A third of the scoring is based on the impact of your work, such as what it does for the organisation, or how it changes the way the workforce operates.
Here are some suggestions to help you demonstrate the benefits of your project:
| Approach | Description |
|---|---|
| Dollars made or saved | This is the strongest possible benefit to be delivered by a solution, and the one that really gets senior management excited. These benefits may flow directly from the project, or be claimed more indirectly. For example: US insurance company Liberty Mutual used a digital assistant to automate IT helpdesk processes relating to mobile devices, resulting in $USD 222,000 annualised cost savings. |
| Solving a business problem | Describing the business problem solved by the solution is a very effective way of demonstrating benefits. Specific examples of issues or problems help to provide context, and give depth to the awards entry. For example: Australian powerlines company TransGrid created a mobile app for staff out in the field to check the status of dangerous mobile plant machinery and whether staff were qualified to operate them, both saving time but also ensuring safety standards and compliance with safety regulations. The need to improve safety standards, reduce inefficiency and empower frontline staff were all highlighted in the submission. |
| Strategic benefits | How has the intranet or digital workplace helped the organisation to achieve it’s strategic goals? This may relate to business outcomes, staff engagement or cultural objectives. For example: Danish engineering company Ramboll developed a truly global digital workplace as part of a strategic “one company” initiative. The single digital environment has helped strengthen a one company culture, and also driven collaboration across global locations. |
| Stakeholder and staff quotes | What staff and stakeholders think about the solution is important. Direct quotes convey the benefits of the project in concrete terms, showing how working practices have changed for the better. For example: IBM redesigned its market research and report portal called Bluemine and included a number of direct quotes from staff in their submission: ““Nothing prepared me for the excitement and pride I felt when I accessed the new Bluemine this morning. WOW! This is a dramatic change from what it used to be, and a much-needed transformation.”” |
| Before-and-after | It can be compelling to show the old intranet or digital workplace with all its problems, and to compare it with the new solution. This is particularly relevant for entries in the “intranet essentials” category. |
| Usability benefits | Results of usability testing (or other task-based testing) can be compelling. If only 40% of staff could successfully complete tasks before the project, and 80% after, that’s a great result. (Usability tests are most powerful when they show before-and-after figures.) |
| Time savings | The purpose of intranets and digital workplaces is to help workers do their jobs. Time savings are therefore an important benefit from many intranet projects. The most powerful results show how real-world tasks can be done more quickly (such as key business processes). It’s also useful to show how time taken to complete intranet tasks (such as finding things) is reduced. For example: Russian technology and media company Rambler Group used the intranet to drive task automation and improve findability to save approximately 20,000 hours per year. |
| Adoption and usage | Has your new solution been a big hit? Is it used by a lot of staff? When an intranet-based solution gets rapid and widespread adoption, the judges for the awards want to know! For example: When Cox Communications launched a new intranet it resulted in a 160% increase in adoption over the previous iteration. Vodafone Ukraine’s social intranet has 88% of users considered active each month. |
Don’t be overwhelmed by these options! Not every entry needs to show it’s “changed the world”, and even modest benefits are worth showing off. If you’re not sure how to show the benefit of your project, get in touch and we’ll provide some tips and feedback.