Nemiroff is a global brand with more than 150 years of history, born in Ukraine. The company’s history began in Nemyriv, a town in the Vinnytsia region, in 1872. Today, the brand employs nearly 900 people who help popularize Ukrainian products across all continents.
The brand is known for its uncompromising quality and premium vodkas made from natural ingredients that reflect Ukraine’s rich heritage. Recognized as the Vodka Brand Champion 2024, Nemiroff is among the world’s top 10 fastest-growing spirits brands. Today, the company is one of the largest taxpayers in Ukraine and a leading exporter of vodka products labeled “Made in Ukraine.”
Nemiroff has preserved the historical legacy of valuable knowledge in its unique, original recipes passed down through generations since the 17th century. The distinctive combination of rich herbs, spices, and other handpicked natural ingredients is a significant factor in the brand’s recognizability and strong competitive edge. The water used in the production is sourced from their own wells and undergoes an 11-step filtration process, including natural materials, ensuring Nemiroff’s perfect taste. The company continually improves its recipes and production technologies, making the brand recognized by millions of enthusiasts on both sides of the ocean, and has a reputation as a premium brand that has been proven over centuries.
People are behind the company’s high results and numerous achievements. Nemiroff not only enhances its production traditions but also develops its human capital management as the most valuable component of a successful brand. One of the important stages in the development of this direction was the update of the corporate portal, which ensures effective communication between employees.
The SMART business team, with its extensive experience in developing and implementing solutions for automating business processes and employee interaction, proposed that Nemiroff implement the SmartPoint Intranet solution based on the Microsoft 365 platform. This system encompasses the full range of necessary tools for building a modern unified digital environment. Therefore, after analyzing all the needs and tasks that the new portal had to address, it was decided that SmartPoint Intranet could fully meet all the client’s expectations. And then the hard work of implementing the solution began.
Replacing the outdated version of the corporate portal and key requirements for the new digital environment
Before implementing the solution, the Nemiroff team clearly outlined to SMART business experts the key wishes with a focus on what needed to be considered in the planned upgrade:
Besides the fact that we wanted to refresh the design of the previous version of the portal, the main need was to make it bilingual so that our colleagues from abroad could also always have access to all the necessary information. Localization of a single environment in Ukrainian and English is not only about convenience, but also about making each of our employees feel like a part of a single team. The portal was meant to bridge the distance between us and bring employees closer to each other, regardless of the geographical location of the offices
A lot has changed in the company’s business processes since the previous corporate portal was implemented. There are now new internal resources where news is regularly published, training and other working materials are stored. Now, it would be more convenient to consolidate all this in one environment, which is exactly what the SMART business team did.
In general, based on the extensive experience of developing and implementing modern solutions for various companies, SMART business experts have identified the following common disadvantages of outdated portals:
- Lack of a unified environment: information is stored in different sources, not within a single digital environment. Consequently, this complicates the search and accessibility of useful materials for employees, leading to decreased productivity and work efficiency.
- Unattractiveness and inconvenience of the interface: outdated portals have a non-intuitive UX design for the modern user. This factor complicates navigation and reduces user comfort. As a result, the company does not get the desired motivation of employees to use useful corporate resources in their work;
- Inability to adapt to the needs of a growing company: the development of technology and changes in business processes often result in new needs that the old portal cannot meet. Modern solutions are more flexible and adaptive in this regard.
SmartPoint Intranet is a unified digital environment for the company to promote its corporate culture and automate work processes. The portal based on the Microsoft 365 platform is a comprehensive tool that:
- Reduces the workload of the HR department: the system functions as a unified environment for storing data and accessing all necessary information about the company, employees, and processes. This organization of corporate knowledge helps improve employee training, onboarding, communication, and handling typical employee requests;
- Develops talents: the portal is a powerful learning platform that can contain a knowledge base, self-learning materials, and other resources to help employees grow;
- Takes care of time management: the portal’s tools allow for effective use of employees’ working time and tracking the progress of assigned tasks;
- Strengthens corporate culture: no matter where your team members are located, the SmartPoint Intranet portal will become a unifying digital environment for everyone. Employees can stay updated on events and changes in company processes, expand the corporate library, and view information about offices and colleagues.
Updating the corporate portal allowed the Nemiroff team to address primary needs that the outdated system could no longer meet. Additionally, the company gained a wide range of tools to enhance and develop related business processes involving employee communication and human capital management.
How did the implementation of SmartPoint Intranet and preparatory workshops for users go?
Migration from the previous version of the corporate portal to the new digital environment took about two months. Of course, the Nemiroff team had some concerns. Would employees who were used to the previous version like the new portal? Would the specialists involved in the project be able to master the new system in a short time and teach the rest of their colleagues to use it? In order to dispel all doubts, after the solution was implemented, SMART business experts held useful workshops on working with the new portal. This stage is necessary for the client to fully understand the system’s functionality, learn how to handle common cases, and become fully comfortable with the new digital environment. Of course, questions about additional system features and the possibility of adapting to custom processes appeared even after the series of workshops ended, when the Nemiroff team began working with the new portal on their own. Therefore, SMART business experts always stayed in touch with the company:
Undoubtedly, the workshops were very helpful in getting acquainted with the system and becoming proficient with it. Later, after our team started working independently, we had questions related directly to our individual business cases. We then realized it would be great if webinars were conducted in two stages: before starting to work with the solution and after. After all, when we started working with the system for the first time, everything was quite dynamic, and it was not always possible to foresee certain local working issues that we would face in the future. At the same time, SMART business experts promptly responded to our additional requests and helped us understand everything, ensuring caring support.
At the early stages of working with the updated solution, the Nemiroff team highly appreciated the convenience, design, and usefulness of specific environment components, particularly:
- Personal account is each employee’s personal working area on the portal. Currently configured components include a Personal Event Calendar, Corporate and Personal Knowledge Bases, and an Organizational Structure of employees. Each element supports the idea of a single window. The Personal Calendar allows viewing one’s workload and planning meetings since it is integrated with Microsoft Teams and Outlook calendars. The Corporate Knowledge Base allows quick access to necessary information, documents, or materials by category. The Personal Knowledge Base lets employees create their own competence center and share their knowledge and experience with colleagues. Convenient options of the Employee Organization Structure include autofocus on your own card in the employee tree, integration with Microsoft Teams to view the status and availability of a colleague and, if necessary, start a conversation with him or her;
- A news portal where all important company events can be found immediately on the main page. SmartPoint Intranet allows users to be informed about current news and create open conversations and discussions. This component of the portal encourages active participation in the corporate life of the company, strengthening team spirit and interaction within the team;
- The organizational structure offers several design variations: by department, a detailed version with photos, and a folder structure. Thanks to such variability, even a large hierarchy can look transparent and understandable, especially for new employees. In addition, you can immediately write to the specialist found in the structure without having to switch to the email;
- The employee directory is useful for finding colleagues by first and last name. This is useful when you do not know in which department a colleague works or if you have doubts about whether the person’s competencies match the task that needs to be assigned;
- FAQ section. The Nemiroff team shared that the FAQ section with useful tips and guidelines, which was not available in the previous version of the portal, would be useful. The FAQ section will now be a specialized place to find answers to frequently asked questions, making access to information much easier;
- Integration with Microsoft Teams allows using the main portal functionality directly from Teams, reducing the need to switch between different tabs. This integration provides a unified space for collaboration and communication. Users can easily share documents, links, news, and other information through Teams, which helps to increase communication efficiency.
SmartPoint Intranet has become a harmonious combination of high-quality visual and functional components for us. The updated portal significantly speeds up everyday processes. For example, to contact a colleague found on the portal, I don’t need to switch between different tabs: it’s enough to click once to start writing a letter or initiate a conversation while staying in a unified digital environment.
SmartPoint Intranet is an out-of-the-box solution that contains all the necessary features you need to build a modern corporate portal: a personal account, personal services, photo and video galleries, office map, calendar, and much more. All this allows the SMART business team to implement a self-sufficient solution in just 4 weeks. Of course, the timeframe may vary depending on the individual needs of the project and custom visualization for the brand. In addition, quarterly releases will prevent your portal from becoming outdated. It will always look modern thanks to Microsoft technologies that are confidently ahead of the times. SmartPoint Intranet is based on Microsoft SharePoint and integrated with Microsoft 365. This factor ensures the reliability and security of the organization’s data at any level of access.
Further steps in working with SmartPoint Intranet and development of communication processes
After successfully implementing the solution and filling the digital environment with content, the Nemiroff team shared that they are now at the stage of migrating employees to the updated portal. It is planned that 430 employees from different countries and departments will use the system, and this number will only grow:
Now we are at the stage of promoting the updated portal to our employees. We want people to log in, familiarize themselves with the improved service, use it, communicate through it, and fully utilize it. Of course, we don’t expect 100% portal visits in the first days because people usually need time to get used to something new. But we have developed a clear plan for engaging colleagues and demonstrating how the portal can already make their lives easier
Once the employees completely migrate to the portal and actively use it, the Nemiroff team plans to develop its HR direction by implementing an HCM & LMS system. It is worth noting that integration with SmartPoint Intranet will also be useful here. Corporate portal users will be able to view their connected sections from the HR ecosystem without leaving the SmartPoint Intranet personal account:
In the future, we plan to strengthen our HR processes with new solutions, particularly recruiting, onboarding, training, and others. Our priority is active scaling of the HR direction with an emphasis on goal setting because Nemiroff has always understood how significantly the team’s work influences the achievement of the company’s key goals. It is important for us to ensure accessibility, bilingualism, the ability to provide our employees with all the necessary information, and make sure our workers are informed about our common goals
SmartPoint Intranet is a multifunctional tool that facilitates company scaling. In addition to its integration with HCM & LMS, it can also integrate with CRM, DMS, and ERP systems, offering a wider range of management solutions.
How does a high-quality corporate portal impact the employer brand?
Putting aside the purely technical reasons for updating a corporate portal, the primary goal of this upgrade is to improve employee engagement and strengthen the feeling that the company cares about them. When you provide people with truly effective and useful tools that significantly simplify their lives and wrap it in an attractive package—premium design, like our product, with a friendly interface—the result is not just a portal but a place of strength where you are inspired and feel like you belong
As we can see, SmartPoint Intranet is also a powerful solution that positively impacts the employer brand by providing:
- A professional image: a high-quality corporate portal makes candidates, newcomers, and experienced employees think of you as a modern and progressive employer. The pleasant and user-friendly design, easy navigation, and broad functionality of the digital environment add professionalism to the company’s image;
- Talent acquisition and retention: a nice and user-friendly portal can be an indicator that a company values its employees and cares about making their workplace as comfortable as possible;
- Company culture and values: SmartPoint Intranet can represent the company’s corporate culture and values through the content you provide to users. Therefore, the portal acts as an additional transmitter of the brand’s policies and values, shaping attitudes toward it.
- Efficiency and convenience: a high-quality corporate portal can enhance employee efficiency by providing convenient access to the information, tools, and resources needed to perform their duties. This positively affects overall productivity and the level of satisfaction with you as an employer who provides the team with everything they need.
The successful implementation of SmartPoint Intranet for Nemiroff demonstrates how one innovative solution can positively influence the achievement of several strategic company goals:
As a result of launching our new corporate site, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the IT, marketing, and HR departments for their invaluable help and support. Their professionalism, coordinated work, and dedication were key factors in the successful launch of the project. Thanks to joint efforts, we achieved high results and are very grateful to each person for their contribution to this important step for our company.
We also want to thank the SMART business team for the successful implementation of the project. Their expertise and support helped us to realize all our plans and ideas, enabling us to create an effective and user-friendly corporate website
Rely on the expertise of the SMART business team and start building or updating your corporate environment using the Microsoft 365 platform today:
