Summary: SharePoint intranet and internal communication redesign project. Rebuilt to better employee communication and strengthen the company brand.
As part of the Edifecs rebrand in 2013, most internal and external systems received updates. Part 1 of this endeavor was to enhance many internal systems, such as the company's SharePoint Intranet. The company felt that with the fact the company was rapidly growing, overall enhancements internally were needed to help employees and solidify the brand.
Problem
The company was entering its 16th year, a lot of company growth was occurring. The market was changing rapidly due to national healthcare changes, and with many successes a lot of new employees were being hired. Going from some 200-ish to more than 500 worldwide in 2016.
Many internal systems were not designed or provided well for the new volume of employees and projects. An overhaul of Edifecs' intranet and communications were needed.
Solutions and Goals
The internal solutions project is split into two areas, restructuring and design the SharePoint, and standardizing internal communications and branding. Especially providing a means to segment different locations, so that each office would not feel left out from headquarters.
Doing so would alleviate a lot of the stress and issues new employees and new teams would face. With less time being spent navigating administrative issues, more overall productivity could be had.
Internally, there is a strong push for company communication as well. This played a major role into internal design efforts.
Deliverables:
- Redesign Intranet
- Restructure Intranet
- Email communication templates
SharePoint Redesign
Homepage
Over the course of several quarters, the main landing page was redesigned and rebuilt. The focus for the homepage was derived after surveys and focus groups were preformed. The content focused on 3 parts:
- Latest news
- Utlity items
- Calendar Events
Research and Design
Several surveys were conducted within the company, asking employees likehart scale questions on different aspects of the company's SharePoint.
Focus groups were conducted as well. A group rating exercise along with a card sorting exercise was performed. The results coupled with the survey were very promising.
Some results:
- Tools - 20 points
- UI - 20 points
- Social - 16 points
- Company Info - 9 Points
Redesign
Several redesigns were worked through to accommodate the findings. The general designs and layout were refined and eventually approved by company leadership. Development started soon afterwards.
Key homepage features:
- Company announcement news banner
- A company news feed
- Event Calendars
- Quick links
- Office specific links
From Mockup to Production
SharePoint Redesign
Department Pages
After rolling out the new homepage, each department site collection would receive redesigns for top level pages. Keeping each site collection at a high level consistent would allow any user to more easily navigate around. Before the redesign, each department site collection had its own design, layout, and information architecture. Company-wise, there was a general mandate/push that the information on site collections landing pages to be high level, so colleagues in other departments can more easily find information.
The deeper the content pages, the less the page had to adhere to a strict design, as it became more likely it was just team specific at certain levels.
In the end, it was decided that department site collection homepages should relect a similar style to that of the main homepage.
Key Features:
- News Banner
- Tiles of major links to subpages
- Sidebar of links to resources
Intenral Communication
Email Templates
Company wide emails are sent on a regular basis. Event announcements, customer wins, internal classes, etc... For a long time in the company's history, not standard email template was enforced. The lack of cohesion meant the information being delivered and written to employees was very inconsistent. By creating unified email templates for internal use, the company could accomplish a few important goals. Spread the new brand. Provide consistent and digestible information to employees. Each department and email template also gets its own micro-branding to help set each other apart.
Blogs
To tie the internal redesign efforts together, each department got it's own dedicated blog. The blogging system is tied directly to the email templates, so departments can create both items at once. Blog entries are saved to a SharePoint list, and that list is surfaced on the newly designed homepage. This doubles as an email archiving system as well.