“While earlier, IC was just our intranet service provider, working on this project together has developed a better working relationship between the two organizations. We now have a heightened level of confidence that the IC team members can meet, and in some areas even exceed, our internal communications needs.”
– Almas Meherally, Communications Advisor, Metro Vancouver Transit Police
About the Metro Vancouver Transit Police
The Metro Vancouver Transit Police (Transit Police) is a multi-jurisdictional agency dedicated to policing the transit system in Metro Vancouver. Their jurisdiction covers the transit system across twenty-one municipalities and one First Nation, served by a combination of 17 independent police forces and RCMP detachments. Their staff of 183 police officers and 75 civilians are responsible for 148 km of rail, 63 stations, 2,000 buses, 245 bus routes, and one passenger ferry route, spread out over 1,800 square kilometres.
The problem: a functional but unengaging intranet for internal communications
Transit Police have been using Intranet Connections’ intranet software (internally called Cufflink) since 2010. In 2016, the site went through a modest refresh in design but, until recently, the organization hasn’t made a concerted and ongoing effort to improve the site’s functionality for all employees. Almas Meherally, Communications Advisor at Transit Police, described the platform as “functional but chunky and basic.”
In 2020, the Transit Police started to hear feedback from employees who found the platform lacking in user-friendliness and difficult to find the information they needed. In addition, content was not systematically segregated, there were a lot of technical issues, and none of their users were super-users who were trained to operate the platform. The Transit Police team realized that it was time for an update and to improve their intranet for internal communications.
The solution: IC’s Tailored Experience
To kick off their intranet update project, Transit Police reached out to IC, and the team at IC recommended their Tailored Experience process. By participating in the Tailored Experience, Transit Police gained access to IC’s internal communications and intranet experts for tailored guidance and advice throughout the entirety of their intranet update project.
With IC group of experts on board, Transit Police set out to make their intranet more accessible, redesign the look and feel of the site, and highlight the most important information on the site.
The project began with a full audit of Transit Police’s intranet statistics, followed by efforts to improve their internal communications governance document and an employee survey to better understand expectations and needs. IC shared best practices with the Transit Police throughout.
“I am new to internal communications but bring over a decade of experience in journalism. Raquel and Erin (from Intranet Connections) took the time to understand my strengths and provided support during the entire project keeping that in mind. Our meetings were fun and productive, and the exchange of ideas was very valuable to build a better platform for my organization.”
– Almas Meherally, Communications Advisor, Metro Vancouver Transit Police
The result: a redesigned, engaging intranet for improved internal communications
With the help of the team at Intranet Connections, the Transit Police were able to completely redesign the look and feel of their intranet. The updated homepage especially resonated with employees, with its fresh and modern appearance.
However, that was not the only benefit of the Transit Police’s reimagined intranet—it also worked differently, earning the approval of senior management and staff.
“Working with IC made the desire to improve the platform an achievable goal and the consistent support at every stage of the redevelopment was very valuable.”
– Almas Meherally, Communications Advisor, Metro Vancouver Transit Police
New ways to drive employee engagement
Almas put a lot of effort into adding new features into Cufflink that were requested by the Transit Police team, including:
- An office events calendar
- A “buy and sell” app
- New menus
- Updated content
Another big win for the Transit Police team was the quick polls Almas added to the intranet’s homepage. Week by week, more users were coming to the intranet to answer her fun questions, which included queries such as, “Are hot-dogs sandwiches?”.
“I have a better technical understanding of how to use our intranet platform. While earlier I was merely posting content, now I’m able to take ownership of the site and help our organization meet their communications goals for the platform.”
– Almas Meherally, Communications Advisor, Metro Vancouver Transit Police
Intranet Connections’ Tailored Experience
The Tailored Experience is a proven process developed by IC based on the 7 principles methodology. When IC goes through the Tailored Experience with a customer, we have the following goals:
- Measure and improve internal communications
- Continuous improvement of internal communications
- Empower internal communications to act strategically
- Bring metrics, reporting, and data analytics to internal communications
- Give internal communicators a seat at the leadership table
Because 7 principles is a “tailored” process there is no script; the IC team—our Communications Specialist and Customer Success Manager—meets with the customer’s team and works on their needs every week for about 12 weeks. The Tailored Experience also includes milestones and check-in points along the way to keep the journey on track.
The process starts with an Internal Communications Audit, conducted by the Communications Specialist. After the audit a report is drafted, which includes a General Score that is used as a baseline for that organization to measure growth. From that point on, the two teams meet weekly and work both on internal communications concepts and on IC’s software solutions.
For our intranet software customers, we have observed some trends:
- Faster launch: on average, Tailored Experience customers launch their intranet sites 75% faster than customers without (12 weeks vs. 52 weeks).
- Communication tied to business goals: the Tailored Experience creates a way to bring your communication plan alive within your organization, allowing you to measure the impact communication has on achieving your goals.
- Increase engagement in the project: on average, Tailored Experience customers have 3.6 people involved in the project. Customers without the Tailored Experience have, on average, only 1 person involved in the project.
Learn more about IC’s intranet software & the Tailored Experience
Interested in learning more? Book a demo now and discover how IC’s intranet software combined with the Tailored Experience can set your organization up for success.