P.G. Daly's Intranet Talk :

What is the IQ of your Company? The life of your Intranet Could Depend on it. By P.G. Daly

No matter how flashy the design, advanced the technology, or just plain cool your intranet is, the question still remains: are people using it? Although all companies have users on both ends of the PC savvy scale, overall, how would you rate your company's Technology IQ (TIQ)?

I would suggest that TIQ is partly a product of a company's culture because different companies utilize Internet and other technologies to different degrees and with varying degrees of success. Though I don't work for a technology or high tech company, I would take an educated guess that the average user base at such a company would be much more technologically proficient than at say, a manufacturing company. Even though the intranet at my company has been in existence for almost two years and "officially rolled-out" across the company almost a year and a half ago, it still amazes me that so many users have difficulty with the basics. For instance, even a foundational understanding that you: Connect to the network Open your browser (& "yes, sir/ma'am, that'd be the Netscape or Internet Explorer Icon on your screen"& ) Click on links to access information. This is still lacking in some users I've been dealing with.

After using the intranet and Internet for awhile you'd expect users to  intuitively use additional features and functionality on web sites with little trouble. After all, the only software the user has to learn is the browser, right? Wrong. Even if they start to understand how to use a browser, then you get into support issues and questions such as, "I downloaded a file from the 'net, where did it go?" and "Can't I get to the intranet when I'm using my AOL account from home?"

Now, before someone accuses me of poking fun at users or making light of the struggles of users (whose expertise is in sales or something other than technology), I want to make it clear that I am simply pointing out some symptoms that can help you put a finger on the pulse of a company's TIQ. Obviously, every company and every support person has experienced some users who, no matter how much they try, just do not function well with the technology. But what percentage of the population does this category of users comprise at your company? And, more importantly, at what level of comfort and proficiency does the typical user in your company function?

Answers to these questions are crucial.Developers and management can create advanced applications or mandate technology usage until the cows come home, but if many of the users are still struggling with opening their browser, little to no benefit or return on investment will be realized.

If you've determined your company's TIQ to be high, that is great, and hopefully you can leverage new technology rapidly to obtain maximum benefit for your company. If you're situation is similar to mine, and you've determined that the TIQ is closer to "below average", how can you raise the TIQ across the company? What kinds of training or awareness can be done within the company to raise the TIQ to a level at which new technology brings you more benefit than support calls?

I am currently in the process of struggling with this exact question and hope to have some additional insight to share with you soon. However, if you've recently found a way to raise your company's TIQ, I'd love to hear your war stories, so drop me an e-mail.
paulag@enter.net .

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The Author

P.G. Daly is Webmaster for the intranet of a large durable goods manufacturing company. In addition, P.G. writes for several online publications and does freelance web design and consulting. P.G. welcomes your feedback at paulag@enter.net .