Corporate Eye

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Archives for December 2015

Importance of Navigation

navigation

Great looking website—Shame I can’t find what I want

The company was proud of its new corporate website. And the new pages certainly looked modern and fresh, thanks to the time and money that had been spent on development. But there was a problem, and it wasn’t discovered until the site had gone live. Put bluntly, site visitors couldn’t find what they wanted on the site and the reason for this was simple – the website was hard to navigate.

The above example is hypothetical, but I often come across issues like this. I used to think basic navigation issues were confined to creaking sites long past their use-by date, but brand new sites can have the same problem. The reasons for this can vary. Sometimes a company is so eager to revamp an old site, or so keen to include all the latest web ideas, they overlook the not-so-exciting nuts and bolts of good site navigation. And this can be a big mistake, because if a visitor can’t find what they’re looking for (and fast), they’re not going to find all the stuff companies want them to see.

So how can you find out if your website is easy to navigate? For this purpose of this post, I’m going to focus on stakeholder areas and share some brief tips on how to ensure visitors have a good navigation experience.

1. Don’t forget first impressions – Are the main stakeholder sections clearly signposted on your home page? I know this may sound obvious, but put on the shoes of a site visitor and take a look at your home page and compare it with something like Allergan’s homepage.

2. Keep everything where it should be – Don’t split stakeholder content. If a visitor is looking for core “About Us” content, they’re going to expect to find it in one place (and not spread over separate stakeholder areas, like a website I reviewed recently).

3. Don’t confuse the site visitor – It may sound like an original idea to call your key stakeholder sections something other than “About” or “Media”, but whatever you call them, it must be a recognisable pointer for the site visitor. Remember – a confused site visitor is going to be a past visitor very shortly.

4. Don’t hide your strengths – If your company has a great innovation story to tell, don’t hide it with a brief reference in your “About” pages. Invest in a specific section that stands on its own in the home page top navigation menu (like Eni). The same applies for businesses with an impressive corporate governance record.

5. Make a list – Pick a specific stakeholder section (e.g. “About”) and then write down what you’d expect to find there (don’t cheat and look at your own site first). Best practice recommends a broad range of useful and engaging content. Then go up back to your own website and compare what’s on your list to what’s there. If visitors can’t find everything they expect to see in a stakeholder area, they’re likely to look elsewhere on your site. And if they can’t find it elsewhere, that might be the last you see of them!

6. Avoid navigation jolts – Many companies use links to company reports (either in HTML or PDF) to provide additional stakeholder content, in sections like CSR or corporate governance. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this approach, provided the report content at the end of the link is of good quality. If it isn’t, this can create a jolt in the viewing experience of the visitor. And if the report content doesn’t look very good on the screen, it can look unprofessional.

I’ve only scratched the surface here regarding best practice for stakeholder navigation. And I’ve not even touched on all the other aspects of making a website easy to get around. The good news is that we’re happy to share what we know about all these things at Corporate Eye. So if you’re not sure if your website passes the navigation test, drop us a line and we’ll let you know!

Digital Diversity and the Bottom Line

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Most companies now understand that supporting diversity can no longer be filed under “nice to have”. A well-thought-out diversity strategy offers lucrative opportunities for stakeholder dialogue and understanding. It can also be a fantastic aid to recruiting and promote employee development. On so many levels, doing diversity well can help with the company “bottom line”, and that’s not just me saying that either. A recent report (PDF) by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) includes research that shows how diversity initiatives can cut business costs, improve staff and skills retention, and improve performance as well.

Employee groups can be a key part of diversity strategy. By supporting groups that articulate the views and issues of specific groups (e.g. LGBT, Carers), companies can gain insight that leads to multiple benefits. If these groups can be brought together, it can be a great opportunity for idea sharing that everyone benefits from (including the company). But what if the members of those groups are located on multiple sites or in different countries?

It looks like BT might have the answer with an innovative digital idea. Like many companies, they support a range of employee networks focusing on; Women, LGBT, Faith, Disability, Carers, and Ethnic Minorities. In 2014, BT made the decision to bring them all together, to share ideas and celebrate success stores. But that was easier said than done. The employee networks had a combined membership of 6000, with members based all over the UK and beyond. The solution was an online event called “The Big Conversation”.

The first “Big Conversation” was a two day event that involved debate and discussion on a variety of diversity subjects. Employees from BT’s global network were encouraged to contribute to debates, ask questions, and start “Big Conversations” of their own. The event involved online sharing of key facts and figures, and the uploading of over 30 videos and podcasts. There was also information on volunteering and the employee groups themselves, together with opportunities to recognise colleagues.

The collaborative event was a great success, with over 600 people directly involved, over 500 comments posted, and more than 14,000 pages viewed. More than 1,000 new members joined the employee networks following the event, and feedback was extremely positive. “Employee networks offer a two-way communication channel between the business and its members,” said Chris Grant, BT Lead inclusion advisor at the time, “This provides both individuals and BT with a great opportunity to learn and share knowledge across diverse communities, enabling BT to develop new opportunities and meet the needs of its people and customers more closely. In effect, the collaboration between BT & our Employee Networks is a win-win situation”.

All companies are different of course, but let’s finish with some basic diversity best practice that all businesses should be doing, whatever their size. Firstly, there has to be some engaging diversity content on your corporate site. Secondly, ensure there’s some kind of digital forum where diversity can be discussed. It doesn’t have to be as bold as BT’s “Big Conversation” – a well-managed intranet can provide a great platform for idea sharing. For website or intranet, the aim should be to offer opportunities to discuss and collaborate. Remember, diversity isn’t “nice to have” anymore.

Done well, it can really help with the company “bottom line”.

If you’d like to find out more about how to promote diversity and inclusion in the digital workplace, why not drop us a line and we’ll be happy to help.

PS – And thanks to Transform Work UK and The Royal Society for letting me know about BT’s Big Conversation!

Jobseekers bank on good Careers content

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There’s no getting around it. The key to successful online recruiting is having great careers content. Radical web design is one way to achieve this, and readers of this blog will know how much I liked all the ideas on Medallia’s creative website. But this isn’t the only way to grab jobseekers’ attention. An apparently conventional looking Careers section can engage and also be inventive. And it just so happens that I’ve just come across a great website to illustrate this.

BNY Mellon is an American multinational banking and financial services provider. There are lots of things to like on their Career pages, but it’s the subtle touches which caught my eye. Take a look at their “Day in the Life” role profiles for a start. There’s a lot of stuff you’d expect to find here, plus links to similar jobs and some great insight and culture messages. And take a look at the video here. At first glance, this looks like the sort of polished information film that can be found on many career sites. But how many of those videos include a transcript for those who want or need one?

The Interviewing at BNY Mellon pages have also been well-designed with interview and application tips from current employees, plus a high profile list of FAQs. It’s obvious that BNY Mellon have put a lot of thought into those cheap to add but super-effective webpage extras, and that includes vacancy details. Added to the usual location and job role filters, BNY Mellon have also added “entry level” as a filter, and this provides an extra layer of guidance for jobseekers seeking appropriate roles. And each one of their vacancy descriptions also including a brief overview of what the company does and it’s culture. Okay, it may not sound like the most exciting part of career content strategy, but it’s these little details that can make all the difference.

It’s not just the small subtle things that BNY Mellon do well. There’s a big emphasis on encouraging jobseekers to engage with the company, whether that’s by signing up for alerts and updates, or by joining BNY’s Talent community on social media community. Add to that high profile content demonstrating the bank’s achievements with campus recruitment, diversity, CSR, innovation, and industry recognition, and a clear picture emerges. BNY Mellon has a great recruiting story to tell, and it can be found in every part of its career content.

There’s so much to like on BNY Mellon pages, a short blog post doesn’t really do it justice (and I haven’t even mentioned how they discuss benefits and wellbeing). With so much good content on show, it’s possible that those readers with careers content responsibility might be feeling a tad overawed. Well if you are, don’t be. There are two key learning points that every company can take from BNY Mellon’s pages, regardless of industry and webpage budget.

Firstly, think about subtle quick wins. Look at the small things BNY Mellon have added that have really added value, and look at your career pages. Are there any easy to implement extras that can be added that could really help a visiting jobseeker? Secondly, be consistent, and share your story with jobseekers. Every company has a story to tell, and every page of career content should be used to tell that story.