Think APS deployed a SharePoint intranet to strengthen relationships.
Creating an inspiring out-of-the-box intranet to improve communication across the organisation, and digitising feedback collection with an integrated bespoke app.
The Client and Their Challenge
Think APS are a media and events management company with an expanding global network of contacts. They specialise in overseeing large-scale live events and conferences. APS are experienced at developing and producing all parts of the event, from behind-the-scenes technical support to interactive set design. Additionally, their portfolio covers a wide range of creative media services including web development, graphic design, and animation.
APS are highly successful at helping their customers tailor communication to their audience, and they wanted to replicate this experience in their internal communications. The goal was to strengthen relationships, streamline knowledge sharing and enhance their overall company culture.
APS chose ThinkShare as their digital transformation partner because of our proven success at implementing immersive and inspiring intranets. We dedicate time to understanding our client’s unique goals and specifications to ensure the solution is effective. Following a discussion of the options, a SharePoint out-of-the-box intranet was chosen for the project as it met all their needs for communication and resource management.
The nature of their work means APS frequently work with new freelancers, suppliers and venues, and a large proportion of their employees work away from the office at event locations. Therefore, another key project requirement was finding a secure and efficient way to gather client feedback on these external contractors. Together we evaluated SharePoint’s capabilities and found it was suitable to host a new custom feedback app.
The Solution
OOTB Intranet – The Bubble
Every digital transformation project starts by working in close partnership with the client to define their requirements. We hosted discovery workshops with the APS team to uncover some of the key challenges. Regular calls and ongoing collaboration throughout the design, build and launch phases ensured the solution fully aligned with strategic priorities.
To improve communication for their decentralised workforce, APS needed a user-friendly intranet with a clear interface that highlighted important company and team updates. They wanted a visually engaging platform to encourage participation and adoption.
During the discovery phase, we outlined several possible user journeys. A significant number of APS employees are deskless when overseeing events on-site. ThinkShare considered the needs of mobile users from the beginning of the project. We were able to utilise responsive design to ensure everyone could access the intranet on-the-go and have an excellent user experience.
Strengthening relationships within the company was a top priority for the intranet. We designed the news feed to showcase important company news, keeping everyone in the loop with business successes and current projects.
APS wanted their end-of-year highlight reel video front and centre on the intranet, so we embedded it on the homepage. We also included a section to celebrate personal employee milestones, providing natural opportunities for conversation.
They also wanted to boost participation in their company’s social events. These could be promoted in the main news feed section, but we also incorporated a calendar-style icon on the homepage to display the date and basic details of upcoming events.
Critical information was getting lost in emails and disparate applications. SharePoint’s powerful search capabilities mean employees know exactly where to look to find the information needed to work productively. They can be confident that they’re accessing the most recent version of the file.
The new intranet aims to reduce search time by prioritising the findability of information. We designed an intuitive navigation menu containing the most frequently accessed links – client resources, R&D and a people directory. Important company policies like the employee handbook and internal training materials and brand guidelines were collated. Regardless of location, employees can now deliver high-quality projects and represent the brand consistently.
APS’s events-based work requires coordination between multiple teams, departments, and freelance contributors. We established the ‘who’s who’ page to improve communication. It created transparency around each employee’s role, level of responsibility and expertise. We added pictures of each employee to help people become more familiar with their colleagues and form connections faster.
ThinkShare are committed to ensuring the client gets maximum value from the project. Our experts delivered content editor training to futureproof the solution and ensure they could independently publish content to keep their new intranet a source of trusted, relevant information. APS were already well-equipped to create engaging video and image content to populate it.
We also addressed any questions and concerns they had about the launch or long-term maintenance of the intranet.
Custom Feedback App
We created a feedback app which collects and assign feedback to the relevant record in a centralised database. It is hosted in the SharePoint environment and accessible directly from the intranet.
The client’s business model relies on freelancers to deliver their services. They needed an easy way to log client feedback after project completion. The app collates all the information about the individual, offering an at-a-glance overview of the projects they were involved with and the client’s satisfaction. The feedback app was essential for faster decision-making. It supported APS to evaluate their freelancers’ overall performance and decide whether to continue working with them.
Again supporting the goal of increased engagement with the solution, we focused on creating an eye-catching design. We included a dynamic ‘top suppliers’ and ‘top freelancers’ section that automatically pulled together the latest information to recognise the contributors with the highest ratings
The Outcome
With the implementation of the intranet, we wanted to demonstrate to their employees that it was a useful addition to their collection of digital tools. It was important that APS’s intranet experience was positive from the start. The features we included were chosen because of their tangible impact on everyday work processes.
The intranet clearly communicated company news and updates. This helped people develop a clear understanding of the organisation’s goals so they could work in alignment with them. Employees were also encouraged to share personal news and celebrate successes with their co-workers.
ThinkShare deployed an intranet that connected dispersed employees to the wider organisation. Responsive design was utilised for a mobile app, so the solution was equally useful when working away from the office.
We thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Think APS to build an internal communication platform that surpassed their expectations. We are pleased with the scalable out-of-the-box intranet and accompanying SharePoint app we were able to create together.
