Melcrum's new report uncovers the flaws in today's corporate intranets and provides a roadmap for future success
A key finding of Melcrum’s new report, Transforming your intranet, indicates that the majority of corporate intranets fail to meet employees’ expectations and needs.
Of the 1,256 professional communicators worldwide, questioned about how their organization is using its intranet, their current intranet development priorities and budgets available to them for 2009, one-third (35%) said that the company platform hasn’t lived up to expectations.
Melcrum’s research demonstrates that, despite regular across-the-board visits by staff to corporate intranets, in many cases intranets had become, “a cluttered dumping ground for out-of-date materials,” says Victoria Mellor, Melcrum’s CEO.
Key findings from Melcrum’s global intranet and social media survey
- 34% of those surveyed described their current intranets as “basic”.
- 53% stated that hosting formal documents and company information was deemed the “defining use” of the corporate intranet.
- 60% of respondents agreed employees now expect more social and collaborative tools in the workplace.
- 51% of respondents indicated that although their intranet was rich with material, the majority of staff couldn’t find what they wanted or needed.
- 57% of all organizations surveyed have budgeted US$50,000 or less for intranet development over the next 12 months.
High social media expectations aren't being met
Whether a large- or small-scale organization, respondents viewed the corporate intranet as worthy of continued development and funding, with more than one-third (37%) indicating it remained “the backbone” of their organizations’ formal communication strategy and deployment.
But when self-grading, only 9% of respondents categorized his or her intranet as an “advanced” social platform (i.e., merging corporate information with features, such as collaborative spaces and staff personalities).
The research also revealed a disconnect: 60% of communicators indicated their key audiences now expect more social and collaborative tools in the workplace, yet despite that clear indicator, 42% failed to rank “social media” applications as a priority.
Solution: add social-media elements to corporate intranets
Alex Manchester, Senior Consultant at Step Two Designs and author of the “Technology” chapter of the report, comments that, “Although the age-old problems of poor content, lack of activity, ineffective systems and no budget or resources remain, it’s hard to ignore the social computing phenomenon outside the workplace."
Manchester continues, “With employees now craving an understanding of what’s going on in their organization and how it’s responding to a changing economy, the challenge is to provide the right content and services – then deliver them in a user-friendly way that sits comfortably with the organization’s culture and IT strategy.”
Data- and detail-rich, Melcrum’s Transforming your intranet assists in figuring out the right material for corporate intranets, including delivering content in a user-friendly fashion.
Research report extract - free download
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About Transforming your intranet and Melcrum Publishing Ltd.
Melcrum’s new edition of Transforming your intranet highlights the current intranet developments in strategy, technology and measurement. Released in November 2008, the report joins the Melcrum family of research publications focusing on communication trends and evolving practices, specifically targeted to corporate communicators.
Transforming your intranet assists internal communicators seeking to evolve their intranet from a dumping ground for company information into a time-saving, first-port-of-call communication hub – the kind of A+ grade corporate intranet current members and other practitioners are proud to champion.
The report combines the findings from Melcrum’s August 2008 survey of 1,256 professional communicators worldwide (primarily mid- to senior-level employees in corporate communications or HR departments) on global intranets and social media, with case-study examples and subject-expert advice on planning, managing and improving the overall performance of a company’s intranet. Included are the fundamentals of developing a comprehensive strategy and highlighted options to improve internal communications and collaboration, in particular via social media channels and new technologies.
Melcrum Publishing Ltd is a research and training enterprise with offices in London, Chicago, Cape Town and Sydney. Founded in 1996 by CEO Victoria Mellor and Managing Director Robin Crumby, the business has clients in more than 90 countries. Through its global networks, Melcrum connects more than 25,000 professional communicators, particularly in sharing what works.
For more information on Transforming your intranet, contact:
Melcrum Publishing Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)20 8600 4670
Email: research@melcrum.com
