Intranet Blog

November saw Odyssey’s ‘Interact Intranet customer awards’, many companies were nominated for their Intranets to be entered for the awards, we saw a large amount of organizations had excelled in the branding, implantation and management of their Intranets. Various companies received awards recognising hard work and outstanding enthusiasm towards internal communication and collaboration. The ‘Overall best Intranet’ award was won by the North East Derbyshire District Council (NEDDC).

The NEDDC is a true success story; In 2004 the NEDDC was rated poor by the Audit Commission with Internal Communications highlighted as a key weakness. Following this was a remarkable turnaround which resulted last year in NEDDC being the first council to move from ‘weak’ to ‘excellent’.

Fran Walton, e-information officer - receiving award for best overall Intranet

The NEDCC recognised that the key to a successful council is the collaboration of all staff within the organisation. Interact Intranet helped NEDDC achieve its key driver of improving its internal communications by designing and implementing the North East Derbyshire Intranet (NEDI). Generating over 90,000 hits per month from 500 users NEDI has improved communication and has resulted in 80% of staff using NEDI even though 40% are based away from a PC. For instance, refuse collectors access the intranet via shared computer stations, this keeps more employees involved in the decisions of the company who otherwise would not be kept informed.

During this period of financial hardship NEDI has been proven vital in communicating change within the council. Updates on bulletins and blogs have kept staff constantly updated reducing anxiety and worry that can be caused by rumour. The communications team at the NEDDC has been managing the news and ‘call to action’ on NEDI which are updated daily, therefore keeping the information on the intranet up-to-date and accurate. 

The NEDDC have redirected common procedures through their Intranet, such as booking resources and ordering equipment. This has saved them time and money, as well as making services more efficient by using interactive document comments and the discussion forums.

Employees across the organisation are praising NEDI and its benefits. By having an effective, well maintained and feature rich intranet the organisation has been able to make large financial savings as well as keeping enthusiasm and staff morale high.

This remarkable change has lead the NEDDC to receive the award for ‘overall best intranet’, because of its collaboration of staff and the hard work of all involved to make sure that NEDI was implemented and is being maintained to an outstanding level.

Read a full case study about NEDDC's intranet >>

Posted by Linda Bolg, Marketing Manager, Interact Intranet Software

By Linda Bolg, Odyssey Interactive Ltd

In November 2009 we announced the winners of the 'Interact Intranet Customer Awards'. One of the many categories was ‘Best Intranet Branding’, which was won by ADT EMEA.  ADT, part of Tyco International, is a world leading provider of security and fire protection solutions in over 50 countries worldwide where their products and services are used to prevent fires, deter thieves and protect people, property and profit. So why did they win the Best Intranet Branding award?

Well, last year, ADT EMEA launched a new intranet site to all of their fire and security employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.  This was the first time that they had been able to introduce a shared intranet platform, and they decided to run a competition ahead of the official launch to give this new intranet a name. 

By running a competition, it meant that hundreds of employees were able to play their part in shaping the new intranet.  Apart from getting employees involved and engaged in its development, it also gave them the opportunity to advertise the launch and get people excited about the new intranet. Altogether, they received more than 750 entries! The competition generated a massive response and the clear winner for them was ‘The Safety Net’.

This name not only relates to the intranet itself, but it also sums up what is at the very heart of their fire and security businesses – safeguarding people, property and the environment. As soon as the name was decided, they stopped referring to the intranet in all of their communications, for launch and beyond, and simply referred to the Safety Net.   With the help of Interact Intranet’s design team, ADT created a unique intranet design which then reinforced the Safety Net brand. A year later, and employees across all regions now talk about the Safety Net rather than the intranet.  Not only that, but they were able to use some of the other entries to name the different sections on the intranet. For example, Tycopedia was an entry from one of their employees in Italy and they used it to name the section where they keep information relating to their parent company, Tyco.

Having this name in place has really helped ADT EMEA to differentiate the Safety Net from other ADT sites and has created a greater understanding of exactly what the Safety Net is for. ADT EMEA is a great example of how to successfully brand an intranet.

Read a full case study about ADT's intranet >>