MEKO Unites the Organization with a Modern Intranet

“Our Omnia-based intranet has given us a one-stop-shop for news, information, documents, tools and knowledge. For the first time, we have a shared communication platform where we can easily navigate between our mutual intranet and the different concepts' extranets”, says Jennie Edling, Communications Manager at MEKO Sweden, adding:

“Not only does the solution make it much easier for employees to stay up to date and find information, it also leads to a more cohesive organization.”

MEKO Sweden, with its several companies and brands and nearly 1,700 employees, is Sweden's leading provider of automotive aftermarket services. The brands include market-leading car workshop concepts such as Mekonomen, MECA and Speedy Bilservice. Together they form Sweden's largest workshop chain with over 1000 affiliated workshops and around 200 stores and express warehouses.

When Jennie joined the company as Communications Manager, there was no common communications platform or intranet. As a result, communication was scattered and spread across several different platforms and channels. To create a more efficient and unified internal communication, all information and communication had to be consolidated on a shared platform. This became one of Jennie's first assignments.

“We did a comprehensive mapping of the entire organization’s needs and conditions. We then compared our list of requirements with relevant solutions and platforms and concluded that Omnia best met our needs. The platform's flexibility and ease of use for both users and editors help create a vibrant intranet. Its integration with Microsoft 365 was also a crucial hygiene factor”, Jennie underscores.

The first version of the intranet was built and implemented at MEKO in just three months. Subsequently, the company's various concepts' own sites have been built and integrated gradually as extranets on the Omnia platform. The solution enables both sharing and separation of information and communication between the different sites. Jennie explains:

“The conditions and communication needs of our various concepts are very different. If all information was gathered on a single intranet, the content would soon become fragmented and rather chaotic. Therefore, this solution suits us better. Technically, we have integrated several extranets into our common global intranet, where different types of communication take place based on clearly defined descriptions.”

“We do not share any pages or communication areas between the different sites. However, MEKO can distribute information and news to employees on the different extranets and the editors can also publish news to each other's sites if needed.”

In addition to the goal of creating a shared, manageable and unified structure and platform for all internal information, MEKO also wanted to improve communication processes. Among other things, they needed to reduce the amount of emails and other types of unstructured and non-targeted communication.

“Previously, when we didn’t have a common and structured communication platform, we emailed about all sorts of things. Emails served as both a source of information and a communication channel. Now that we have a unified platform where all HR information, education programs, work processes, events, news and more is easily accessible, the number of emails has decreased”, says Jennie, adding:

“Not least, we have reduced a lot of unnecessary, costly and non-targeted communication. For example, emails sent to confirm receipt of information and communication that have no clear relevance to the recipient.”

According to Jennie, internal communication has become more transparent, clear and consistent. The consolidation of information and channels has led to more streamlined and secure communication. In the past, many different solutions were needed to reach everyone.

“We now create and distribute all news and other information via our Omnia-based editorial portal. The management and handling of information and internal communication has been greatly simplified. The portal's templates, spell checking and scheduling, and integration with image and video databases make it easier for us to keep content fresh and the organization up to date”, Jennie concludes.

The intranet not only contains all the necessary information and links to the tools employees need to perform their tasks and manage their employment. It also features pre- and onboarding sites that allow those about to join the company to prepare for their job and get up to speed quickly.

A learning center has also been integrated into the intranet. Here, employees can search and sign up for both internal and external training courses, as well as find and share instructions and other knowledge.

“Our new learning center, which we call Learning & Development, helps us accelerate knowledge and skills development. It's a buffet of knowledge and training that inspires and makes it easy for employees to take responsibility for their own skills development and share knowledge”, Jennie highlights and continues:

“This, combined with relevant personalized information and the ability to effortlessly stay in the know about everything that's going on, boosts employee engagement. The fact that we can now easily communicate cross-functionally across divisions also strengthens cohesion and internal collaboration.”

As the intranet soon turns two years old, the company looks forward to continued development work as they realize that the best results are achieved through close collaboration with Omnia's coaches.

“We see the work on the intranet as an ongoing process, especially with the aim of boosting employee engagement and having a vibrant platform for internal communication”, Jennie points out.