An Overview

BizLink BizLink is a Social Networking platform for business. It allows colleagues to come together, ask questions, share resources, form project groups and work together regardless of time or distance. BizLink is the key to productivity

Home Home is each users default page, unique to each individual. This page acts as a portal for each user to become immersed in the community It is each users one stop shop to: Groups The Library, Calendar, Project Management Tool, news and announcements, their blog, to do list etc Conduct searches for colleagues, files, documents, projects, resources etc

Profile Each community member has a unique profile page. This page allows people to share information about themselves with other people in the community. It may include: Current job role Past experiences Training Skills Interests and Hobbies Photos etc. Each week an employees profile is featured in a ‘Meet _________’ news feed. Where people can learn about different people in the organisation, who they are, what they specialise in etc.

Organisation This page provides a portfolio for the organisation. Who they are, what they do, an organisational chart, the mission, the vision. This page could be likened to the role of Tom in MySpace. Makes you feel welcome, sends little information tips out occasionally. Reminders etc. Any organisation news is aggregated from this page and delivered to each person’s RSS Widget. But having a seperate page allows employees to go their easily and have a look around, find resources/news posts/anouncements etc. At their leisure, if they missed the RSS on their home page.

Meet Meet is a portal into the Cisco Webex Conferencing Tool. Meetings can be scheduled and are stored here so you can go back and look at them if necessary. Some meetings may require a code, but others are available for the organisation to see what’s going on etc. There is a list of the days scheduled meetings to the side, and people can join in as they wish.

Groups This tab takes you to a separate area, specifically designed for a project group. Members of the group can be invited, however other members of the BizLink community can also come and have a look, make contributions etc. Employees are given many different opportunities to brainstorm,share ideas, collaborate etc. Including: Wiki Space Discussion Forum Document Sharing Cisco Webex Web Conferencing (including whiteboard and desktop sharing technology).

Each employees profile picture is stamped next to any activity they have in BizLink. This allows for easy identification, tracking. The contact details are also displayed on the profile page so people don’t need to search contact lists etc.

This widget allows each individual to make posts. Similar to Facebook or Twitter participants of the community can comment on what they are working on, ask the broader community anything, respond to others etc... Responses to this are posted in the News Feed.

The Noticeboard allows other community members to leave you a message.

Project Management is a critical task for many organisations these days. BizLink has an inbuilt tool which, tied in with the project page, allows employees to: Calculate critical paths Assess resource Create graphical representations Track progress This widget will automatically generate reminders, meeting notices, warnings if you are not running to schedule etc.

This section filters through announcements, news, people’s status etc. People can also subscribe to different news feeds from colleagues or groups they are interested in. All status updates, announcements and news updates are then stored on the Organisational page so people can refer back to them at their leisure.

The Library is a digital repository for any organisational documents/files etc. Such as: Policies and Procedures Style Guides Training resources Presentations Templates The library believes in making as much information as possible available to staff. It also allows people to modify documents ensuring all resources remain current and relevant. All documents are placed before a review council before being placed back in the repository.

The calendar allows: Each individual to track their events, deadlines, meetings etc A business unit calendar so people in a team can track projects, each other etc The calendar is automatically updated when you agree to attend a meeting or event in BizLink

This widget allows you to expand your personal network beyond your business unit. Colleagues activity will be aggregated through your news feed.

The blog allows employees to make notes and reflect on what they have been doing. Employees have the option of making their blog articles public or private.

The To Do List widget keeps track of your workload, monitoring due dates and workload.

The Professional Development Portal allows employees to: See what training opportunities the organisation or external providers have available Map out a career path for you within the organisation Link to eLearning courses and Communities of Practice in the Industry.

BizLink also has an Integrated tool which is linked to the calendar. And an extensive help function including video tutorials, user guides, Frequently Asked Questions, Daily Tips and Tricks. For assistance in implementing the system and advice on community development there is also a BizLink community where developers and users come together to ensure BizLink users are fully maximising the programs potential.

Widgets Everyone has the ability to select widgets relevant to them and arrange their home page to suit their needs. Being an open source program new widgets are developed by BizLink users all the time and shared on the BizLink website.