Bank of Ireland intranet scoops top international award

The Bank of Ireland group's intranet has been named as one of the world's top 10 intranet sites in a prestigious award scheme run by Jakob Nielsen, the leading web expert.

The Bank of Ireland Group is the first Irish company to be awarded this accolade.

The intranet was selected by Nielsen’s company, the Nielsen Norman Group, for inclusion in the “Intranet Design Annual 2006: The Year’s Ten Best Intranets.”

The intranet, called insite, is the main internal communications channel for the Bank of Ireland Group and was relaunched last March.

It allows 17,000 employees to access extensive business and personal content and streamline many internal processes.

Jakob Nielsen praised the mix of business and personal features on the intranet.

"While the Bank of Ireland's intranet might swap the serious navy pinstripes for bursts of orange and blue, don't be fooled by the light-hearted aesthetics: this bank's intranet means business,” he said.

“A variety of business and personal features are packaged clearly and gracefully, continually drawing employees back to the intranet as part of their daily work routine.”

The intranet publishes all group-wide and intra-departmental communications.

It also features a breaking news service supplied by Thomas Crosbie Media, job vacancies, a classified advertising service and also publishes extensive policies, procedures, forms, research and other internal documentation.

It also offers access to procurement and purchasing services, room booking facilities, an electronic employee directory and a facilities management system.