1 September 2008
Research paints a positive picture for internal communication
Around 70% of companies say that improving internal communication is their top priority for the next 12 months.
Intranet, extranet and portal specialist, Intranet DASHBOARD, has revealed the results of its second annual Global Intranet Benchmarking Survey. The findings highlight interesting data about intranet ownership and social media usage, as well as attitudes towards internal communication as a function.
The proven value of the intranet
There were more than 455 respondents to the survey, offering a thorough insight into the internal communication practices of companies throughout the world.
The number of respondents who view the intranet as a "valuable to extremely valuable" part of their business was 76%, compared to last year's figure of 67%. Some 70% of the companies surveyed stated that "improving internal communications" was their highest priority over the next 12 months.
Who should have ownership?
One of the major findings of the new survey is the shift in which department has responsibility for the intranet.
At the companies surveyed, 58% of IT departments have day-to-day responsibility for the intranet compared to 28% of marketing and communication departments. However, only 40% of IT departments hold the budget for the intranet.
Interestingly, 54% of IT departments don't consider themselves to be the rightful owners of the intranet. Overall, 66% of respondents are against the IT department holding the budget for the intranet.
54% of IT departments don't consider themselves to be the rightful owners of the intranet.
Why comms, not IT, holds the solution
Intranet DASHBOARD co-founder and director Campbell Dobbin says the findings are indicative of how companies are managing their intranets.
"Companies are telling us that they're grappling with ways to improve internal communication. The solutions to these challenges lie within the communication departments and not the IT departments, who are the traditional owners of the intranet."
"We're really seeing a maturing of the space over the last 12 months and developments in how we can best communicate with our staff. I think we're at the beginning of a great transition period," he said.
Not yet fully convinced by web 2.0...
The survey also revealed reluctance by businesses to fully embrace social networking and web 2.0 tools.
Only 32% of those surveyed said that management supported social networking strategies in the workplace. This is a noticeable dip compared to the previous year's response of 42%.
Almost a third of respondents (30%) said they have no interest at all in social networking as an internal communication tool, compared with 25% in 2007.
30% said they have no interest at all in social networking as an internal communication tool.
The use of instant messaging as a communication tool has dropped from 49% to 36%. But corporate blogs have risen in popularity from 39% in 2007 to 45% this year. Wikis have also become more popular.
...but popularity is growing
Connie Pandos, founder and director of Intranet DASHBOARD, said, "There’s a fear that Web 2.0 collaborative tools are often misused or abused by staff for personal rather than business use. Environments such as Facebook offer functionality that can distract staff from their work and this is clear in the evidence that many organizations are banning access to such websites.
"However, web 2.0 functionality that deliver tangible benefits to the user, improve business efficiencies and increase productivity are proving to be increasingly popular in an intranet."
Have your say
Do these results reflect the feelings towards the intranet in your organization? Who has overall responsibility for content and, perhaps more importantly, who's in control of the budget?
Do you feel positive about the future of internal communication or do you think it still has a long way to go before being taken seriously as a value-adding function?
Have you had to struggle to get senior level buy-in before introducing social networking tools or was it seen as a natural and necessary progression?
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