Business Case: CD&V

CD&V (Christian Democratic and Flemish) is a political party that focuses on Christian-democratic and socio-economic values. The party is active in Flanders and is part of the federal government of Belgium.

The CD&V team consists of around 160 employees, of which approximately 80 are office staff and an equal number are cabinet and parliamentary staff.

Challenges

Before working with Involv, CD&V did not have an internal communication platform, which led to several challenges in their daily activities. The lack of a central repository for important documents such as congress reports made them difficult to keep track of. These documents were often emailed back and forth between employees, making it challenging to keep track of the latest version and location.

Moreover, with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became even more crucial to have a good online platform. Employees now have the option to work from home two days a week, which made it necessary to create a platform where all CD&V employees, regardless of location, could stay in touch with each other.

Solutions

The secretariat of CD&V was responsible for finding a suitable intranet, comparing various providers on the market. After a thorough evaluation, they ultimately chose Involv – mainly because of the extensive choice of components that met the organisation's specific requirements.

“Moreover, Involv was a flexible and committed partner who listened to our needs and did not impose unnecessary things. This gave us the confidence that we made the right choice by choosing Involv.”

Mia VerstraeteStaff Member HR, CD&V

One of the most used tools is the “news messages” tool, managed by the HR and communication department. Together with the events tool, it keeps all departments informed about important and upcoming events. The intranet is also used to distribute job vacancies, so employees are aware of open positions and can share them with their own network – helping the party reach a broader range of candidates.

The intranet has developed into more than a communication tool: it also serves as a central point for storing important files. All documents are stored in one place, which promotes collaboration and makes searching for information much more efficient.

Launch

During the launch, CD&V took several steps to ensure all employees were informed. The new Involv intranet was announced during various staff meetings and explicitly mentioned in their newsletter. To help everyone get familiar with the new system, the party organised a dedicated staff meeting where all employees were asked to bring their laptops – a collaborative and effective way to introduce and learn the new platform.

Current situation

According to the client, there has been a significant improvement compared to before. CD&V is very satisfied with the intranet and the benefits it offers, and the team continues to make even better use of it to optimise collaboration and communication.

Despite already using various parts of the intranet, CD&V is still discovering functionalities. They are currently implementing the Who's Who tool, which lets employees quickly find information about colleagues, such as their position and department – making it easier to ask targeted questions to the right person.

Teamwork

CD&V experiences the collaboration with the Involv team as excellent.

“The Involv team has always been dedicated to meeting our needs, and they have had a lot of patience with the different cabinets that each had their own requirements and needs. The guidance was always well-prepared and organised.”

Mia VerstraeteStaff Member HR, CD&V

Mia mentioned that every workshop was well-prepared by an Involv employee who always had a clear overview of the tasks still to be completed and those already done – making it clear for both Involv and CD&V what still needed to happen. CD&V remains confident that they can turn to Involv for any questions.