Intranet Pages And Why They're A Good Idea

Dear Import/Export Compliance Manager,

Is it essential to create an internal webpage for the import/export compliance department?  My company uses an internal wiki system that seems simple enough but I have way too many other things on my plate.  Is it worth my time?

Browsing in Broken Bow

Dear Browsing,

The Import/Export Compliance Manager will make this short and unequivocal: yes, Yes and YES! 

So what is the purpose of an internal webpage?  Simple: to disseminate information and provide resources to non-import/export compliance (and import/export compliance) employees 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  A webpage can provide contact information for the Import/Export Compliance Department, a quick primer on export compliance regulations, a list of products which, when exported, require an export license, a link to a standardized shipping invoice and packslip template and news regarding import/export compliance at your company.  You can be as spartan or as extensive as you want as long as it is understandable and easy to access and navigate through.

But why should you want this?  Well, The Import/Export Compliance Manager likes to think of an internal webpage as an additional employee who happens to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and never takes a coffee break (except when the network goes down).  Instead of an employee from Accounting having to pick up the phone and attempt to call someone in Import/Export Compliance to get a question answered (and hope you’re not all out at a team lunch), they can easily go to the website and perhaps get their question answered.  What if they e-mail you?  There is time wasted both in your team getting the answer and in the time the person has to wait to receive the information.  If it’s on the webpage, there is no downtime.  This is even better for employees located in time zones outside of your normal hours of operation (ex. employees in China who are at work while your US-based team is asleep). 

As you will find or have seen, though, some employees ALWAYS think the best means of getting information is calling or sending an e-mail and forcing someone else to do the research.  The Import/Export Compliance Manager thinks this is because it’s easier to remember who to ask to do the work for you than it is to remember where to go search for the information and search for it.  For every employee who is website-averse, there is a least one who will love the idea of the website and will appreciate you immensely for taking steps to make their job easier.

In addition, the internal webpage should ALWAYS has the latest information.  For example, you can put a template for a Shipping Invoice & Packslip on the webpage for employees to download.  Let’s say you improve it in a month.  If employees are used to going to the webpage and downloading it every time they need to use it, they will automatically get the updated version (unless they are saving the template on their computer with their particular fields filled out in advance and using it over and over...you have to combat this).  This is worlds-better than having to send out an updated version over e-mail to everyone and their grandmother.  This also goes for company policies.  Does your company have its Human Resource manual online?  Of course it does (or should), precisely for those reasons. 

Also, some employees, particularly those for whom English is a second language, might not want to interact with your team.  An internal webpage provides them a safe means to get information without the potential discomfort caused by an interaction.  Plus, it is usually easier for them to understand information when it is written out in front of them as opposed to hearing it.

In order to really make the webpage work, however, you have to trust your co-workers with information.  You have to trust that they will take the information such as HTS Codes and which end uses require an export license and make the appropriate decision UP TO the point where they need to contact the Import/Export Compliance Department.  The Import/Export Compliance Manager always trusts employees in this regard for two reasons: 1) most people are empowered by your trust in them and 2) the tendency of many people is, if it’s difficult to obtain information, not get it at all.  That salesperson in India might not want to wait for you to wake up and answer your e-mail.

A webpage is not the be-all, end-all of import/export compliance.  Rather, it is part of the toolkit you have to ensure compliance and facilitate trade at your company, along with your ERP system, your employees, your software tools and your team’s know-how. 

Not everyone feels comfortable putting a webpage together.  If you’re one of those, keep in mind that most interfaces, particularly wikis, don’t require any programming knowledge to construct.  If they do or if you still feel uncomfortable, despite the resources IT likely put together to help you do it, find someone on your team to do it or get someone in IT to help you out.  There is a bit of upfront work but think about the time that will be saved and how much more effective your department can be.  Good luck!