Mark Morrell Intranet Pioneer

About me

I combine my experience of managing intranets and strategic thinking to help organisations improve the value of their intranets and digital workplaces.

From 1996 I have managed intranets, creating strategies that support the business, and worked closely with IT partners and senior managers to develop governance frameworks for steering groups, standards, and intranet roles.  I have trained people to publish and understand why standards need to be followed.  I have led teams managing and implementing major technology and change projects.

I successfully pioneered the creation of an intranet strategy, aligned with other strategies, supported by a governance framework of standards, roles and responsibilities. Combining this approach with automated compliance checks on standards, performance measures to show satisfaction and increased usage by people, highlighted the value and wider benefits to BT of an intranet.

Since leaving BT in 2011 I have used my experience gained from managing one of the best intranets in the world at BT to help over 20 UK and global organisations to improve their intranets and digital workplaces.  This includes:

• Transforming intranets into digital workplaces
• Developing digital workplace strategies
• Helping with SharePoint
• Improving publishing governance, guidance and training
• Measuring the full value of an intranet
• Creating great mobile intranet user experiences
• Managing relationships with business representatives and IT partners
• Building successful business cases
• Advising on how to implement new technologies

I also write whitepapers, blog posts, speak at conferences, run workshops, and benchmark intranets for the Intranet Benchmarking Forum.

In 2002 I became the BT Intranet manager responsible for meeting the needs of over 180,000 global employees and third parties.  Working with senior representatives and IT partners I transformed BT’s intranet into a digital workplace so people can work anywhere, anytime, with any device.  BT’s intranet was recognised by the Intranet Benchmarking Forum as one of the best globally for governance, strategy, communications, engagement, collaboration, usability and measuring value.

My BT intranet achievements include:

• Transforming the intranet into a digital workplace that employees could use anywhere, any time with any device
• Developed and aligned intranet strategy with BT strategy to show how it supported the business goals.
• Creating a stakeholder board of senior business representatives to agree and implement the intranet strategy, aligned with the business strategy
• Implementing SharePoint 2010 governance, standards and features (MyProfile, MySite, etc.)
• Using collaborative tools to improve communication and speed up activities
• Building a governance model with roles and responsibilities aligned to job descriptions and performance targets
• Researching employees’ needs with online surveys, interviews and beta testing
• Developing standards that meet business, legal and regulatory needs, embedded into templates and enforced by compliance tools
• Access to everyone, including people with mobile devices, to BT’s intranet.
• Leading teams implementing content and document management systems

I live in Brighton on the south coast of England.

Find out more about my experience and how I can help you with intranets, SharePoint, internal communications or the digital workplace by contacting me.