The Social Intranet: A guide to getting better business results

The Social Intranet:A guide to getting betterbusiness results

March 2016

Using ROI and Key Metrics to Track Your Success

1The Social Intranet: A guide to getting better business results

IntroductionNo company is safe from the Silo Syndrome. Coined by Phil S. Ensor, the SiloSyndrome describes an organization where information is stored like grain -heavily protected between departments, with very little exchange transmittedhorizontally between groups.1 Almost ironically, this struggle finds no better placeto flourish than inside the traditional company intranet, where employeessupposedly work together and share resources.

Most companies who use an intranet- perhaps even yours- believe they are silo-free. However, these intranet symptoms say otherwise:

• Your company’s communication flows vertically• Your employees rarely use their intranet• You have to search through piles of old documents to find the right one• Your employees’ idea of collaboration is a tangled mess of email threads• Ultimately, you have no idea what other departments are doing

These indicators can tell a terrifying overarching story: communication is stifledand productivity is cut down, consequently putting value creation at a standstill.

Modern intranets exist to destruct silos, boost productivity, and free up innovation.In other terms, these intranets are social. This white paper describes why the shiftfrom a traditional to a social intranet is imperative to staying competitive, andanalyzes the costs and benefits associated with implementing one. You will alsofind useful KPIs to measure performance and further leverage your intranet’ssuccess, raising employee engagement and boosting your competitiveadvantage.


What does a Traditional Intranet look like?Traditional intranets are designed to manage content and nothing else. It’s for thisreason that they’ve become a dump for information that employees occasionallyvisit to search for the data they need, rather than a necessary tool needed tocomplete their daily tasks. This causes intranet content to stagnate, andconsequently drift further away from the current state of affairs within thecompany.

What is a Traditional Intranet Costing You?Despite its comforting and familiar look, an older intranet might be incurring manyhidden costs behind the scenes. Below are some factors that can waste not onlyyour business’s budget, but its time and human resources as well.

Low ProductivityEmployees spend about 2.6 hours reading and answering emails per day.2 On topof this, an average of 16 minutes is spent refocusing on work after replying tothese messages.3 What does this mean in the long run? Approximately 96workdays are spent each year solely on managing emails. Financially, companiesare spending around $15,200 per employee each year to read, write, and refocusafter sending messages instead of concentrating on their actual job.

Searching for Data and ResourcesAccording to IDC, employees spend about 19% of their day searching for the rightinformation and files needed to finish their tasks.4 This wasted productivity cancost companies up to $10,700 per employee each year.

Time-wasting MeetingsWhen the only time staff can put their heads together and really collaborate arethrough meetings, it’s expected that things get done. However, management andemployees are spending 35% to 50% of their time in meetings, and unfortunately,things don’t always go according to plan.5

• 92% of attendees confess to multitasking during meetings5

• 39% of attendees even dozed off in meetings, according to WolfManagement Consulting

These inefficient meetings could be costing tens, if not hundreds, of thousands ofdollars in profits by creating poor communication and a misaligned workforce.The traditional intranet, unfortunately, does little to help because it lacks acommon area for brainstorming and collaboration.


All of these factors go to show how the traditional intranet can be a huge drain onyour energy and budget. However, expenses aren’t the only factors at play in thedebate surrounding the upgrade of your intranet. The changing demographics inthe workforce are another important aspect working behind the scenes to renderyour traditional intranet obsolete.

Today’s Workforce Has Outgrown the Traditional IntranetLike an old sweater, traditional intranets no longer fit the working population. Overthe last few years, North America has seen a surge in certain demographics in theworkplace - some of which have their own preferences and working styles. In theface of changing users, intranets must change as well - after all, they are a tooldesigned to serve people. With the following trends below in mind, businessowners need to transition their intranet strategy accordingly in order to maintainproductivity and collaboration, and ultimately, stay competitive.

Millennial WorkersMillennials are currently the largest portion of the workforce, representing 33% ofall workers in North America as of 2015.7 Despite what some people say aboutthem - lazy, narcissistic and high-maintenance, just to name a few - when giventhe correct tools and right environment, these tech-savvy youngsters have thepotential to be highly innovative and dedicated. However, there’s a catch - alongwith their technical inclinations and creativity, they also bring with them a freshset of values and expectations for the workplace. In contrast to their eldercounterparts, Millennials are not as easily enticed by pay but more concernedwith a company’s innovativeness and being engaged with the culture of the job.8

PEW Research Center. Millennials Surpass Gen Xers as the Largest Generation in U.S. Labor Force. May 2015.

Millenials Gen X


Remote WorkersThe number of remote employees rose 79% in the U.S. between 2005 and 2012and is still increasing.9 Although they enjoy many advantages, such as reducedtransportation costs and the ability to wear pajamas while working, 37% of remoteworkers in the North America also feel disengaged and separate from their fellowemployees.10 Traditional intranets lack a social component that allows employeesto communicate with each other in a friendlier way using tools such ascommunity discussion boards and live chats. This further isolates remoteworkers, making them feel even more disconnected from the company culture.

These changes are seismic - in many cases, a traditional intranet can no longercater to the working needs of these growing groups. Even worse, it can stifleemployees’ natural tendency to contribute their best work, which eventually leadsto lower engagement and a scattered, misaligned organization..

It’s time to start looking at a modern solution - the social intranet.

Gallup Inc. In the U.S., telecommuting to work has climbed up to 37%. August 2015.


So What is a Social Intranet?A social intranet is a tool directed by people, not content. It’s a common areawhere all employees can contribute knowledge, locate resources quickly in asecure environment, and network with experts within the company.

Why is “Social” Necessary?Today, “social” is associated with social media and the noisy chatter thataccompanies it. From a manager’s perspective, offering a simple communicationchannel, like email, is good enough since it has no room for idle chit-chat.

Unfortunately, offering basic tools for communication isn’t adequate - employeesneed an area to roll up their sleeves to work together and collaborate. Rather thanbeing a one-way messaging and publishing tool like the traditional intranet, socialintranets act as a communication hub where conversation and transfer ofknowledge can flow. So, what specifically makes a social intranet necessary intoday’s workplace? The following lists key benefits that make it integral foreveryday business:

Breaks Down Information BarriersA social intranet acts as a pivotal location for collaboration. Its biggest sellingpoint is that it acts as a central hub to share knowledge vertically and horizontally.Speed and productivity throughout the organization can be dramatically improvedwhen employees can access resources quickly through its document libraries,blogs, and knowledge bases.

Engages and Inspires Collective ThinkingUnlike the traditional top-down meeting, a social intranet opens up the floor for allkinds of voices and ideas. People can brainstorm together and give feedback bycommenting and liking on forums, creating a sense of community within theorganization.

Simplifies the User ExperienceDue to their social nature, many intranets offer an intuitive interface similar tosocial networking platforms. This ease of use gives visitors an added incentive tovisit the site even more.

Allows Agility and AccessibilityMany modern intranets can be accessed from mobile devices, tablets or laptopswithout compromising security. Since employees are no longer required to startup the old desktop artifact in the office, it encourages participation from remoteworkers and bring-your-own-device programs.


Strategizing Your TransitionIf shifting to a social intranet is a priority on your business’s agenda, thenestablishing your intranet strategy is a must. The following list will guide yourstrategic planning and ensure that your intranet isn’t an irrelevant add-on, but anecessary platform that aligns with and upholds your company’s purpose.

1) Define your company’s goals and priorities. Key factors can include:• Faster employee onboarding and higher productivity• Maintaining an innovative culture where ideas and knowledge are shared• Creating an active and engaged employee community• Storing information in a central location• Being identified for using modern technological tools and up-to-date

processes2) Grade your current intranet:

• Does it serve its purpose?• Can users find what they need quickly and accurately?• How well does it contribute to fulfilling company goals?

3) Identify the benefits of a social intranet and how it relates to company goals:• Which features will impact the company the most?• What specific benefits can be expected by implementing a social

intranet?• How can these features help carry out the company strategy to achieve

its goals?4) Outline costs and simple metrics to evaluate your new intranet:

• What costs can be expected?• How long will it take to get your intranet up and running?• What KPIs can be used to

track your intranet’sresults, scope usage,effectiveness, andcollaboration?

Although all of these steps arenecessary, the third is perhaps themost important. Finding a way foryour new intranet to fully mergeinto the current company strategywill help make it even more usefulto achieving its goals.


Defining the CostsAfter creating a strategy for your intranet, it’s time to start thinking about thecosts. There are on-premise solutions, which require you to have your ownhardware, and there are SaaS solutions, which are accessed through the Internetand hosted by a third-party vendor.

Depending on the solution type, pricing can vary greatly. On-premise productsusually require companies to pay a greater upfront fee, mainly due to installationon local servers, and will also require ongoing maintenance, support, and licensefees. Meanwhile, SaaS products do not require large installation costs and followa simple subscription-based pricing model, where companies only pay onebundled fee per month or per year. Although subscription pricing will generallyrequire additional fees for increasing storage or including other features, thisoffers companies the ability to scale their intranet up or down without breachingany contracts. In the long term, this pricing model ensures that companies areonly paying for services they actually need.

So, what expenses can be expected for SaaS intranet products that follow asubscription-based pricing model? The following is a list of some costs that couldbe incurred over the course of implementing and running the software:

• Software subscription costs (e.g. subscription fee per user, fees foradditional modules)

• Implementing the software (e.g. portal configuration, planning, andlaunching)

• Support services to maintain the intranet• Onboarding programs and training for employees and intranet managers• Overseeing the intranet (e.g. IT support team, content curators)


What is the ROI of a Social Intranet?Although finding a precise number may be difficult, businesses can measurecertain values that lead to a quantifiable ROI. There are two approaches tomeasuring the ROI of a social intranet: increased revenue and cost savings. Thefirst may seem familiar; it compares the net value with the investment to generatea dollar return.

Increased Revenue:Determining the impact on revenue is feasible if businesses link key benefits oftheir intranet to tangible metrics. By creating a correlation between features ofyour intranet with improvements to certain business functions, you can identifythe cause and effect on revenue. For example, some correlations between yourintranet and revenue might include:

Cost Savings and Costs Avoided:Cost reduction is the second metric that can help a business picture a socialintranet’s ROI. Savings can be assessed in many ways:

Employee Productivity• Improved communication and sharing of information• Faster access to resources and experts• Faster task completion• Better onboarding and training processes

Process Efficiency• Lower error rates• Faster decision-making• Reduction in complexity


Cost Savings and Costs Avoided (continued):

Software Tools• Reduced costs of a SaaS offering• Reducing the number of separate tools required• Less complex and costly system integration

Resources• Reduction of printing and photocopying content

Employee Satisfaction• Lower turnover rates• Higher employee retention

The ROI of a social intranet may seem hard to calculate at first. However, likemany other essential tools used in any organization, such as video conferencingor accounting software, there are inherent values that lie in improving efficienciesand productivity in the organization. In order to translate this inherent value fordecision makers, it’s important to determine the KPIs that can provide anaccountable, replicable method to measure the implicit benefits to your business.


KPIs to Measure SuccessIf you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Implementing a new intranet canproduce seemingly non-existent results if you don’t start benchmarking itsprogress right from the start. Using the following Key Performance Indicators(KPIs), continuously tailor your intranet for your business needs and improve itsperformance for your users.

Remember, numbers don’t always tell the whole story - it’s essential to pair theseKPIs with qualitative field data, which can include user interviews, observations,and brainstorming discussions. Incorporating both types of information will helpgauge common issues and identify opportunities for your intranet to improve.


Things to Look for Before Making the JumpThe intranet market can be confusing for both first-time and veteran buyers. Toensure that you are finding the right social intranet for your business needs, keepan eye out for the following features while browsing intranet products:

1) Provides Self-ServiceAn intranet should be able to centralize all company documents and records withthe following content management tools:

• Searchable Knowledge Base and Documents Library• Community Discussion Forums

With these tools, employees can independently access what they need wheneverthey need it. In addition to centralizing information, your digital workplace needsthe necessary self-service tools:

• User Directory• Reports and Dashboards creation• Ideas submitting and voting system• Blogging and Article creation• Calendar and Scheduling Tools

Employees will be able to find what and who they need as well as share contentwith others, no matter how large your organization is.

2) FlexibilityWith the increase of Millennial and remote workers, the right social intranet willallow you and your employees to easily arrange more flexible working. A mobile-friendly intranet allows your employees to access all the tools and resources theyneed anywhere, anytime. This allows the night owls and homebodies in yourcompany to comfortably work at the hour and place that suits them best.

3) Social CollaborationLast but definitely not least, your intranet should improve collaboration. Instead ofcomplicated interfaces and hidden functions, intranets should have familiarfeatures that promote communication, instead of hindering it. These featuresmight include:

• Social Profiles• User Groups and Teams• Newsfeeds with features such as: like, favorite, follow and comment• Micro-Blogging/Status Updates

These tools streamline the internal communication process for the entireorganization. Employees will spend less time emailing and looking for the rightpeople to email, and more time collaborating with each other.


Where Does Magentrix Come In?Magentrix empowers businesses to engage with their communities. Through ourhighly secure, mobile-optimized, and user-friendly Social Intranet, organizationscan boost collaboration and productivity.

Social CollaborationMake sure everyone is on the same page at all times. Free your team fromendless emails with an intuitive social platform that features newsfeeddiscussions, announcements, comments, @mentions, and personal profiles.

File Sharing and StorageShorten your employees' search time so that they can find resources more easilyand break down information silos. Centralize your data with file storage andsharing, document versioning, blogs, and more.

Communities and ForumsAllow for easier collective brainstorming and decision-making through ideaforums and community discussions. Boost the speed and ease of training andonboarding processes with an add-on Social eLearning feature.

Integrate Your SystemsEasily synchronize your Salesforce CRM or Microsoft Dynamics CRM bi-directionally with Magentrix to align and maintain a single data source of record.

Simple Pricing and Fast Implementation

Deploy your Social Intranet at an affordable price, and expect to launch it in days,not months.

Transitioning from a traditional to social intranet may seem like a huge project -and it can be. In a way, it’s not only about installing a new software - it alsoincludes changing the way how people work within the company. Fortunately, notall change is bad. With its wide range of sharing and networking capabilities, theswitch to a social intranet will be worth the effort in the long run for both youremployees and your business’s competitive advantage.

Learn more at magentrix.com and contact [email protected] or1-888-961-4736 if you have any questions.

www.magentrix.com

[email protected]

References

1 Association for Manufacturing Excellence. The Functional Silo Syndrome. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ame.org/sites/default/files/documents/88q1a3.pdf

2 McKinsey. The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/the-social-economy

3 Iqbal, S. & Horvitz, E. Disruption and Recovery of Computing Tasks: Field Study, Analysis, and Directions.Retrieved from http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/horvitz/chi_2007_iqbal_horvitz.pdf

4 IT Pro. Workers spend 61 per cent of their day lost in email and information. The Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/business-it/workers-spend-61-per-cent-of-their-day-lost-in-email-and-information-20120730-23957.html

5 Dockweiler, S. How Much Time Do We Spend in Meetings? (Hint: It's Scary). The Muse. Retrieved fromhttps://www.themuse.com/advice/how-much-time-do-we-spend-in-meetings-hint-its-scary

6 Johnson, D. How much do useless meetings cost?. CBS News. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-useless-meetings-cost/

7 Fry, R. Millennials surpass Gen Xers as the largest generation in U.S. labor force. Pew Research Center.Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/11/millennials-surpass-gen-xers-as-the-largest-generation-in-u-s-labor-force/

8 PWC. PwC’s NextGen: A global generational study. Retrieved from http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/hr-management-services/publications/assets/pwc-nextgen.pdf

9 Tugend, A. It’s Unclearly Defined, but Telecommuting Is Fast on the Rise. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/your-money/when-working-in-your-pajamas-is-more-productive.html?_r=0

10 Markette, S. Real Statistics on Remote Worker Collaboration [Infographic]. Retrieved fromhttp://web.esna.com/blog/remote-worker-collaboration-infographic-2014

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The Social Intranet: A guide to getting better business results