Revitalizing an Enterprise Intranet to Support Commercial Excellence
- Deon Smith
- Sep 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 24
How an Intranet Refresh Reconnected BD’s U.S. Commercial Region
A functional intranet isn’t just a repository for documents and announcements. It’s a central hub that reflects how an organization works, makes critical information easy to find, and enables teams to operate more effectively. At one global healthcare company, the U.S. Commercial Region’s intranet presence had grown outdated and disjointed, creating friction for users trying to access resources across key commercial functions.
The U.S. Commercial Region included five core functions serving as a Center of Excellence: Marketing, Sales Enablement, Data & Analytics, Strategic Customer Group, and Sales Operations. Despite frequent updates within those teams, such as leadership transitions, process changes, and new initiatives, the intranet did not reflect these changes, and employees struggled to find current and relevant information. Even the Commercial Region home page lacked clear representation of these functions, leaving users unsure where to go for the content they needed.
The Sales Enablement site, in particular, mirrored these issues. While the department was responsible for several important sub-functions, Sales and Professional Development, Incentive Compensation, Inside Sales, and Salesforce, the structure and navigation of the site did little to signal those areas or make their resources discoverable.
Problem Areas That Impacted Engagement
Several specific issues degraded the user experience:
Unclear site structure: It was difficult to determine how content was organized or where to begin finding information.
Poor visibility of sub-teams: Functional areas such as Inside Sales and Salesforce were not represented or discoverable on the site, despite their strategic importance.
Ineffective communication of programs: Programs within Sales and Professional Development were promoted via email to a small cohort of leaders, with little indication of how others could engage. This likely contributed to lower participation and awareness.
Outdated content: Organizational charts, documents, and news items were out of date or misplaced, diminishing trust in the intranet as a reliable source of truth.
These usability challenges made it harder for employees to access resources and participate in key programs, diluting the impact of important initiatives and investments.
The Approach
The refresh began with a clear understanding of stakeholder priorities. Leaders from each Sales Enablement sub-function (Salesforce, Sales Development, and Incentive Compensation) shared their goals and pain points, providing direction on what the intranet experience needed to support. An administrative audit then revealed obsolete pages and inconsistent information architecture. This audit paved the way for a comprehensive restructure that improved both backend organization and front-end navigation.
Key steps included:
Rearchitecting the site structure: Pages and subpages were logically organized to improve findability and ease of maintenance for content owners.
Clarifying function representation: Each Sales Enablement sub-function was clearly represented on the home page, making it immediately apparent how the department was structured and where users could find resources.
Creating dedicated news streams: Each sub-department received its own news section, so updates could be found in context. All news rolled up to the main Sales Enablement page, making it easier to surface relevant content for users. Previously, news items appeared only in a global feed, burying enablement-specific updates.
Updating organizational charts: Accurate org charts were added to each department’s home page to improve orientation and clarity of ownership.
Standardizing navigation: A consistent footer was added across all Sales Enablement pages, allowing users to move between related teams without needing to return to the home page.
Enhancing Accessibility and Engagement
To further support ongoing communication, an archive was created for the monthly Beyond the Deal newsletter. Each edition was published on the site after distribution, giving employees a central place to review current and past issues if they missed the original email or wanted to revisit content.
Custom graphics were also designed for each page to give the site a cohesive visual identity and reinforce its role as a polished, professional enablement destination. Combined with the improved structure, navigation, and content strategy, these elements significantly enhanced the overall employee experience.
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Resulting Improvements
The intranet refresh produced tangible organizational value:
Simplified navigation and discoverability made it easier for employees to find the information they needed without guesswork.
Accurate and current content increased trust in the intranet as a dependable source of truth.
Clearly represented functions helped users understand how teams were structured and who to contact for specific information.
Improved communication channels ensured that key programs and updates reached a wider audience.
This work illustrates how thoughtful information architecture and stakeholder-informed design can transform an intranet from a static repository into a strategic tool that supports internal alignment, communication, and execution.
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