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Step One: Determine Your Company Intranet Structure
What?
Decide how to structure the information your company will have on the Intranet. Your Intranet will consist of Sections and Applications containing your company’s important data. Serious consideration needs to be given to how these Sections and Applications will be organized, as well as what applications should be added to these Sections to receive the greatest benefits from your Intranet structure.
How?
There are various ways you can go about structuring the information on the Intranet. Depending on how your company’s internal structure works, and on its specific needs, you may choose to organize information by any one of the following criteria: Company Departments, Office Locations, Projects, Groups, or more.
If you need the Intranet as an overall company-wide Information Management System, then you may find that organizing information in Sections according to company departments such as Marketing or Sales may work best. If your company intends on using the Intranet for ongoing projects, it would be advantageous to create Sections dedicated to specific projects. In most cases, using a combination approach to the creation of Sections is best. The most important factor in completing this step properly is dedicating sufficient thought and planning to ensure that it is done correctly.
Who?
These high-level decisions should be made by the CEO and/or a Management Committee.
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Step Two: Determine the Ownership of Sections and Applications
What?
Once you have determined how your company needs to structure the information on the Intranet, next you must delegate the duty of managing and maintaining each Section and Application.
How?
Use the information you compiled from step #1—Determine Your Company Intranet Structure—to decide, according to that structure, which persons in your company are best to manage Intranet Sections and Applications.
Who?
This will depend on how you have chosen to structure the information on the Intranet. For example, if your company has decided to create Intranet Sections based on the departments in your organization, then it would be advantageous for company department heads to manage this task in cooperation with the CEO/Management team and the System Administrator(s).
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Step Three: Add Users/Create Groups/Assign Rights
What?
Now that you've determined the structure of the Intranet and delegated the management of Intranet Sections and Applications, you must create User accounts for all persons requiring access to the system, create Groups, assign these Users to the groups, and then assign a set of access rights to each User or Group within each Section and Application.
How ?
The System Tools area of the Intranet is extremely intuitive, and in this area you will be able to complete all tasks related to adding Users and creating Groups. To assign User and Group Access Rights, you must access the Lock located next to the desired Section or Application within the Content Browser.
When creating Groups of Users, there are no limitations to their organization, but you may want to base the creation of your groups in accordance with your Intranet setup, so for example, create a Marketing Group and add all the Users within that department to that group. You will find this organization pattern easier when assigning access rights, and sending mail to these Groups of Users.
If you need guidance, simply click on the Help link in your Intranet to access the Intra.Net™ Help Guide. From here you will find valuable information on adding individual Users, Groups of Users, Assigning Access Rights, and more.
Who?
System Administrators should work in tandem with Users who have Administrative rights to be certain that all Users are assigned the appropriate rights.
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Step Four: Determine the Information to be Uploaded to the Intranet
What?
Now that you've determined the structure of the Intranet, delegated management of Intranet Sections and Applications, and added Users, you must determine what information these Sections and Applications will contain.
How?
The task of doing inventory on company information should be completed according to the Sections and Applications that you created for the system. For example, if you created a Section called “Marketing” based on a company department, then the individual managing that Section will assume responsibility of gathering all of that Section’s required information for upload to the Intranet. Members of the Marketing Section will work as a team under the Section Administrator (manager) to complete the task. When all Sections have gathered all required information, it is advisable that a Management Committee verifies all content to ensure against omissions, etc.
Who?
This is best executed as a company-wide initiative with all levels of employees contributing towards a team effort. Company department heads should drive the effort in departmental “teams” and collaborate with a Management Committee regarding their progress.
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Step Five: Populate the Intranet with Content
What?
Having determined the structure of the Intranet, located all the information that needs to be posted to the system, and having given all Users access privileges, the next step is to fill the Intranet with all important company information.
How?
By using the information determined in Step Four—Determine the Information to be Uploaded to the Intranet—your company will easily plug in the appropriate data collected for each Intranet Section and Application. Ensure that all uploaded files have keywords assigned to them to make it easy to search for, and retrieve them.
Who?
This should be a company-wide endeavor guided heavily by the System Administrator overall, and by company department heads on the ground level.
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Step Six: Train Intranet Users
What?
To ensure that the Intranet’s power is taken advantage of, and that it becomes a part of daily life at your company, it is important to train new Users to the system on using the Intranet, and also in the parameters of their use of the system.
How?
To be effective, this task should be done in small groups starting at the top of the pyramid, and trickling down to all Users. System Administrators can train all high-level users (Section and Application Administrators) and those individuals can then train the regular Users in their Sections and Applications. Introduce Users to powerful features like Syncing, Bulletin Boards, and more
Who?
A company-wide initiative.
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Step Seven: Have Users Sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement
What?
Your company Intranet is an important Information Management System that holds a lot of sensitive company information, plans, and possibly client information and more. Instill seriousness in the use of this important tool by having Users sign a non-disclosure agreement upon completion of their Intranet training.
How?
Your company may choose to use the sample agreement provided below (See attachment ‘A’), or alter it to suit your specific needs. Vialect Technologies Inc has provided this sample to help you to authenticate the seriousness of the implementation of the Intranet, and also to verify the intended parameters of use for all types of Users.
Who
This task should be administered by the head of your IT department, or an individual in a similar position in accordance with the CEO/Management Committee, and in tandem with the System Administrator.
Note: Vialect Inc makes no representations with respect to the legality and/or enforceability of the sample agreement contained in attachment 'A'. This attachment is for instructional purposes only and you are advised to seek legal counsel to obtain a non-disclosure agreement, which would be enforceable in your jurisdiction
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Step Eight: Launch Event
What?
Introduce the Intranet to your company and guarantee its use by formally launching the system.
How?
The preparations that you have been making in order to launch and properly take advantage of the Intranet in your company has no doubt got the attention of employees company-wide. Now that you are ready to formally introduce the Intranet as the company’s central Information Management System, you want the launch to be a landmark event in order to mark the importance of this tool and ensure a place for it in the daily lives of all employees and for the business of the company as a whole.
A good idea is to send out an Email to all Users of the system giving them ample notice of the day their Information Management System will be available for use. Other good points to make note of in this Email message are the expectations regarding frequency of its use, a re-iteration of User conduct, and a highlight of the Intranet features most relevant to your company’s work and goals.
Who?
A launch event marking the use of an important new technology should come directly from the CEO of your company.
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Step Nine: Make the Intranet Sticky
What?
Even more important than getting started and launching the Intranet is keeping content fresh, and getting people to go back and use the Intranet on a regular basis. Your company should be offering incentives for Users to be working on the Intranet to ensure that the system makes a seamless entrance into your company’s regular day-to-day business.
How?
Your company must devise ongoing internal promotional materials to encourage the use of the Intranet. It is necessary to do this because with the introduction of any new technology, there is a certain period of adjustment to be expected in order for Users to become well accustomed to the use of the new tool.
Depending on your company, you may find that holding contests or games on the Intranet that involve the frequency of people’s Intranet use, work well in keeping the excitement and momentum up in using the Intranet.
Who?
These high-level decisions will likely need to come from the CEO or a Management Committee, but the System Administrator as well as department heads will need to play an important role in the execution of these ongoing initiatives.
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Attachment 'A'
Sample of Non-Disclosure Agreement as mentioned in Step Seven:
Note: Vialect Technologies Inc makes no representations with respect to the legality and/or enforceability of the sample agreement contained in attachment 'A'. This attachment is for instructional purposes only and you are advised to seek legal counsel to obtain a non-disclosure agreement, which would be enforceable in your jurisdiction.
Date
Dear xxx
We have the pleasure in offering you employment as a YYY under the following terms and conditions. We would like to outline the working relationship between you and XYZ Company Ltd.
1. You will be employed as a YYY on a project-by-project basis.
2. CONFIDENTIALITY
2.1 The YYY shall not, at any time, use or disclose to any person, firm or company, any trade secrets or confidential information of XYZ Company Ltd.
2.2 All originals or copies of drawings, specifications, data or other documents containing trade secrets or confidential information which are made by or come into the possession of the YYY during this agreement belong to the company absolutely, and must be given back to the company, at the end of this agreement.
3. RESTRICTIONS
3.1 The YYY shall not during this agreement for a period of one year from the date on which this agreementis terminated, do or permit any of the following without prior written consent of the company:
(a) Work for direct competitors to XYZ Company Ltd.
(b) Attempt to sell to XYZ Company Ltd. customers
(c) Attempt to hire any XYZ Company Ltd employees
4. INVENTIONS
4.1 If the YYY shall discover any invention, design, process, program, adaptation or improvement, whichrelates to the work being done for XYZ Company Ltd, the YYY shall inform his manager.
I agree to the terms above,
Signed: _____________________ Signed: _________________________
YYY: On behalf of XYZ Company Ltd.
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