Creating an award winning Intranet

Salini Impregilo (now 'Webuild') is an Italian construction and civil engineering firm specializing in complex, sustainable infrastructure construction. After a merger and a period of significant growth, its once award-winning intranet, "@work" was now failing to keep up with the needs of its expanding global workforce of over 35k people in 50 countries.

In developing a new Intranet, Salini hoped to once again offer its people a world-class digital employee experience. One that would become the destination for employees to gain a unique perspective on the world of Salini Impregilo, built with its users' needs at the forefront.
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Outcome

Launched with overwhelmingly positive adoption, "@work" would go on to be recognized, winning the:
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_{Intranet Italia Champions}

Best Intranet 2021

An event dedicated to the latest digital trends in internal communications

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_{Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g)}

10 Best Intranets of 2022

Recognised by NN/g as part of the 2022 edition of the 'Intranet Design Annual'
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Both awards specifically acknowledging "@work" for its focus on accessibility, inclusivity, user experience, and innovative design.

Having received findings from the initial research phase, it was clear that the current intranet had outlived its original value. Users had become increasingly frustrated with the existing site drawing particular attention to issues including:
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• A 'catch-all' approach offering only 'down-stream' content
• Confusing and complex site structure lacking a consistent standard
• A complete lack of personalization options
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User interaction was also low outside of Italy (we could assume that it hadn't been adopted in newer territories), all of which led to declining numbers of user interactions.

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With this in mind, we formulated a strategy to fix this - we'd set goals focused on reducing friction and opening new opportunities for our users to access information and interact with the broader business.  
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1. Simplify user experience – Think of the user, don't ask the user to think.
2. Make the user's experience feel unique - Give them the scope to shape their experience and tailor it to their needs.  
3. Connect employees – Provide opportunities for them to engage the wider business and interact with colleagues.
4. Speak their language – provide information on the business in a way that engages employees in a relatable way.

The existing intranet had significant limitations - most prominently, a lack of consistency and flexibility in the design and its templates. A knock-on effect to this was the dispersion of communications through informal channels, such as emails and team sites. These communications were often off-brand and hidden from most other employees, with no formal record of ever existing.

To address these issues, we proposed a new universal page framework. By allocating content into a series of zones, each serving a specific function or interaction type - we'd aim to establish a consistent rhythm and hierarchy absent from the previous site, resulting in a more consistent and enjoyable browsing experience.

In addition, we'd give content creators the flexibility to shape their content through web parts and widgets, encouraging them to use a centralized resource to create and distribute content. This would increase brand consistency, promote transparency, and ensure everyone was on the same page.

To promote the new site, a launch campaign would be essential. However, before proceeding with a campaign, we needed to come up with a name. The client originally wanted to rebrand to detach employees entirely from "@work" and its negative connotations and embrace a new intranet. While we understood their reasoning, we didn't necessarily agree. After all, the previous site had once been an award-winner and had only faltered recently.

The original ID was problematic, it lacked balance and became near illegible at smaller sizes - not ideal for a digital asset. However, since it was an established brand mark, we saw the potential to improve its functionality with some adjustments. By redrawing the '@' symbol to better balance its stroke, character heights, and kerning, we delivered a more polished design, one befitting its position as a subsidiary of the parent brand.

The successful completion of this work depended on a close working relationship between a network of agencies. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, our development partners dropped their inclusion four months into the job, leaving us with a resourcing gap. No longer having a developer in the client's territory (It was a client requirement to be based in Italy), we reached out to our partners at Bitmama to fulfill the requirement. With  Avvio Reply struggling to make the job economically viable, Bitmama Reply would now complete the remainder of the outstanding work, with me pivoting from developing documentation and onboarding to readying the design for final hand-off.

Though my involvement may have ended early, it was still a rewarding experience. I'm proud that I stepped up and challenged the client when I felt necessary, not knowing if it would work out. Fortunately, it did, and I'm grateful for the support from my colleagues.

Leaving the job before completion is always disappointing, but it had a happy ending. The completed site won a place in the NN/g Neilson 10 best Intranets of 2022.