An intranet deployed by the Bank of Ireland (BoI) Group has been named as one of the world’s top 10 intranet sites, according to a scheme by leading web expert Jakob Nielsen.
The first Irish intranet to be awarded this accolade, it was selected by Nielsen’s company the Nielsen Norman Group for inclusion in the Intranet Design Annual 2006: The Year’s 10 Best Intranet’s.
Entitled Insite, the intranet is an extensive website that publishes all BoI group-wide and intra-departmental communications. It features a breaking news service, job vacancies, a classified advertising service and also publishes extensive policies, procedures, forms, research and other internal documentation. It also offers access to procurement and purchasing services, room booking facilities, an electronic employee directory and a facilities management system.
The site can be accessed by more than 17,000 BoI Group employees in Ireland and the UK. More than 200 individuals throughout the group publish content to the site using a content management system.
Jakob Nielsen praised the mix of business and personal features on the intranet. “While BoI’s intranet might swap the serious navy pinstripes for bursts of orange and blue, don’t be fooled by the light-hearted aesthetics: this bank’s intranet means business,” he said. “A variety of business and personal features are packaged clearly and gracefully, continually drawing employees back to the intranet as part of their daily work routine.”
This is the second time that Insite has won an international award. Last summer BoI Group received an Award of Excellence from the UK-based Communicatiors in Business.
Mary Staunton, group internal communications manager for BoI, said: “Our group intranet insite allows employees to share knowledge, cut costs and promote group products and services. It has strengthened organisational relationships and communications. This award gives external validation to our vision to redevelop our intranet around the needs of our employees and to leverage the intranet for competitive advantage.”
By John Kennedy
