The intranet is a powerful way of helping staff to get things done more effectively.

Getting the fundamentals of good communication right is a prerequisite for collaboration initiatives.

In most cases, the intranet team should own search, and the responsibility should not be left within IT.

Governance is about having a framework in place that enables the decision-making and planning processes for the intranet.

Staff directories are only useful when they contain all staff, even those without a PC or payroll number.

While basic metadata is routinely captured by most publishing tools, there is still widespread confusion about its uses and limits.

While collaboration tools are spreading rapidly, what has often been overlooked is the frequent need to include external collaborators.

There are three main ways of keeping a staff directory up to date: centralised updates, self-service updating and via integration.

Giving the intranet a name helps to build its identity, and may even give it a personality within the organisation.

Establishing team spaces for projects can be one of the most productive uses of collaboration tools, but they must be closed when the projects end.