A company intranet offers a private, secure online network where employees can create content, communicate, collaborate, manage tasks and events, and develop the company culture. It acts as the home base for your business, a team touchpoint, central repository, multifunctional communication tool and more.
With the rise of the digital workplace, intranet tools like Slack, Teamwork, and Workplace by Facebook have become the easiest way to connect remote workers to their colleagues. They have facilitated internal communications and contributed to growth in company culture and business output.
The McKinsey Global Institute found that productivity improves by 20-25% in organizations with connected employees. If you’re just starting out a business and are unsure of where to start in terms of setting up a powerful intranet system to connect your employees, you’ve come to the right place. If you already have an intranet system in the office but are having trouble seeing results, we can help.
Here are 4 ways to improve the intranet in your workplace:
#1. Make Files Easily Accessible
Chances are your team will need to access important files and documents, no matter what kind of business you’re running. Your intranet should be a place where these documents are easily accessible at the fingertips of your employees. Make sure there is a section in your intranet that will not be overlooked. You’ll also want to tag and rate content so it can be found through a search.
Your intranet document management system can range from templates to employee guidelines and everything in-between.
#2. Share Company Updates and Industry News
The intranet is made for communication between employees across departments and levels of management. As someone on the top, it is important to be spearheading the dissemination of company news and updates. Create a section in your intranet system where you can keep employees informed of any important happenings within the company. Creating a calendar with upcoming company events or meetings is also a great way to keep employees updated on what is going on and when. Take your events calendar a step further and display photo albums from company gatherings in your intranet. Organize fun get-togethers with the entire company and share photos. This builds a stronger sense of community in the company and adds a balance between work and fun.
Sharing industry news is an important factor in keeping your employees up-to-date on the latest developments in their field. Encourage discussion on current events and updates to promote company culture and collaboration. Each person will learn something from each other!
The intranet should also be a platform to recognize employees. This could be a promotion announcement, praise for closing a deal, a birthday, etc. Employee recognition is a major factor in contributing to the growth of a company and the happiness of employees. Recognizing the success or progress of an employee and rewarding them for their hard work can make them feel valued and appreciated, which contributes to higher levels of engagement, satisfaction, and motivation.
Use your intranet as a platform to recognize hard work. Create posts or channels dedicated to this notoriety.
#3. Ensure Strong Branding
Your company intranet shouldn’t simply be called “the intranet.” Give the system a personality by making it on-brand. This will play a role in how it is used and perceived within your organization.
but what gets lost in these tools is the communication connection from executive leaders when it comes to relaying company news. Choosing a name for your intranet also helps distinguish the system from other programs and makes it easier for employees to reference. Without it, employees could refer to it as “the intranet”, but also as “the network”, “the portal”, or perhaps the name of the technology provider, Simpplr.
Your intranet homepage should also be on-brand visually. Be sure it includes the company colors and logo. This will promote company culture and boost team morale. Use colors as a way to segment lists, channels, teams, topics, etc. for more user-friendliness.
If you need help with coming up with a clear identity for your brand and company, be sure to follow these tips.
#4. Ask Employees for Feedback
What better way to improve your intranet system than to take feedback from the employees that use it on a daily basis? At the end of the day, your company intranet is only as effective as the employees that participate in it.
Create a poll or topic for discussion where employees can openly voice their opinions on what they think about the intranet. What do they like about it? What don’t they like about it? What should be eliminated or improved upon? By getting feedback, you can steer the direction of your intranet design and also come up with new intranet ideas for the future. Asking for employee feedback shows that you are truly invested in the company and care about each employee’s needs and wants. This out will shed a positive light on your managerial abilities.