The success of an Embrace intranet depends on how well the environment is managed after the project phase. Therefore, devising and securing how the intranet will be managed after going live is very important.
The Management Working Group is responsible for setting up and maintaining a management organisation. A management organisation consists of various roles with associated responsibilities.
Parts of this article also appear in the management plan to be drawn up.
➡️ Management Organisation
During the project, establish a management organisation for after going live. Who has which role regarding the platform and what responsibilities and tasks belong to these?
Think about keeping the information on the intranet up to date, "keeping the platform clean", but also for example keeping the software updates current.
The management organisation remains a committee within the organisation and is jointly responsible for the intranet. They meet regularly to discuss the progress of the intranet and to ensure and safeguard its success. Agreements made regarding the platform are recorded in a management plan. This prevents uncertainty when involved parties leave the organisation or are otherwise (long-term) absent.
The table below shows some roles with associated responsibilities as examples:
| Role | Responsibilities |
| Application Administrator | In cooperation with Embrace responsible for setting up and managing connections with the intranet and for testing and rolling out new software updates. |
| Community Manager | Responsible for guiding users on the intranet. Directs users to the right place when asking questions, keeps the intranet active and lively, moderates posts if necessary. |
| Technical Administrator | In cooperation with Embrace responsible for setting up and maintaining the technical operation of the intranet. |
| Group Administrator | After the establishment of a group, responsible for the content (timeline, documents and pages) and settings of the group. Moderates group posts if necessary. |
| Content Coordinator | Responsible for coordinating the placement of static content in the right places (menu bar). |
| Content Manager | Responsible for managing the placed static content (menu bar). |
| Content Owner | Responsible for the content of the static content. |
✍️ To do: Set up a management organisation
Jointly establish a management organisation. Consider who the stakeholders are regarding the intranet and which roles, responsibilities, associated tasks and rights he/she/they have. Make it as concrete as possible.
Also consider which department owns the platform and which person or function is ultimately responsible for matters such as content, application and budget.
The table below is an example and can help with this:
| Role | Who | Responsibilities | Tasks | Rights |
| Application Administrator |
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| Functional / Technical Administrator |
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| Community Manager |
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| Ambassador(s) |
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| Content Coordinator |
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| Content Manager(s) |
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| Content Owners |
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| Group Administrators |
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➡️Goals
When thinking about managing the intranet, it is also essential to consider the place the intranet occupies within the organisation and the organisation's application landscape. And what purpose the intranet serves. Only when the goal and function of the intranet are clear can you steer accordingly and thereby truly position the internal stakeholders in their roles.
✍️ To do: Formulate objectives
- Formulate objectives for the intranet
- Consider which target groups there are (all employees, team leaders, management, ambassadors, etc)
- Make objectives SMART (Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic, Time-bound)
- Translate goals into success factors and KPIs, so they are measurable.
➡️Policy and Guidelines
Content forms a large and essential part of the intranet. Content grows with the intranet. Over the years, more pages will be added, structures will be revised and pages will be adjusted. It is likely that this will not always be done by the same people initially involved in the project.
This makes it necessary to think about content policy and to establish guidelines on how content is designed and managed.
Think about writing style (informal/formal, you/you formal, subheadings, formatting), review dates, etc.
Overall, it is helpful to record which part within Embrace is used for what, for example:
- What criteria must an organisational news message meet?
- When do you start a group?
- What do you use chat for (and when MS Teams)?
- When do you use the tasks module?
- When do you use email and when the intranet?
Also record these choices in a management plan. And adhere to them.
➡️Behavioural Rules
How do you interact with each other on the intranet? What tone is desired and what is undesirable? What is expected of a participant on the intranet? Think, for example, of a well-filled profile, careful use of the timeline, mutual respect, a safe environment, etc.
Include these behavioural rules in the management plan and give them a place on the intranet.
➡️Management Plan
Thinking about managing the platform is one thing. Recording and adhering to the choices is another. And extremely important. The intranet often lasts longer in an organisation than the initially involved project members. Knowledge and ideas are often lost over time, after which the intranet often loses more and more value.
Therefore, not only think about the decisions to be made regarding management, but also actually record them and make someone responsible for compliance.
✍️ To do: Draw up a management plan
Jointly draw up a management plan with the Management Working Group.
Chapters that should be included are:
- Principles
- Objectives
- Target groups
- Roles and responsibilities
- Policy and guidelines
- Progress monitoring and consultation
See also example Management Plan (attachment).
➡️Environment Management
- import groups/users
- import phone directory