TFG’s (The Foschini Group’s) recently-developed Intranet solution has been confirmed as one of the world’s top 10 Intranets in the prestigious 2015 Nielsen Norman Intranet Design Annual.Developed in partnership with Intervate – an enterprise information management specialist and part of the T-Systems Group – the Intranet was recognised by Nielsen Norman for its intuitive design and user experience, and its innovative use of new technology.
TFG and Intervate became the first South African, and indeed the first African, winner in the Design Annual since its inception in 2001.
Jakob Nielsen, principal of Nielsen Norman Group, describes TFG’s Intranet as “a dynamic and engaging way to access information, connect with colleagues and get work done”.
“It incorporates elements of TFG’s corporate identity like brand, colour, and fonts in a way that puts a fresh design on the intranet. The modern style and features support employees in the head office, regional office, and distribution centre, as well as field management,” adds Nielsen.
Intervate Cape Town MD Wilhelm van Rensburg says: “The sense of reward from knowing that we are contributing to industry best-practices at a global level is immense.” Van Rensburg explains that TFG needed to evolve their Intranet from being essentially a static document hosting service, to a more dynamic environment that made finding information easier, encouraged collaboration between teams, and facilitated internal communication and innovation.
TFG’s Intranet benefits from rich, visual designs that emphasise the top company news in a rotating carousel. Topical messages from leadership and from various areas of the business are combined with simpler features like birthdays, work anniversaries, canteen menus and weather forecasts, for example.
The “About Me’ section encourages staff to populate their profiles with information about their skill sets, their recent projects, and what they’re currently working on – all with the intention of fostering greater collaboration between business units and teams.
Van Rensburg adds: “Optimising the Intranet for mobile was a key consideration, with increasing numbers of users accessing the Intranet from smart devices, and with many staff constantly on the move and in various regions throughout the country.”
TFG’s team manager, Marius Botha, explains that any company on a quest for innovation and fresh ideas needs to have a strong focus on people, communication and culture. “The new Intranet is a vehicle for collaboration and innovation that promotes an environment of engaged and high-performance employees,” he adds.