Connells Group is celebrating the success of its intranet project after reaching over 200,000 monthly log-ins 15 months after the intranet launched.

Engage was launched to 16,000 Connells Group colleagues based at over 1200 branches in January last year. During February 2022, Engage received 66,000 log-ins which the intranet team knew was just the start, and the team set about finding ways to further engage its colleagues with the new group-wide system.

This included introducing intranet-based recognition giving, DE&I networks with their own intranet communities, and group-wide fundraising initiatives, as well as providing constantly fresh content. The result is that all colleagues – 8,000 of whom came from the acquisition of Countrywide in March 2021 – have a unified platform that is effectively supporting communication, collaboration and a culture of belonging.

Intranet highlights include over 250 individual pieces of recognition given to colleagues via Engage since go-live; DE&I articles typically receiving over 500 engagements; and the Ukrainian fundraising campaign which successfully created a group-wide sense of community raising £100,000.

“To reach 200,000 intranet log-ins a month with ever-increasing numbers of colleague engagements, is testimony to the value Connells places on the intranet as our platform for bringing everyone together” says Kelly McGall, Internal Communications Manager at Connells Group. “With colleagues dispersed around the Country across more than a thousand locations and 80 brands, the intranet is our post-acquisition success story.”

Engage replaced two separate intranet platforms that were used by the Connells and Countrywide businesses. Soon after the acquisition, the leadership team approved the creation of a single group-wide intranet to enable post-acquisition integration. It took just six months for the system to be rolled-out.

McGall said: “Bringing two large organisations of 8,000 colleagues together has been a complex challenge but the Group is now on a strong footing for the future. With the intranet so well used for information, connections and camaraderie, it’s broken down silos and has become the backbone of Connells’ organisational culture.”