruiting a large number of new employees over a short space of time meant it was essential that new staff got up to speed quickly with the organisation’s brand and purpose. Delivering internal communications and content, in an engaging way, was crucial in achieving this.

The organisation needed to help people work together, understand company values and share important company information as efficiently as possible. The intranet and Yammer were key to accomplishing this goal, whilst also forming part of the clients’ long-term communications strategy.

Why yoko:10?

Alex Eggar of yoko:10 comments: “Our client really appreciated our consultative, jargon free approach. We listened carefully to the staff who would be using the intranet and Yammer, and put them at the centre of the planning and design”.

With varying levels of digital skill in the organisation, and varying opinions on the value of an intranet and enterprise social tools, staff engagement had to be carefully managed.

Project Overview

Intranet

The clients’ internal teams had already gathered initial thoughts and ideas around intranet functionality. yoko:10 was able to review and refine these ideas, and use them as a starting point for intranet requirements.

To establish staff members’ needs and preferences around intranet functionality, yoko:10 started by completing a staff survey. This not only identified potential requirements, it also ensured all employees had a say, and felt engaged with the project from the outset.

With requirements captured, yoko:10 worked with the clients’ project team to review, prioritise, and agreed the final scope and specification for the intranet build.

While the client set about creating intranet content, yoko:10 used their extensive experience to design and build an intranet structure and navigation that made information as discoverable and accessible as possible. yoko:10 then leveraged all available SharePoint capabilities to deliver the agreed functionality, presentation, and user experience.

By listening to employees and their needs, yoko:10 was able to design, built and refine the intranet in a way that made sense to the clients’ internal teams.

Yammer

yoko:10 started by demonstrating the different communication tools available in Microsoft 365, advising on the use cases and benefits of each. Yammer proved to be a promising alternative to group emails and group chat. The organisation could also see that Yammer supported their ethos of collaboration, and the sharing of information and experiences.

Aware of the potential resistance to such a different way of working, yoko:10 reassured reluctant staff, showing them how they could configure the platform in the way that worked best for them.

Outcome and Benefits

Explaining what the client most appreciates about their intranet implementation Alex says: “It’s a bit of a cliché, but the intranet really has become a central portal and single version of the truth.”

Essential staff information, including policies, team structures, staff events, news, and photos, are now presented in an engaging, dynamic and digestible format, giving people quick and easy access to information. This is essential for any busy, growing organisation.

Yammer became a very active platform for the client, with people who wouldn’t normally use social media outside work, using Yammer to communicate with colleagues.

Within a short period, the client had over twenty active Yammer communities, supporting team building and information sharing across the growing organisation. Yammer is also being used as a key broadcast tool for getting messages out to everyone in the business.

yoko:10 says

“It’s been great to see how the intranet and Yammer have supported the client in their rapid growth. All achieved by making the most of an existing investment in Microsoft 365!”

“Seeing the uptake in Yammer, and how the organisation has adopted the platform as their own, has been a real highlight.”