Case Study: Omnia-based digital workplace keeps Iterio inside the box

Implementing an Omnia-based intranet, the urban management consulting firm Iterio has boosted internal communications and greatly improved their employees’ flexibility and access to critical process tools. Their new digital workplace has also helped Iterio radically upgrade the company’s efficiency, speed of action and employee engagement.

– Our motto is to think inside the box. It’s so much easier to think outside the box since everything is possible when there are no boundaries. However, in our line of work, we are restricted by budgets, legislation, time frames, and societal demands. Our new digital workplace has made it a lot easier for our consultants to access the various tools, quality processes and policy documents needed in client projects. This benefits our projects in numerous ways and helps us stay firmly inside the box, Iterio’s CEO Jonas Jonsson tells us.

Fingertip access saves time and effort

Iterio is an urban planning and management consulting firm. They offer project management and IT coordination services in the fields of geotechnology, environment and traffic to organizations like municipalities, property companies, architects, Swedish Transport Administration and Region Stockholm.

The company was started in 2011, has today around 100 employees after only eight years in business, and plans to keep growing rapidly. To facilitate this process, Iterio has implemented a new Omnia-based intranet with the aim of improving internal communications and digitalizing processes and tools.

– We used to have a rather unappealing and complex intranet solution that we had built ourselves, based on Sharepoint. It was difficult to modernize and to integrate with external services. In fact, many of our employees completely ignored the intranet, perceiving it to be complex and pointless. We needed a new, modern and future-oriented solution that was easy to navigate and manage, Jonas explains.

Iterio decided on Omnia as the platform. The system’s rich standard functionality and smooth and seamless integration with Office 365 were among the reasons for their choice. The new solution was implemented in 2018 and is primarily based on a standard configuration. Iterio have, however, made some minor adaptions uniquely designed to facilitate the management of absence and calendar activities.

– The implementation project was efficient and smooth and it was very easy to get the new solution up and running once it was installed. Precio Fishbone’s experts were very helpful in adapting some of the system’s functions. For instance, it is today so much simpler to manage your own absence. Anyone in the organization can also easily find out if a colleague is on holiday, at a client’s office, doing field research or is at home ill. This is very useful in a planning process, or if you need to consult a colleague on a critical matter. 

 Jonas tells us that Itero started digitalizing and consolidating many of their processes, guidelines, tools and regulatory and policy documents just as soon as the solution was in place. The whole quality management system, with its many templates and documents, is now online.

– Having our whole library of process descriptions, guidelines, and quality policies accessible via the intranet is an immense advantage for every project that we are involved in. Previously, our quality management system was all on paper, which was very time-consuming and cumbersome to administer. Now that all this valuable knowledge is virtually at our consultants’ fingertips, the projects are so much easier to manage, immeasurably improving quality and efficiency, Jonas points out.

Unlimited flexibility with pocket-size digital workplace

More than half of Iterio’s consultants work out of the office in the field, on client’s premises or from their homes. It was therefore crucial that the new intranet could deliver outstanding mobile user experience and performance.

– Previously, we didn’t have a very satisfactory mobile interface to our internal communications channels and tools. But Omnia has truly revolutionized our mobility and flexibility. Today, using smartphones and tablets, our employees enjoy user experience and functionality on the intranet that’s just as good as when they’re on their computers. And this means a lot when you’re working out in the field or if you’re on the road. The digital workplace furthermore allows you to catch up on what was said and decided at meetings that you’ve missed, something that previously wasn’t all that easy, Jonas says, adding:

– The new intranet has overall hugely improved our internal collaboration. Keeping team members up to speed on their projects and ensuring the whole organization is constantly informed about everything that’s going on in the company is now that much easier. This is partly due to the simplified process for publishing and managing content, and partly due to the greatly enhanced user experience and mobility. And it’s particularly worth noting that it’s easy to stay updated by using the Omnia app’s notification functionality.

– Another very positive effect of the new intranet is increased online social activity. In fact, we’ve seen that our employees interact with content with the same enthusiasm as on social media, Jonas points out.