John Lewis’ unique partnership model allows its internal comms team some advantages, however, it still faces the challenge of bringing together more than 80,000 employees who are partners in the business.

To tackle the challenges of increasing productivity and improving engagement, Rufus Leonard worked with John Lewis to reach its internal audience. The agency created a new intranet with simple and powerful branding on a social- and mobile-based platform. The new intranet was intended to induce communication and collaboration in order to foster better relationships across the business.

Darrel Worthingto, director of information architecture at Rufus Leonard, says a social intranet can help global organisations bring disparate workforces together. By allowing that space to contain practical information and company communications, employees become more effective stakeholders, particularly in a partnership model.

“For organisations that have moved over to social platforms there have been other reported benefits too; increased innovation, lower project costs, and improved employee morale, measureable benefits that are hard to ignore,” Worthington says. “In addition where companies have introduced social intranets they have seen a perceived positive change in their company culture, a move away from a culture of ‘knowledge is power’ to a culture of ‘transparency, recognition and reward’.”

Though the challenges of a massive and disparate workforce can seem insurmountable, organisations tend to find ways in which to engage their employees. Social intranets are favoured by many, as are apps and employee events.