When an intranet isn’t working effectively, many organisations attempt to tackle the problem with a full-scale redesign of the site or the implementation of a content management system. But these major projects can create as many issues as they resolve:

• they are time-consuming to specify and implement
• they often involve the acquisition of new technology
• there is no guarantee they will address the real issues
• major IT projects don’t have a good track record of being successful

Rather than embarking on a major project at the first sign of trouble, consider tactical solutions such as the redesign of the home page.

Most home pages don’t work

The main purpose of an intranet home page is:

• to provide staff with a starting point from which they can intuitively and confidently step towards the content they require
• to present a clear and consistent intranet brand that is discrete from, yet in keeping with, the parent brand of the organisation
• to provide staff with a daily snapshot of the most important news and updates
• to provide staff with a quick way of getting to the most visited/useful content

Many intranets fail because the home page ignores these objectives or over-emphasises one at the expense of the others.

[CM Briefing 2006-07 written by Iain Barker, read the full article]