WWF takes the leap from Google to Omnia for better information flow and communication

A new Omnia- and Microsoft 365-based intranet improves internal communication within The World Wildlife Fund and makes the organization more efficient and transparent going forward.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a leading non-profit organization that works to protect the earth's natural habitats and prevent the destruction of endangered plant and animal species. With local organizations in over 100 countries worldwide, WWF's Swedish operation alone employs approximately 150 individuals and is led by a board and a board of trustees with representatives from various organizations, institutions, and authorities.

New intranet supports improved efficiency and internal communication

To facilitate better communication and information flow among its employees, WWF recently upgraded its intranet from a Google-based and self-developed platform to an Omnia- and Microsoft 365-based solution. Three other competing intranet solutions were also evaluated, but Omnia was chosen primarily because of the solution's seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and Teams, which are WWF's most important desktop and collaboration tools.

The transition to Omnia has been instrumental in reducing internal emails and improving the efficiency of internal communication. According to Troy Enekvist, Press Secretary and Editor at WWF, "the digital noise has therefore decreased considerably and made it easier for us to get through with important messages and for the employees to connect".

In addition to improved communication, the upgrade has also resulted in better accessibility to all internal information, processes, and tools, giving WWF more control and transparency over its operations.

The Omnia-based intranet was launched after a year-long implementation process that involved cleaning, restructuring, and creating new content. WWF's IT manager, Stefan Andersson, advises having a well-thought-out and clear internal communication policy in place before implementing the intranet. This will help to know how the intranet should support the various communication and information flows and how the authorization rights should be configured, i.e. who can do what.

All employees can contribute

One of the notable features of the new Omnia-based intranet is that all employees can create and publish content, resulting in a more vibrant, relevant, and inclusive intranet. Omnia's powerful governance functionality helps to keep the content well-structured, neat, and up-to-date. To ensure that the intranet remains relevant and updated, a special team conducts monthly follow-ups of the user statistics, and a developer group meets every two months to discuss the intranet's improvement potential. This gives WWF better order and control over its intranet.

WWF's Document and Quality Management System has also been integrated with Omnia to improve the management of documents and quality control processes. The implementation process was meticulous in planning and creating the right content and structure, resulting in a more attractive, robust, and user-oriented intranet.

The transition to Omnia was not without its challenges, but the benefits have been significant. WWF's previous intranet had only a few editors, which resulted in relatively sparse and poorly updated content. The new intranet's vision is that all employees can create and publish content, which has resulted in a more vibrant and inclusive intranet. In addition, the integration of the Document and Quality Management System with Omnia has improved the management of documents and quality control processes, giving WWF more control over its operations.

The implementation process took almost a year, which Stefan Andersson attributes to the meticulous planning and content creation involved: “It is essential to take the time to plan and structure the intranet properly to make it more attractive, robust, and user-oriented. The implementation process is also easier when the planning and structuring process takes some time.”

Designing the solution required thorough planning and content structuring, but the result is a more attractive, robust, and user-oriented intranet. The Omnia platform's powerful governance functionality has helped WWF keep content well-structured, neat, and up-to-date, and the organization now has better control over all internal communication flows.

In conclusion, WWF's switch to an Omnia- and Microsoft 365-based platform has brought numerous benefits to the organization. More efficient and transparent internal communication, better accessibility to internal information, processes, and tools, and a significant decrease in digital noise will support the WWF in their important work going forward.