MQ Marqet Elevates its IQ on Omnia

“Our new intranet streamlines the work of our staff as they now have much better access to all the information they need to do a good job. The intranet serves as a well-structured encyclopedia for all company resources. This creates better conditions to deliver strong results and achieve new successes”, says Cammy Ohlson, HR Partner at MQ Marqet, adding:

“The intranet allows for targeted communication, enabling us to reach the entire organization simultaneously with consistent, relevant and personalized content. It boosts employee engagement and creates a sense of connectedness at all levels, strengthening our organizational cohesion.”

MQ Marqet (MQ) has been developing and running clothing and retail concepts for over six decades. Sales of both its own and other brands and second-hand garments take place in more than 90 company-owned stores throughout Sweden and via e-commerce. The company has its headquarters in Gothenburg and a production office in Shanghai and employs around 600 people.

MQ's previous intranet was outdated and only worked with Internet Explorer, limiting the company's ability to improve functionality and user experience. In addition, the information structure had not kept pace with organizational and business developments and it was difficult to target communications, leading to employees being swamped with irrelevant information. Much of the internal communication was also based on email and paper.

A comprehensive digitalization and improvement project was initiated to enhance internal communication and provide better support to employees.

“We had to revamp our digital workplace, information structure and also the way we communicate and work. Employees needed easier and faster access to information, documents, knowledge and other resources. Management wanted to be able to streamline processes, increase knowledge-sharing and skills development, and strengthen ties between the different units and stores”, Cammy explains.

After evaluating several products, MQ settled on Omnia as the platform was considered to offer the best overall solution for the company's needs.

“We appreciated Omnia's customizability that allows us to shape the intranet exactly as we want it. The platform's seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and its mobile app, with outstanding user experience, convinced us even more. Nothing we wanted to do has been difficult to implement. All our special solutions have been realized in one way or another, which has been a great advantage for us”, Cammy concludes.

The implementation project started with the MQ project team working with Omnia's coaches to design a new logical structure for the internal information, communication and intranet design. Key stakeholders from all parts of the business and representatives from different professional roles were involved to create the optimal structure together.

“It was a great challenge to define and prioritize the functionality to achieve high usability and ensure that the platform meets the needs of the entire organization. Among other things, we used the Card Sorting method to understand user needs and behaviors. It’s a very effective method, where users visualize a desired structure using heading cards”, says Cammy.

The new intranet, which has kept the previous name “IQ”, took about 8 months to implement. Most content is new or updated. The entire HR system, including a manager and staff handbook containing all employment information, is also included. During the implementation project, MQ also created a new integrated and SharePoint-based Document Management System.

“The Document Management System is logically intertwined with and has the same information structure as the intranet. This makes it easy for us to keep track of, update and link documents to the right place in the intranet and for users to find them”, Cammy points out.

Today, virtually all information, navigation and communication at management level is personalized. Everything from menu choices and news to HR information, processes, tools, collaborations and documents is permission- and role-based. According to Cammy, this was also one of the key requirements for the new solution:

“Boosting findability while reducing the amount of information was a priority. In the past, we distributed sales and other important information through different channels, which made it difficult to ensure that vital information reached the right people. We have now streamlined communication and gathered everything on the intranet with a clearer and more user-friendly structure. In case of rapid changes, for example during sales campaigns or important updates in ongoing projects and processes, we also use Omnia's sign-off request feature to ensure that the information both reaches and is confirmed by the right recipient.”

“Targeting has resulted in a more focused communication, boosting processes, control and information relevance. This increases the employees’ engagement and interest in what is happening at IQ and MQ. The whole company is therefore much better informed today.”

Cammy says the number of queries from employees looking for documents, HR information, training and more has dropped significantly since the launch. This shows that it has become easier to find the right and relevant information. She also sees that activity on the intranet and interaction between colleagues in different parts of the business has intensified:

“Every day we get confirmation that the solution delivers the results we seek. Just the fact that all employees now have their own user account on the intranet, which they didn't have before, makes it easier for them to find each other and make use of internal competence. It fosters and strengthens cohesion, internal collaboration and knowledge-sharing across all units and geographical distances.”

According to Cammy, most processes, instructions and other process-related information are digitized and easily accessible today. Moreover, everything is directly linked to the tasks and professional role of each employee. Without being able to give any key figures on the improvement, she is convinced that this, combined with the digital cross-fertilization between the different parts of the business, leads to higher productivity and profitability.

“A special solution we have added to the platform is a feature we call Right Now. It contains targeted messages of a critical nature. For example, it could be a promotion or a change of signage that needs to happen simultaneously in all stores. Employees keep an extra eye on these notifications. This gives us both more efficient processes and greater control”, Cammy underlines.

The next step in the development of the intranet is the creation of a new e-learning portal that will revolutionize MQ's internal training and skills development. The portal will also allow the company to digitize all in-house training and gain better control of the overall level of competence.

“We plan to continuously develop the intranet based on user feedback and the ever-changing needs of the business. Currently, we are building an integrated training portal that will have a major impact on our knowledge and skills development. It will spark curiosity and make it easier for employees to find and take part in both internal and external training”, Cammy emphasizes.