WWF takes the leap from Google to Omnia for better information flow and communication
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has switched from a Google-based and self-developed intranet to an Omnia- and Microsoft 365-based platform. The upgrade leads to more efficient and transparent internal communication as well as better accessibility to and control over all internal information, processes, and tools.
”With our new intranet, we have succeeded in reducing the number of internal emails and in general gained better management and control over all internal communication flows. The digital noise has therefore decreased considerably and made it easier for us to get through with important messages and for the employees to connect”, says Troy Enekvist, Press Secretary and Editor at WWF.
Good planning makes the intranet more attractive and robust
WWF is one of the world's leading non-profit nature conservation organizations and works to stop the destruction of the earth's natural habitats. Among other things, the organization works actively with various measures to slow down climate change and preserve endangered plant and animal species. WWF's operations are made up of local organizations in over 100 countries around the world. The Swedish operation has approximately 150 employees and is led by a board and a board of trustees with representatives from the Swedish environmental movement, authorities, institutions, and other organizations.
WWF's previous intranet and desktop environment was largely built with Google’s tools and solutions. The self-developed Google Sites-based intranet was also relatively basic.
When WWF introduced Microsoft 365 in 2019, it was decided that the intranet also needed an upgrade. WWF included Omnia in the procurement process as they had used Precio Fishbone's project and grant management system NGO Online for many years and were therefore well acquainted with Omnia and Precio Fishbone. Another three competing intranet solutions were also evaluated.
“We chose Omnia primarily because of the solution's seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and Teams, which are our most important desktop and collaboration tools”, WWF's IT manager Stefan Andersson explains.
The implementation of a new Omnia-based intranet began in the spring of 2020. The new intranet was launched a year later, on March 24. A large part of the project time was spent on cleaning, restructuring, and creating new content. WWF’s Document and Quality Management System has also been integrated with Omnia.
”We are very satisfied with the implementation process and the support we received from Precio Fishbone during the project. For instance, we greatly benefited from Precio Fishbone's workshops, where we laid the foundation for the intranet's information and navigation structure. And the insights we gained through other Omnia customers' experiences and solutions made a big difference”, says Stefan and adds:
“The reason why it took almost a year to implement the new intranet is that we were meticulous in planning for and creating the right content and structure, as well as cleaning out all old material. One must take into account that these things consume many hours. The intranet does, however, become more attractive, robust, and user-oriented if you let the planning and structuring process take some time. The implementation of the solution will also be easier then.”
Stefan advises others to have a well-thought-out and clear internal communication policy in place before implementing the intranet. This is to know how the intranet should support the various communication and information flows and how the authorization rights should be configured, i.e. who can do what.
All are editors at WWF
WWF's previous intranet had only a few editors, which resulted in relatively sparse and poorly updated content. The vision of the new intranet is that, in principle, all employees should be able to create and publish content in order to have a more vibrant, relevant, and inclusive intranet.
“Omnia's powerful governance functionality helps us keep the content well-structured, neat, and up-to-date. Since the launch, a special team has been doing monthly follow-ups of the user statistics. There’s also a developer group that meets every two months to discuss the intranet's improvement potential. Overall, this gives us better order and control”, Stefan emphasizes.
