HUS Helsinki University Hospital

The goal of the renewal project was to create a modern, easy to use, and user centric intranet that would streamline the everyday work of HUS employees. The vision was for the new intranet to become an agile hub for current communications and information sharing — a place that staff would naturally turn to. The purpose of the intranet needed to be clarified so that employees would understand its role among HUS’s other communication channels.

The old SharePoint platform was technically outdated, and content production was complex and time consuming. There was a massive number of sites and content, and the search functionality did not work. Some content was behind restricted permissions and had no owners. A large portion of outdated material could not be removed.

The objective was to create an intuitive and user friendly SharePoint intranet that could also be used on mobile devices. A key requirement was that the new intranet must be fully accessible in every respect.

Maria Svenström, Communications Manager at HUS

Employee needs and expectations were explored through surveys

Staff from different units and occupational groups were involved in the project in many ways, both by invitation and on a voluntary basis. Over the course of the multi year project, dozens of workshops and planning meetings were held. A volunteer feedback group operated in Teams, with 170 volunteers participating during the project. The entire organization took part in various topic specific surveys throughout the process.

Target group specific surveys were also conducted to understand what kind of support HUS employees need and want from the intranet to make their everyday work smoother. Service designers were involved in the project to ensure that user centricity was embedded in all stages of planning.

In the early stage workshops, user profiles were created for the employee groups most central to intranet use, supporting both design and content production.

“With the help of these profiles, content creators can genuinely think about producing clear and meaningful content for the real person on the other side of the screen. The user profiles were utilized throughout the entire project.”

Mirkka Kujala, Communications Specialist and Project Manager at HUS

Service design and user experiences as support in implementation

During the design phase, content guidelines were created for the new intranet. Responsibility for content production was shifted to those who are responsible for each specific subject area.

“When experts maintain their own content, unnecessary delays are eliminated, and information is communicated in the right way,” Kujala says.

More than 500 content creators built the new intranet’s content over the course of a little more than six months. The project’s progress and the intranet’s readiness for publication were tracked in Excel. A training environment resembling the actual intranet was created for content creators to practice, and dozens of different training sessions were organized in Teams.

“The support network for content creators was one of the gems that emerged from the project, and it is still active. It provides an easy place to ask for help on any topic,” Kujala adds.

A visual intranet guide was created as a dedicated site for content creators. The guide includes, for example, tips and instructions on how to produce user centric and accessible content, how to title content, and how to structure text.

A new governance model and approval procedure to support the content creation and management process

The project identified several types of sites with different needs, each with its own layout and settings. Key contact information was placed visibly on the page, and the site owner’s details appear at the bottom.

A governance model was also created as part of the renewal to clarify responsibilities for content creation and permissions.

“The new model uses automation in information lifecycle management and site creation.”

Tuulia Halttunen, Senior Consultant at Sulava

Rollout to staff through active communication

The intranet renewal and its progress were communicated actively to the entire staff, and a dedicated information page was created for the project and its milestones. Progress updates were also shared through newsletters and announcements, as well as through info materials and presentations tailored for different units. Usability testing before the launch involved HUS employees who had not participated in content creation.

The new intranet was launched at the beginning of December 2023, and the old intranet was moved to read only mode.

From a dusty archive to an up to date noticeboard

In a naming competition, Eetteri was selected as the name of the new intranet. The role of the intranet changed from a dusty archive to a noticeboard containing only up to date content. Because the volume of content is still large, automatic reminders are sent to site owners at least once a year to ensure content remains current.

The front page features the most important current topics, and users can choose, for example, which buildings or subject areas they want to follow. The front page also includes special notices, such as upcoming telecommunications outages and system updates.

The intranet continues to be developed based on user feedback. Content creation, content maintenance, content creator training, and the support network remain active. Comprehensive training sessions were offered for many needs and were tailored along the way. Content responsibilities are clearly defined.

Improved search functionality, and the easy to use and clear navigation, have received praise from users. The fresh visual layout of the intranet has also been well received. Users have appreciated the clarity of page creation and the ease of updates, as well as the up to date content.

Writer: Merja Turpeinen
Published in September 2024