Slow communication in your municipal workplace? Here is what other municipalities are doing to solve it

If you work in the public sector, you've probably experienced increasing demands, limited resources, and sometimes faltering internal communication and knowledge sharing?

Do you feel that your workplace is sometimes characterized by: 

• Wasted time

• Misunderstandings

• Departments working in silos

• Lack of knowledge sharing

• Too many meetings and emails

• Lack of dialogue between colleagues or between colleagues and management

• Employees who are not heard – e.g. due to their job function in the field and a lack of place to communicate wishes, opinions, new initiatives, etc.?

Unfortunately, these are well-known challenges in municipal everyday life, where you can likely recognize:

• Geographic spread: Employees are often stationed at different locations, making it difficult to gather everyone in one place.

• Very different communication needs:  From teachers and educators to technicians and administrative staff

• Technological challenges: Not all employees are equally tech-savvy, and many do not have access to a PC during their workday, so some are completely cut off from hearing from management, other colleagues, or headquarters

Recognized challenges at, for instance, Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality. Jette Rask, Project Manager at Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality explains:

“The size of the organization means that there are long distances between our departments. Therefore, we experience a major challenge regarding interdisciplinary collaboration. We have struggled to reach our external employees in the various institutions – both school teachers, daycare providers, and nursing home assistants, etc. At the same time, we have had difficulties in seeking colleagues with specific professional competencies and communicating information to employees through our previous intranet.”

Why a digital communication platform – a modern intranet is the solution

A modern intranet that functions as a digital internal communication platform has proven to be a game-changer for municipal internal communication in Denmark, Norway, and Germany. It acts as a central hub where employees can:

• Share knowledge: Best practices, experiences, and new knowledge can be shared in relevant working groups, via videos, images, documents, and comments/dialogues within or across departments and geographical areas.

• Collaborate: Projects can be coordinated more effectively, and employees can work together across departments.

• Find information: With a good search function, employees can quickly find the information they need.

• Receive relevant and segmented information: Employees who were previously cut off from important information can now receive the relevant information they need. Fewer emails and better knowledge sharing. With segmented working groups and news feeds available via mobile phones, tablets, and PCs, employees receive only the relevant information – news, events, and important announcements can be shared on a central platform.

• Engage in two-way communication: All employees now have the opportunity to participate in common discussions and contribute their knowledge, comment, like, and engage. This changes communication from one-way via email or SharePoint to two-way with open dialogue. 

• Find the right colleague: Through competency tags, employees can easily search for the right employee. Who was it, for instance, who took that course in Excel, or who can provide first aid?

Colibo is the largest provider of a modern intranet for municipalities in Denmark. A platform developed in collaboration with municipalities to understand the complex structures in the public sector.

Lisbet Rosendal, Web Consultant at Esbjerg Municipality explains why they chose Colibo:

The responsive platform has been a key point for us. We want access to the intranet via mobile phones and tablets, so we can also involve the daycare providers, home helpers, and nursing assistants who do not necessarily sit with a computer in their daily work.

Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality also uses Colibo:

The external employees can quickly access relevant information while also having the opportunity to create their own “collaboration spaces” through the working group feature. Colibo is also an intuitive and user-friendly intranet platform that allows us to quickly and easily find colleagues with specific competencies.

– Jette Rask, Project Manager, Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality

Silkeborg Municipality uses Colibo. John Andersen, Head of Administration, IT, and Economics for the home and nursing section says:

Previously, employees on the go had to call or log into different networks with PCs to access information. Now they have everything at their fingertips.

What characterizes a good municipal intranet?

• User-friendliness: The intranet should be intuitive and easy to navigate so that all employees can use it.

• Mobile accessibility: Employees should be able to access the intranet from their smartphones and tablets.

• Personalization: Employees should be able to customize the intranet to their own needs.

• Integration with other systems: The intranet should be able to integrate with other systems, e.g. HR systems and finance systems.

The future of municipal intranets

A modern intranet is no longer just a tool for sharing information. It is a platform that can strengthen collaboration, increase productivity, and create a stronger sense of community among employees. By investing in a good intranet, many municipalities ensure a more effective and cohesive organization.

Would you like to know more about how an intranet can benefit your municipality? Or what other municipalities have specifically done or achieved with their intranet? Contact us at contact@colibo.com or + 45 28 14 40 15