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utILItY WeeK | 13th - 19th June 2014 | 23 Operations & Assets says allows it to capture maximum energy from the tidal flow. A "Hydro- buoy", developed with the help of a £250,000 Smart Scotland grant, holds it steady in strong currents. Cameron Johnstone, the company's co-founder and CEO, said: "Once we have demonstrated the technology here and shown that it can provide affordable electricity, we will then build out to multi-megawatt arrays at home and overseas." If you have an asset or project you would like to see featured in this slot, email paul.newton@fav-house.com or all 01342 332085 Pipe up Jonathan Seal T ype "intranet performance" into Google and a sorry set of adjectives appears. "Overlooked", "neglected", "forgotten", "unloved" – it's fair to say that the corporate intranet remains the poor relation to the customer-facing website, too oen existing as a tick in a box and contributing more to frustration than value. So, what impact does intranet underperformance have on companies? Mando has investigated across key industries. For the purpose of our research, an "underperform- ing intranet" is defined as one where users cannot easily and accurately access the information or people that they need, through their intranet, for collaboration, information or action. The research reveals that underperforming intranets are costing British businesses, including those in the utility sector, more than £2.7 billion per year in wasted staff time. A quarter of companies with more than 500 employees have underperform- ing intranets, compared with 42 per cent of medium-sized firms (100-500 employees). Companies are paying for the users' time while they're using the intranet – wasted time is wasted spend. But the argument for correcting this inefficiency goes beyond ROI. Increasingly, the intranet is recognised as performing an essential role in employee engagement. A Gallup report has shown that engaged employees drive customer engagement. This is particularly relevant to the domestic utility sector, in which Ofgem says yearly customer churn rates are around 15 per cent. Yet, in many cases, usability remains a basic failing in intranet design, leaving users frustrated and far from engaged. Since 2009, a number of studies have high- lighted the lack of focus placed on intranet usability during the design process. Commentators report that current best practice calls for an investment of around 10 per cent of a design project's budget on usability. But the answer to intranet usability does not lie in making assumptions or throwing technology at the problem. Rather, analysis and in-depth research is used to fully understand the needs and requirements of the end user. Leading companies are turning to third-party customer experience experts in order to achieve this goal. These leading players recognise that, while the intranet alone cannot transform business performance, it can be a powerful force for good. Jonathan Seal, strategy director, Mando Group "Underperforming intranets are costing British businesses more than £2.7 billion per year in wasted staff time." Engaged employees drive customer engagement – particularly relevant to the domestic utility sector