Content Formula

Defining a future intranet vision and providing design and technical consultancy

Boehringer Ingelheim

Defining a future intranet vision and providing SharePoint design and technical consultancy

Moving a global intranet to Office 365

Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) is a global pharmaceutical company with approximately 50,000 employees spread across nearly 150 countries. The company is headquartered in Germany.

MyBI, the company’s global intranet, was based on SharePoint on-premise. With a global Office 365 programme under way, stakeholders in Internal Communications and HR wished to move MyBI to SharePoint Online, taking the opportunity to improve and evolve the intranet so it is more engaging for employees and future-ready for Office 365.

A compelling new vision for the intranet

Content Formula was engaged to undertake research and craft a compelling vision of the future intranet that would strongly resonate with employees and stakeholders. We were also asked to provide design and technical support to help execute the first iteration of the new MyBI.

We undertook a detailed discovery exercise based on our well-established research methodology, carrying out multiple interviews and workshops. We crunched the data, analysed our findings, and then played back our suggestion for a bold new vision to stakeholders.

A virtual assistant for the digital workplace

BI loved our suggestion that MyBI be positioned as a “virtual assistant” to help employees understand and navigate the company’s new Office 365-powered digital workplace. They also agreed that the MyBI of the future needed to be more personal, helpful and intelligent.

MyBI needed to be more mobile-friendly too, and the new vision was supported by feature and design suggestions, and potential future scenarios such as augmented reality.

Undertaking expert design and technical consultancy

With everybody on board with the new vision, the first stage of MyBI’s transformation was given the green light. We undertook design and front-end experience work, developing mock-ups and iterating designs. We also collaborated with the company’s IT function in Germany, giving them technical advice and suggestions.

A personalised toolbar that employees love

A new persistent, personalised intranet toolbar helps employees navigate the digital workplace. A personalised “My Tools” menu is an essential “speed dial” to different apps and Office 365 tools. Defaults are set for each location and business unit, with an intuitive interface allowing employees to add their own apps.

The toolbar also features access to personal Teams spaces and a settings panel where employees can change their personalisation settings, choose world clocks to display on the homepage and even indicate preferences for how to watch videos.

A mobile-ready modern intranet

The BI homepage is now more visually appealing with a modern, responsive UI. Global, regional and local stories news items are presented together in attractive tiles and employees can choose to display more news items.

Improved design for other homepage areas such as internal promotions and a social feed makes the intranet more attractive and contemporary.

A new mega-menu has been introduced to help employees find content, reflecting suggestions for improvements to the site navigation emerging from our research.

An impressive new intranet that provides clarity and control

Initial feedback about the new intranet has been extremely positive. Stakeholders have a clear vision for how MyBI aligns with the evolution of Office 365, future-proofing the intranet for the digital workplace of tomorrow.

Employees are impressed with the new mobile-friendly design and love the new personalised toolbar that links to essential apps and sites, saving time and putting them in control.

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