The document provides 12 tips for improving internal digital communication and intranet policies. It emphasizes that intranets should meet user needs rather than be technical projects, content should take priority over design, and communication should support business goals rather than be driven by technology or individual departments. Effective digital communication relies on consistent, well-organized content structures rather than complex interfaces or frequent system changes.

1. Digital internal communication 2 1/2
12 tips for communication policy
Luc de Ruijter
http://www.lucderuijter.nl/
woensdag 24 maart 2010

2. 1. Intranets are not the goal
• Many websites offer something different from what users expect. Make sure you deliver
what users want.
• Intranets are supporting communication solutions (in themselves intranets solve little).
• Before building a website, start with making an analysis of needs and expectations.
• Expectations are not technical requirements.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

3. 2. Start with content, not with graphic or UI-design
• Intranet (and internet) users in general come for content, not for design.
• Effective design stems from knowing what needs to be designed.
• Form supports functionality and content.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

4. 3. Internal digital communication is supporting
• Internal digital communication supports the people in an organization.
• Intranet is social when the people are at its center.
• In order to make investments in intranet successful, the ʻownersʼ of intranet need to have
a different attitude than that of an online sales person.
• Whoever regards intranet users as internet audiences is missing the difference (and
creating (communication) problems).
• Audiences exist within the context of formal, directive communications.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

5. 4. Content is more sustainable than technologies
• When an IT-system is replaced (much) content migrates to the new IT-system.
• Organizational content is durable; technology is temporary.
• Whoever finds sustainability important invests in content;
• Whoever thinks expensive investments arenʼt a problem, invests in IT-hypes.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

6. 5. Information connects, systems segregate
• Consistency in communication is about connecting information.
• IT-systems of one supplier often ʻdonʼt relate toʼ systems built by competitors.
• The more systems are used in digital communication, the more siloʼs youʼll end up with.
• Focus on connecting information, more than on connecting IT-systems.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

7. 6. Choose IT-systems based on digital communication
• Donʼt make communication policies based on IT-systems.
• IT-systems are never the solution of a communication problem.
They simply support the solution.
• Whoever makes communication strategy based on purchased technology
makes that policy subordinate to the technology.
• Internal digital communication exceeds IT-policy.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

8. 7. Structure your content before you have it automated
• An old IT saying goes: ʻgarbage in, garbage outʼ. This is still applicable.
• When you do not invest in understandable content structures in the backend,
you should not expect usable or useful structures in the frontend.
• Consistency in digital communication has nothing to do with design or text editing
and everything with structure.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

9. 8. Navigation structure is not content structure
• Navigation structure isnʼt content structure, but just a representation of the latter.
• Complex navigation structures are a symptom of badly organized content.
• Badly organized content has less value.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

10. 9. All communication supports business goals
• Communication is never a goal.
• Communication needs to support business goals.
• Communication efforts that are not consistent with organizational goals will lack support
from users or audiences.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

11. 10. You canʼt support collaboration with persuasive messages
• Collaboration is supported with effective (digital) tools.
• Tools are not (journalistic) media.
• Shared tools should be owned by the organization, not by a department.
• Tools enable users to do stuff, and not just read about doing stuff.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

12. 11. Service is best communicated with service
• Effective online service has much more communication impact than any written message
or article about the service.
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

13. 12. Lack of basic for an intranet is a result of that same
• Digital internal communication policy needs to be supportive instead of sender driven.
• When an organization isnʼt supported with relevant tools, the feedback will communicate
lack of basic.
• Creating basic for media that arenʼt needed or wanted, is a waste of energy, time and
money.
•
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

14. Digital internal communication 2 1/2
My book (in Dutch) contains several examples and
guidelines to improve the quality of internal
communication in the digital domain.
My vision and strategies hang somewhere between
Web 2.0 and 3.0. The 2 1/2 refers to the need for less
hype, and more substance in communication discourse.
http://www.lucderuijter.nl/downloads/dic212_boek_flyer.pdf (in Dutch)
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lucderuijter
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010

15. Luc de Ruijter
Luc de Ruijter (1964) studied history after finishing his teacherʼs training in arts and history. After being a publisher
at NWO for a couple of years he taught himself in new media and started in 1998 as a webmaster.
In 2000 he became freelancer in new media.
Since 2003 De Ruijter focusses on intranet. He published his first article about intranet and changes in
communication in the same year. His first book “Intranet works! About the changing role of intranet and
communication” (2007) already discusses changes in the way we work with information. His second book
descends on this line and offers concrete methods to create structure in information in order to improve quality and
coherence in online services and communication.
Meanwhile De Ruijter works as strategic advisor in digital internal communications. In this role he develops content
strategies, concepts for integrated digital communication, and working websites in general (with an emphasis on
working).
He lectures Internal Digital Communication at HAN University in Arnhem, The Netherlands.
http://www.lucderuijter.nl/
Lucderuijter.nl 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010