Governance is about the process, not the (development) project
Now you might think that a 'governance model for beginners' is a steering committee that sets the framework, makes decisions, and leads the (re)development process of your intranet. That is a good start, but we probably don't need to explain to you that intranet management is an ongoing process and not a one-time project. The same goes for governance .
A steering committee is primarily an instrument from project management methodologies. And an important characteristic of projects is that they have a beginning and an end. So there is also a beginning and an end to the life of the steering committee . You can therefore not rely on it for the rest of your life. And besides – it is often quite difficult to ensure that a steering committee really steers, and does not degenerate into a staring group that only watches.
In short, governance is in a sense the opposite of project management and steering committee (we actually already saw that in the definition 'governance versus management', above). Governance is necessary because you also have to make a lot of choices for your 'normal' management processes, interim adjustments and expansions, and new deliveries . That is not easy. The members of your governance council must be constantly involved and actively want to participate.
Governance organization: who do you involve and in what way?
How do you really set up a good governance structure? Well, there are so many possibilities. And that depends on your organization, your goals and… well, everything. In any case, we use the same 3-division as the governance levels:
Standard governance organization setup (Source: Sabel Online)
Standard governance organization setup (Source: Sabel Online)
Making intranet governance future-proof
OK, now you’ve come up with a strategy, (re)developed your intranet — and subsequently dismantled your steering committee — and defined your governance tools. You’ve got the next 2, 3 years. But what do you do after that? How do you future-proof governance? Jane McConnell (r)ecognizes 3 ways to do this, and recommends all 3:
Ideally, all key functions and departments are represented on your governance board. This means that your business departments are sitting side by side with communications, IT, and HR . If you choose to let these traditional intranet owners play their role as enablers, you automatically push the business forward as the key decision maker for the intranet. A role that the business should have had long ago, McConnell believes.
Establish and publish communication lines with decision makers
It goes without saying that departments 'only' have representatives on the governance board. But those who are singapore phone number list represented do not always know by whom. Sometimes they are not asked for their opinion before decisions are made and sometimes they do not even hear what is decided, partly in their name . This causes confusion and possibly even rejection of the decisions. Make the communication lines between the decision makers and the rest of the organization concrete and public. Make it clear who is on the governance board and what role the people have. And oblige the board to report on their choices and publish them, including action points (for whom and when).
Regularly involve relatively new (young) employees in strategy sessions
Governance board members are often managers with the necessary experience in the business and some seniority. Therefore, regularly and explicitly invite younger employees. However, do not choose the boys and girls who started last month, but people who have sufficient knowledge of your organization, so that they can formulate the core of your business in such a way that the 'senior' can also make chocolate of it. In this way, you mix years of experience with new, fresh ideas. And that keeps everyone sharp.
How did the top 10 intranets benefit from governance?
The 10 best intranets of 2011 according to the Nielsen Norman Group , which Boudewijn Bugter wrote about on Frankwatching at the end of last month, all benefited in one way or another from clearly defined governance agreements and instruments. We will highlight a few — ownership in particular is discussed extensively in the Nielsen Norman Group report.