Knowledge Management

Extending the intranet beyond the office at British Airways and Boots

In the forthcoming issue of KM Review, Sam Marshall, director of intranet and KM consultancy ClearBox, explores the options for reaching those employees who don’t have regular access to computers, or who don’t regularly use a computer at all.

"Intranets have great appeal for organizations looking for a low-cost communication channel, and they can also deliver compelling cost-savings if they include employee self-service functions such as booking holidays or requesting benefits,” says Marshall.

 

“The big drawback is that they traditionally require access to a PC to do this – fine for office workers, but most companies also have people on production lines, driving vehicles or out meeting customers. The intranet can then start to appear divisive, and the cost benefits of self-service never get realised because the offline approach still needs to be in place,” he adds.

So, how would intranet kiosks or remote access work in your company?

If you want to take your intranet out of the office, here’s some advice Marshall gathered from practitioners:

• Listen constantly and be responsive to feedback: British Airways did lots of road shows to launch their employee self-service program, and they follow up with a satisfaction survey quarterly.


• What you offer should benefit the employee as well as the company: This could mean making payslips available several days earlier, for example, or offering more flexible benefits packages that can be quickly self-administered.


• Address security concerns for internet access by building up slowly: Start with simple, low risk content and then expand as confidence in the system increases.


• If using kiosks, ensure nobody has to go too far to use one: Address any concerns of time wasting and keep the screen out of public view to address privacy concerns. If employees are expected to print sensitive information such as a payslip, then the printer should be part of the kiosk so that they can retrieve the printout immediately.


• You need strong sponsorship: In BA's case it came from the chief executive who was vocal in telling employees that he used the system and believed in it.


• Be prepared to handle even more stakeholders than usual: At retail pharmaceutical chain Boots there were multiple data sources and multiple delivery devices (PCs, handhelds, tills), each with a different stakeholder. To ensure everyone was consulted, they formed both an operational working party and a director-level steering committee to resolve issues.
  
  

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