A flexible, accessible intranet that gets full marks from Scotland's nature agency.
How NatureScot built a simple, smart and seamless digital workplace on Involv – and won Silver at the 2023 Intranet & Digital Workplace Awards by Step Two.
Scotland's nature agency NatureScot was looking for a SharePoint-based intranet solution as part of their long-term digital transformation strategy. Having established a set of MVP (Minimum Viable Product) requirements, they wanted an out-of-the-box solution that would allow incremental improvements as business needs evolved.
Their vision: a simple, smart and seamless digital experience with access to all digital workplace tools and stories that would inspire a sense of belonging. As a public sector organisation, it was vital that the intranet met accessibility legislation. Following a thorough in-house testing programme, the Involv team worked closely with NatureScot and Involv partner Core Azure to achieve exactly that.
Background
NatureScot is Scotland's leading body responsible for the country's natural heritage. Based in Inverness, the public sector body has 35 offices around Scotland, with 10 per cent of staff working in the country's nature reserves and the rest operating in a hybrid model based on staff preferences.
Whilst a long-term M365 roll-out was developed over several years, NatureScot had already begun its digital transformation by deploying an open-source Drupal intranet – at the time, a revolutionary step for a public sector agency. The lessons learned provided valuable insights for this project, and the rapid growth of Teams during the pandemic accelerated their M365 programme.
Challenges
In addition to a SharePoint-based intranet, the organisation wanted an out-of-the-box solution that could evolve with changing business needs and meet their MVP requirements. They had identified five key outcomes:
- Enhance information flow, with content shared easily across MS Teams, intranet and Viva Engage (formerly Yammer)
- Create stronger connections to NatureScot's purpose and goals
- Facilitate more efficient ways of working
- Support a happy and safe workforce
- Meet accessibility legislation
Accessibility mode for an accessible intranet
NatureScot's public sector status means the intranet must comply with accessibility legislation. Working alongside NatureScot's D.A.W.N. (disability, ability, neurodiversity network), the Involv team created an Accessibility Mode that opens the platform up to third-party web-extension tools such as screen readers or contrast palettes.
The mode, which can be toggled on or off, lets users navigate features and pages via their keyboard, highlighting relevant content as they move around – making pages easier to navigate and read for those with visual impairments. The on-focus mode helps hard-of-sight users see where they are at any point, and users can resize the webpage for easier reading at any time. The Involv team also integrated SharePoint's breadcrumb webpart, presenting hierarchical content in a linear structure for more accessible navigation.
“We're here as a supportive employer to help make everyone's day-to-day easier. The intranet's accessibility tools are available irrespective of people's characteristics or workplace preferences.”
Martin Stubbs-PartridgeInternal Communications Officer, NatureScot
Martin Stubbs-PartridgeM365 integration allows more flexible comms
Involv's seamless integration with Microsoft 365 has given NatureScot complete flexibility with their content and its intended audience. Although they had experimented with forums on their previous intranet, the more ‘social' content had jarred with the corporate, news-related pieces.
With Involv, NatureScot can target content to specific audiences: information for everyone is published on the intranet, more personal peer-to-peer content via Viva Engage, and task-based communication via Teams. Involv's customised webparts allow a seamless experience – for example, signing up to an event via a news story – across the intranet, Teams and Viva Engage.
A central digital space for all workplace tools
Another advantage of Involv's M365 integration is the ability to access all digital workplace tools, even third-party apps, via the intranet. The intranet has become more than a ‘nice place to go': it is a business-first platform at the centre of the organisation. Staff catch up with NatureScot news as part of their working day, which strengthens their connection to the organisation and saves time, as every tool they need is at their fingertips.
Enhanced features for ‘slicker' functionality
NatureScot's previous intranet offered the functionality they needed, but with Involv it has become much more efficient and effective. When HR publishes its ‘Starters and Movers' news, for example, this used to mean typing a static list of names – Involv lets the publisher tag employees so they can easily be contacted by colleagues.
The Events feature is another example: NatureScot can customise events with text, images, maps, videos and any other component via the drag-and-drop editor, and staff can even add an event to their calendar automatically.
“Compared to our previous intranet, one thing that really stands out about Involv is the little enhancements. They make things quicker, easier and more effective. They make things slicker.”
Customisation creates a look and feel tied to nature
NatureScot's previous intranet had been ‘flat', with lots of links and little visual appeal. Thanks to Involv's easy-to-use page builder and customisable templates, the team realised their goal of creating very visual, nature-led content across the site. Moving away from corporate imagery has really helped to strengthen the organisation's culture and sense of purpose, gaining positive feedback from staff.
So, what's the verdict?
“We chose Involv Intranet to be our software partner following a rigorous procurement process. Involv have been by our side all the way and have helped us deliver our vision for a simple, smart, and seamless user experience across our digital workplace.”
Want an accessible, seamless user experience for your intranet?
Book a demo today and start your Involv Intranet journey.
