Challenge.
AggerEnergie has been supplying energy to the Oberberg region and Overath since 1926, but that’s not all with the company also supporting cultural, social, sport and education projects that bring the people of the region together. AggerEnergie is also committed to the energy revolution, supplying 100% green energy and actively driving forward e-mobility. The modern and innovative energy provider has deep roots in the region and aspires to improve the quality of life there by playing an active role in promoting growth and sustainability. In order to facilitate this, AggerEnergie is also continually optimising its internal processes. When the energy provider decided to roll out a modern intranet to foster collaboration, it started the search for a suitable platform that should simplify communication between employees and access to information and therefore boost teamwork. By implementing more efficient processes, AggerEnergie hoped to invest more resources in future-oriented projects and environmentally-friendly energy supplies.
Our internal communications have significantly improved thanks to the new intranet. We’re very happy with the portal and the opportunities offered by SharePoint Online which have far exceeded our expectations. Bechtle offered in-depth advice in particular when it came to restructuring our links and documents. This professional and structured approach has allowed for very efficient working and helped us respond more quickly to changes. We are now in a position to better leverage our resources and do our bit for regional sustainability and development.
Felix Taufenbach, Corporate Communications, AggerEnergie GmbH
Solution.
Bechtle was commissioned to configure AggerEnergie’s new intranet on the back of their many years of successful collaboration. During a workshop, the IT provider presented SharePoint Online and its features that would be the optimum complement to the Microsoft 365 environment that was already being used. As a solution engineer specialising in SharePoint M365, Bechtle was able to fulfil all of AggerEnergie’s wishes and develop a concept that goes far beyond providing information and actively promotes interaction within the company. Bechtle worked very closely with the individual departments and teams at AggerEnergie to ensure the intranet had the right web parts and content. The home page was therefore configured with a news web part where employees can view announcements and information, a web part that highlights employee profiles and an event calendar for personal and professional occasions. The energy provider was also keen to maintain the tradition of sharing colleagues’ birthdays, which is why Bechtle also added a birthday calendar to the home page. However, the previously static calendar could not simply be copied to SharePoint. Instead, Bechtle used Microsoft Forms to make a more interactive, traditional birthday calendar for AggerEnergie so that employees can enter and manage their birthdays themselves and also actively approve their publication. To promote even more interaction on the intranet, Bechtle also set up a community page using Microsoft Viva Engage to allow employees to network, ask questions and share knowledge. It was important the employees would be able to successfully use the new intranet, so Bechtle carried out extensive workshops covering how to use the new tools and get the most out of documentation management. The result is a platform that simplifies communication, connects employees and paves the way towards greater sustainability and community.
Business benefits.
Bechtle set up the new intranet with SharePoint Online and its web parts, which have significantly improved in house communication at AggerEnergie GmbH. The employees can now find all important company information much faster and are now able to communicate directly with others without having to send an e-mail. This has not only improved teamwork, but also boosted efficiency and laid the foundations for a culture of communications. Having a central information hub is also more sustainable as it is easily accessible to everyone, which has resulted in much smoother workflows.