That’s why the intranet story of SAS Institute, the highly acclaimed Cary, NC global software company, is so compelling. The SAS intranet has become an integral part of the company culture. And an intranet that is recognized in communication circles as one of the best in the world today.

“When SAS employees visit our intranet site, they are looking for information that’s relevant to their work preferences,” says Becky Graebe, communications manager for SAS. “But they also want the intranet to be a place where they can connect with SAS colleagues around the world and feel part of global community. We have worked hard to build an intranet that is timely, newsy, trustworthy, engaging, interactive and a comfortable fit within our corporate culture. It’s a combination that seems to work.”

Indeed it has, as SAS has been named Fortune Magazine’s Best Company to Work For the past two years in a row, with internal communications recognized as a contributing factor.

The home page of the “SAS Wide Web,” as the intranet is known, features company news and photos in the top left corner and a search directory, with alphabetical index, in the upper right space. Nothing unusual about that intranet design approach.

What differentiates the home page from most is its bottom half, which is devoted to a host of employee social media and personalized features. The section includes: a customized internal news feed; a link to the well-thought-out social networking platform, named the Hub; newsworthy samples from the best of the internal blogs; and interactive polls and quizzes that change from day to day.

Here’s a look at the key home page elements:

• RSS feeds deliver customized internal news. SAS takes the personalization of company news to a new level as it gives employees the option of subscribing to more than 200 internal news feeds, wiki updates, videos, podcasts and department newsletters. Employees scan the well organized categories and lists and make their personal news source selections quickly and easily.
   

• Real-time company news. The “news@sas” has a feel of immediacy to it rarely found on corporate intranets. Yes, the internal communications team writes and posts news stories like a normal employee publication development process. But SAS staffers also report “live” from the scene of the story, filing “real-time” reports from company meetings, technology conferences, customer events and more. Employees can also use the prominently displayed “Report It!” button on each “news@sas” page to share photos and videos, or request a news spotlight on a colleague or event.

• The Hub: internal social networking. Earlier this year, SAS centralized all its blogs, wikis, videos and podcasts into a Facebook/LinkedIn-like social media center. The Hub is SAS’s “town center,” a place where employees can  post linked to their blogs (more than 600 blogs have been created so far), post personal status updates and videos, ask questions, get opinions, and share ideas and stories. An orientation video and other tips and tools help employees understand social media guidelines and how to use the site. One of the most spectacular developments on the Hub has been the rapid emergence of employee discussion groups. More than 700 special interest groups have been formed to date, many of them devoted to employee information sharing and problem-solving in areas ranging from technology to travel recommendations.
   

• Interactive polls/quizzes. SAS believes some of the “lighter stuff” like “Where Are They Now,” “Great Snack Feedback,” and periodic polls or quizzes on work and daily subjects help humanize the site and draw people in. In “You Tell Us,” for example, employees answer questions about themselves in 40 characters or less. The top answers are featured on the home page. Meanwhile, “On the Job” is a popular quick-read feature that gives employees the opportunity to talk about themselves and their work.

“As a knowledge-based organization, the next big product idea or customer solution is already forming in the minds of our employees,” says Graebe. “The goal of our intranet is to integrate technologies in ways that draw out those ideas into collaborative workplaces where colleagues from all around the company can help them take shape with added perspectives, expertise and creativity. We want to offer employees solid connections to information and resources, but recognize that not all relevant information exists as web content. The most important goal of the intranet is to connect people.”

– By Ron Hess, Motiv8 Communications