AGCL talkies is a combination of an intranet and a community site developed for Avaya, which includes various HR modules as well as channel to unwind. This site offers various services to its user like message boards, open house etc. for collaboration, post-it (classifieds), articles, games, e-cards, image gallery etc. for fun. Online induction process, HR policies, online appraisal, announcement board, member’s directory etc. for the HR department. Apart from the user interface AGCL talkies has a very robust content management system and employee tracking system.
AGCL talkies was born as an entertainment and leisure-oriented online community space with interesting and interactive features like e-cards, horoscope forecasts, a range of arcade games, tambola, jokes, cartoons, trivia, funny quotes, etc. Interspersed with these useful information like articles on everything from automobiles to pet care, advice on money matters, travel information, industry news, etc.
Three collaboration tools were used—an Open House, an Employee Directory and a User Ranking system. The Open House is a contributory forum where AGCLites can post messages, images and articles.
The Employee Directory is an online centralized database, which apart from the names and photographs of all AGCLites lists a personalized profile with information like birthdays, anniversaries, home region, names of family members, etc. The User Ranking system tracks the number of log-ins and the type of activities engaged in by each AGCLite, ranking one of them as AGCLite of the Month.
After the success of the first six months, it was time to begin introducing more work-oriented features. An interesting innovation was the Quarterly Plan, which was a method to foster healthy intra-departmental competition, by setting quarterly targets for each department and then putting up the timely progress reports.
One of the areas where intranets can prove particularly useful is HR Administration. Two of the latest features added recently to AGCL talkies are online induction and appraisal.
Benefits
The strategy was a roaring success---starting from an initial penetration of a mere 35%, the participation rate rose to 60% within the first 6 months and soared to a whopping 95% in the next 6.
