As with the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, we always assumed the perfect intranet was a myth. But now we’ve found the world’s best intranet and have created annotated intranet screenshots explaining its many strengths. Think you have a better intranet or mobile intranet site/app? Visit My Beautiful Intranet 2014 to view, vote or submit an entry: http://bit.ly/MBI2014

1. The best intranet
in the world

2. We finally found it
?

3. We finally found it
After…
?

4. We finally found it
After…
600+ benchmarking evaluations
?

5. We finally found it
After…
600+ benchmarking evaluations
100+ live intranet tour webinars
?

6. We finally found it
After…
600+ benchmarking evaluations
100+ live intranet tour webinars
11+ years of research & peer learning ?

7. Our search is over

8. Our search is over
But what makes this intranet so good?

9. Our search is over
But what makes this intranet so good?
What:

10. Our search is over
But what makes this intranet so good?
What:
• design elements

11. Our search is over
But what makes this intranet so good?
What:
• design elements
• usability practices

12. Our search is over
But what makes this intranet so good?
What:
• design elements
• usability practices
• features

13. Our search is over
But what makes this intranet so good?
What:
• design elements
• usability practices
• features
make this the best intranet
we’ve ever seen?

14. Analysis

15. A broad variety of
colours make the site
lively and inviting and
they catch the user’s
eye.

16. Not giving the intranet
a name ensures
people won’t get too
emotionally attached.

17. A global navigation
based on the org chart
makes it easy for
departments to post
their content.

18. Broad, vague,
overlapping terms in
the navigation make it
easy to fit many
different types of
information there.

19. A downloadable
“canteen” menu at the
top of the page is a
high-value use of that
screen real estate.

20. Unconventional colour
pairings let users
know that a lot of of
creativity went into the
design.

21. A picture of the CEO
on the homepage
reminds employees of
what’s important.

22. Including the
company’s generically
worded mission
statement helps
people feel inspired
every day!

23. Promotions about
activities in HQ help
global staff feel
connected.

24. Use of cute pictures
for important HR
topics helps increase
page views.

25. Bright, lively text
assures employees
that HR projects and
topics are interesting
and exciting.

26. Wide widgets
requiring horizontal
scroll bars give
intranet publishers
more space to work
with to convey
important messages.

27. Embedding links in
“click here” text lets
users know that there
are links there.

28. Calling generic
corporate news
something that sounds
personal gives
employees a sense of
belonging.

29. Vague, general news
headlines entice
viewers to click to
learn more.

30. Using ambiguous
business language and
corporate acronyms
shows that company
activities are important
and the news is
professionally written.

31. Grey backgrounds are
hip and modern and
convey to employees
that the company is
too.

32. Low contrast between
text and background
colours really gets
people to read
homepage content
carefully.

33. Using vendors’ names
for applications
instead of everyday
language makes it
easier for IT and HR to
roll out those
applications.

34. Linking to main
sections of the
navigation from the
“Quicklinks” section
increases the chance
of people going there.

35. Showing HR policies
on the homepage
guarantees that all
employees will read
and memorize them in
their entirety.

36. Showing HQ
operational news to all
employees ensures
people know how
central teams are
spending their time.

37. Putting the “search”
box in unconventional
locations is fresh and
exciting.

38. Limiting “people
search” to last name
only ensures
employees only
search for people they
already know.

39. “Social collaboration”
updates from key
teams make the
intranet social and
also collaborative.

40. Vaguely titled
collaborative material
from team sites is
reminiscent of shared
drives and turns
searching into a
treasure hunt.

41. Fun, user-generated
content on the
homepage, like a “joke
of the day”, shows that
employees’ voices
really matter.”

42. Copying the global
navigation into the
footer ensures users
have key links from
the top and bottom of
the page.

43. So…

44. So…
How does your
intranet compare to
the most beautiful
intranet in the world?

45. Presented by:
Happy April 1st, 2014!
Truly love intranets? Proud of yours?
Visit My Beautiful Intranet 2014:
http://bit.ly/MBI2014