Management support is essential. When Whitireia Polytechnic became aware of the requirements of the Public Records Act, this was a catalyst for action, and their management team swung in behind their information management project by ensuring that it was adequately resourced. “There was a real consensus that the project had to happen, and I found our management team to be really supportive of the project and making sure we had what we needed,” says Whitireia BIC Manager, Stephen Porterners.

Having dedicated resource in place to deliver a project – a decision that only management can make – is essential to the success of any project. We advise either reallocation of resources, new staff or bringing in members of the Information Leadership team to work on-site on a regular basis to keep the project moving.

It’s important to keep in mind that following the new information management procedures required to be Public Records Act compliant can be a big change for staff. “It really is a culture change – a different way of thinking that their information isn’t really ‘theirs’ because it actually belongs to the polytechnic,” says Samantha Fitzgerald, who points out that to win staff over it helps to push the right buttons.

“We found that the most effective way of converting people was to show how the new system would address specific issues of importance for them, rather than simply talking about broad benefits. So for example, if someone was hoarding information unnecessarily because they weren’t sure what they could throw out, we now could give them the guidance required to clear a lot of unnecessary papers.”

To build broad organisational support for new SharePoint implementations, Aoraki Polytechnic chose to begin with a high profile project that would deliver immediate benefits for everyone. “One of our first SharePoint projects was our intranet – which was great because instantly everyone had some proximity to the project because the intranet is something that gets used every day,” says Heather Geddes, Project Officer, Aoraki Polytechnic.

Providing a tangible output for the project early on that everyone can see helps drive interest amongst the wider organisation as people start to think about the possibilities for efficiencies and workflow management in their own teams. It also helps to support acceptance and effective use of other new systems, ensuring that sought after productivity gains are realised.

Anyone who has watched TV’s Kevin McCloud shake his head in Grand Designs as a homeowner decides to completely change the house halfway through the build will appreciate the importance of nailing down the details at the beginning of a project. To help plan SharePoint projects effectively Information Leadership created DesignWiki, which Mr Porterners of Whitireia credits with getting them off on the right path. “DesignWiki really prompted us to start making governance and infrastructure decisions about the metadata for the project. Having a template to work from meant we were aware of best practice but could still personalise and own the process, ensuring it suited the way we worked.”

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic’s Inge Jensen credits DesignWiki with giving them a solid base for their SharePoint implementation. “For our project we found that the design created by Information Leadership was comprehensive and for the most part fitted what we were doing and it meant that we could be confident that the records management system that we were implementing was compliant with the legislation and standards.”

Another key planning tool developed by Information Leadership is Design Bank™. This provides templates for common solutions, which are a valuable source of information for many polytechnics during their projects. This templates avoid the need to repeat work already done by other polytechnics and also enables designs to be improved. “I found the DesignBank and the collaboration site very useful for direction and ideas and to check that I was on the right track. I gained from information that was shared on the Information Leadership site and learned a lot from the experience of other Polytechnics,” says Ms Jensen.

Open Polytechnic is using DesignBank for its Quality Management System template, which provides a great example of how the system enables polytechnics to collaborate. “We put our original QMS template into the system. Then Whitireia used our template, and made their own improvements, and that’s now something we can benefit from if we choose to use their amended version as our final one,” says Ms Fitzgerald.

A project leader inspires team members and drives the project along, ensuring timeframes are met. Information Leadership helps to build project leaders’ capabilities and empower them to deliver great results. “What drove my involvement in the project was probably that I was already a SharePoint convert and took a personal interest in making sure that the project was constantly moving forward. I also had the time to dedicate to it and make sure that everyone else at a management level was kept well informed,” says Whitireia’s Stephen Porterners.

“Information Leadership not only helped us to get the project off the ground, but on a personal level also got me more involved in the sector and grew my own skills, which I really valued,” says Samantha Fitzgerald from the Open Polytechnic.

A great pilot team provides a wealth of intelligence on an information management project. In many cases the team will go on to become project champions within an organisation. Choose team members who will be patient and provide
constructive suggestions, so that your system can be effectively fine-tuned.

“One thing that worked really well for us was having a team of ‘records champions’ from across the organisation. They evangelised others in their teams, and formed a great base for further enthusiasm for the project across the organisation,” says Ms Fitzgerald. Make sure you take note of members of your pilot team who are particularly enthusiastic – involving them and up-skilling them can be helpful for future

While it’s vital to understand the specific needs of a team when designing a new system, take care not to get bogged down in consultation once you’ve agreed on key principles and goals.Inge Jensen is a firm believer in showing people what the system can do rather than endlessly planning and talking about it.

“I’d meet with a team, and find out how they wanted to manage their information, and what they did on a daily basis, and I’d go away and I’d design them a site. I found that people were better able to understand how it would work from the test site rather than trying to get their head around an implementation document. It was a powerful way to get people on board.”

The strategy for rolling out your new system beyond the pilot team is very important. By introducing it to teams with
more capacity to adopt the new system first, you can build momentum, acceptance and support with minimal disruption.
“We made a conscious decision to go for the low hanging fruit’,” says Margaret Mattsen of the Southern Institute of Technology.

“We know that people are already very busy, so making sure that we didn’t add to their workload unnecessarily was an important part of the development of the project, to keep people on-side and enthusiastic – as a result we are moving quite slowly to give people time to adjust.”