A few weeks ago, Guy van Leemput wrote a very informative post on intranet design, proposing that we should consider new starters to an organisation and make use of their experiences. Serendipity struck yesterday when a new hire started with the team.

All employees carry with them the baggage of prior knowledge of the organisation and a host of good, bad and ugly user experiences with the intranet. All best practice dictates that we involve our employees in the design process but the inevitable outcome of this is that we reinforce design and navigation prejudices and perpetuate mistakes. (A great example of this was recently presented a Mastering Intranet Management course I attended with some intranet pages on company cars were discussed. The topic was covered under HR as it was perceived as an employee benefit and whilst most employees instinctively recognised this, most new hires struggled to see why it wasn’t listed under transport. The intranet manager now adds it to both).

Every day, I have the privilege of sharing with an extensive and growing intranet community on LinkedIn and Twitter. As I share; I learn. Today I’m posting a collection of quotes from leading intranet practitioners and thought leaders worldwide that I have influenced my thinking.