Meet Eric Ryan, co-founder and self pledged co-parent of method. I had the pleasure of seeing Eric Ryan speak at the recent Art of Marketing conference and enjoyed the story of his journey on how the method brand turned the consumer-packaged-goods industry on its head. What struck me about Eric Ryan was not his enthusiasm, which was in abundance, or his charisma, also in abundance, but how their method company has produced a culture of innovation and ideas. I found myself smiling and head bobbing constantly during his talk. Yes!!

Eric Ryan believes that the method culture is their only sustainable competitive advantage for innovation and that all employees must embody the brand. Imagine that. Imagine the power of that statement. Now imagine the many ways to transfer that statement to every single staff member. Enter the intranet and you have a primary driver to making your intranet site a critical component of your competitive advantage and company health.

We have many credit unions, banks, hospitals and hospices who use our Intranet Connections software as a vehicle for driving company culture.  Document management is usually on the tip of everyone’s tongue when they think intranet. Moving paper forms online which yields great ROI. Ease of use.  These are of course important but the hidden miracle of an intranet is in supporting and enhancing your culture.

After hearing Eric Ryan’s story and what method is doing to empower all employees to embody their brand, and the ideas that spark because of it, it had me thinking even more about culture. If you follow any of my blog posts, you’ll see a common thread surrounding company culture as it is a passion of mine. But I really get geared up when I see such evidence of it as with method. If you are interested in learning more check out their book “The Method Method“.

So how do you support company culture and turn your intranet into a Superhero?

Let me count the ways!

1. Give your intranet a persona – the personality of your company
2. Dress it up – everyone likes esthetics
3. Reflect the tone of your culture
4. Reflect the values of your company
5. Have fun! Share the fun
6. Promote innovation and idea exchange
7. Promote good karma
8. Use the intranet to prototype ideas and innovation
9. Make on-boarding a key task on your intranet
   1. Create cultural chemistry tests when hiring
   2. Create cultural tests based on principles, brand, values
   3. Give lottery tickets as prizes for great test scores
   4. Create a “virtual” onboarding binder
   5. Feature new employees with their photo and personal story
   6. Create a welcome wagon site for the newly hired

For more ideas on creating a cultural phenomenon with your intranet check out:

– Fun at the Expense of Productivity?  Not a Chance

– The Art of Intranet Culture

– Build Workplace Culture Through the Intranet

Want to learn more about how our business intranet software can help you achieve a superhero culture in your organization?  Request a free 20-min demo or contact our sales team at clientservices@icthrive.com