The noble goal behind Visa’s intranet redesign: Improve employees’ daily lives

After research revealed that nearly half of its employees felt “frustrated” or “ineffective” on the job, Visa redesigned its intranet with the goal of delivering an “employee-first” experience that would reduce frustration, improve productivity and become Visa’s “cultural heart.” The results have earned Visa first place in the “Design” category of Ragan’s 2016 Intranet Awards.

The intranet’s problems included poor organization that did not reflect the real-world tasks employees needed to complete every day, along with unnecessary complexity and a tired design. Visa surveyed employees to identify their most common tasks, using the information to create numerous iterations to test with workers. An inventory of content led to a culling of unnecessary material while recrafting content essential to employees. 

Mobility was top of mind, too, with a mobile-ready intranet a key consideration from the start (another feature employees said was important to them). Visa’s use of branded icons emphasizes the tools employees use most frequently—visual cues are highly important, especially on screens intended to be seen on smartphones. 

Personalization was another factor, with the homepage serving as a dashboard that collects and prioritizes each employee’s most important tasks along with the more common elements of an intranet homepage. 

We congratulate team members Christen Kelly, Shiv Singh, Alison Rezai and Visa’s agency partner, Critical Mass.