Enhancing Employee Engagement and Efficiency

Case Study

Enhancing Employee
Engagement and Efficiency

The Customer

And Their Challenge

The Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) is a leading provider of retaining walls and other geotechnical structures for heavy civil engineering projects across the United States. Since 1971, RECo has completed more than 45,000 Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls using their proprietary Reinforced Earth® and T-WALL® systems.

RECo faced challenges with their existing intranet portal. The portal suffered from low usage and irrelevance, limiting its effectiveness as a communication and collaboration tool.

Employees struggled to find the information and processes they needed for daily operations, and the portal’s outdated design and functionality discouraged engagement.

Seeking a modern, feature-rich intranet solution, RECo turned to i3solutions for our expertise in Portals and Collaboration. The goal was to create an intuitive, visually appealing platform that provided easy access to critical information and streamlined workflows. RECo required a solution that would not only address existing issues but also foster collaboration and improve overall productivity across departments.

The Solution

A Modern and Engaging Intranet Portal

i3solutions designed and implemented a cutting-edge intranet portal for RECo, utilizing SharePoint, SQL Server, JavaScript, and jQuery to deliver a highly functional and user-centric platform. The project began with in-depth process mapping and detailed wireframe diagrams to document the portal’s components and micro-applications, ensuring a seamless and structured design that meets RECo’s specific operational needs.

Collaborating closely with RECo’s IT leadership, i3solutions managed every aspect of the project lifecycle, including requirements gathering, product installation, portal configuration, custom development, deployment, and ongoing support. This collaborative approach ensured that every feature aligned with RECo’s goals, resulting in a solution that delivers both functionality and innovation.

The intranet portal introduced several transformative features, including an interactive online product catalog that streamlines communication and collaboration between product and assembly teams, as well as a custom-built employee directory that replaces the outdated and inefficient PDF-based system. These enhancements simplify day-to-day operations and empower teams to work more efficiently and effectively.

The final product is a visually appealing, intuitive platform tailored to RECo’s unique requirements. By integrating advanced technologies and focusing on usability, i3solutions delivered a solution that improves productivity, enhances collaboration, and provides RECo with a scalable foundation for future growth.

Technologies

Used in the Solution

SharePoint is used as the core technology due to its robust collaboration features, document management capabilities, and customization options, making it an ideal choice for creating a centralized intranet.

SQL Server provides a reliable and high-performance database for managing large volumes of structured data, ensuring seamless integration with the portal’s functionality.

JavaScript and JQuery were employed to develop interactive micro-applications and enhance user experience, allowing for dynamic and responsive features that met RECo’s specific requirements.

These technologies enabled i3solutions to deliver a visually appealing and feature-rich portal that streamlined workflows, improved accessibility, and increased engagement across the organization.

Measurable Benefits
and Business Impact

The implementation of SharePoint has transformed Reinforced Earth Company’s internal
operations and employee experience, delivering significant measurable benefits:

Enhanced Employee
Productivity

By providing an intuitive and user-friendly platform, employees can quickly access the information and tools they need to perform their roles effectively. Features such as the interactive online product catalog have significantly reduced the time spent by product and assembly teams coordinating project details, accelerating project delivery timelines.

Streamlined HR Processes

The introduction of a custom SharePoint Employee Directory eliminated the need for maintaining and distributing a PDF-based directory, saving hours of manual effort for the HR department each month. This automation has freed HR personnel to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative tasks.

Improved Communication
and Collaboration

The new portal’s modern design and functionality have facilitated better communication between departments. Employees now have a centralized platform for sharing updates, accessing critical resources, and collaborating on projects, leading to closer alignment and smoother workflows across teams.

Increased Employee Engagement
and Satisfaction

The visually appealing design, well-organized site taxonomy, and intuitive navigation have been met with positive feedback from employees, who now view the intranet as a valuable tool rather than an outdated resource. This has increased portal usage and engagement, driving its effectiveness as a communication and collaboration hub.

Optimized for Scalability and Future Growth

The flexible architecture of the portal ensures that RECo can continue to expand its features and capabilities as the company grows. The use of JavaScript and JQuery for micro-applications provides a foundation for easily integrating additional functionalities as future needs arise.