On November 4, the National Intranet Symposium by Communications Bureau de Walvis took place again: the annual event for everyone involved in internal communication, digital workplaces and employee platforms. Embrace has been a proud sponsor of the symposium for years and, with each edition, provides experts who take visitors into the world of social intranets and employee portals.
This year was no different: Ivo de Jong, ICT Project Manager at Intercare, organized an exciting break-out session on behalf of Embrace about the implementation and adoption of their new social intranet: Linn
From issue to vision: the route to Linn
Ivo kicked off his session with two fundamental questions that formed the basis for the project:
- How do you connect 10 care locations in different communities and a Service Center into one Interzorg?
- How do you distinguish between “need to know”, “nice to know” and location-based reporting?
These questions were the starting point for the digital transformation that Interzorg had in mind. The need for a user-friendly, recognisable and well-organized platform was great — and ultimately led to a collaboration with Embrace.
Structured implementation process: working together, creating together
The implementation process officially started in the summer of 2024. Interzorg deliberately opted for a project structure with four steering and working groups:
- Communication & Adoption
- Manage
- ICTS
- Contents
In addition, played digicoaches country ambassadors a major role. Ivo emphasized how valuable this effort was: not everyone in a healthcare organization is equally digitally savvy, and it was precisely this bridge function that made the difference in adoption and support.
Involving colleagues: more than co-creation
The project group deliberately chose to actively involve employees, for example when choosing the name of the new platform. This participation paid off twice: the name became organization-wide. Linn embraced — a name that now stands for recognition, warmth and accessibility.
Linn as a brand: personification for recognisable use
Interzorg decided not to give Linn just a name, but one full-fledged brand to make from. They created multiple logos and used Linn as personage in explanations, instructions and communication about the new intranet.
During the session, Ivo showed several screenshots and visualizations that brought Linn's interior to life. In addition, he explained how, together with ambassadors, certain functionalities and design were chosen — which strengthened support from day one.
Searching is finding: smart links and one way to log in
One of Linn's most important pillars is the principle: “Searching is finding”. To make that happen, Interzorg chose, among other things, for:
- User management via Azure AD
- Single Sign-On for all applications
- Smart links between Embrace and other systems, such as:
- TOPdesk
- Microsoft 365
- Vilans Care Protocols
- LAPHAS
These integrations ensure that employees from Linn have direct access to all the necessary information and applications — without detours.
A decision tree for clarity: where do you share what information?
A familiar issue within many organizations: What do you share where?
Interzorg developed a decision tree that helps employees determine where information belongs:
- What do you publish on Linn?
- What do you communicate via Teams?
- When does something fit in a different place?
This ensured clarity, consistency and, above all, peace of mind in the information flows. Read in this article How De Jong & Laan made a comprehensive fact sheet for this.
Tips and insights for other organizations
For everyone in the room who is in the middle of (or starting) an implementation process, Ivo shared practical advice. His most important lessons:
- Invest in digital coaches: they are crucial for adoption.
- Work on community management: An intranet does not live by itself.
- Be patient: changing habits takes time. An intranet is not a sprint, but a marathon.
Looking ahead: Linn's future with Embrace
Ivo ended with a look to the future. Interzorg is working with Embrace on the further development of Linn, including:
- One persona-based application launcher
- AI applications within Embrace software to search even faster and smarter
- Setting up AI Agents
- The complete onboarding new employees via Linn
With these ambitions, Interzorg is firmly committed to innovation, ease of use and further digitization.
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