How to Get the Most from Your Intranet

As the technology evolved, intranets began to include powerful features such as employee directories, intuitive folders, search, and other capabilities that helped employees find and share the information they needed to perform their day-to-day activities. 

Even more recently, various integrations and new ways of thinking about the employee experience led to more modern, social intranets that supported more intuitive two-way communication and information sharing. For example, the best intranets can actually serve as fully featured content management systems to store important information in intuitive folders, and even better, allow any user to create folders or channels to distribute important information.

As these types of corporate intranets became more popular, even more, familiar social features have been added, including things like comments, likes, sharing, and hashtags. Now, HR teams and other users can monitor real-time use and activities and can report on employee engagement and the user experience to continue to enhance their offerings.  

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8 Best Practices to Maximize Your Intranet Implementation

Wondering whether to use a company intranet platform or not? You're not alone. The topic has been picking up steam lately. Clear and concise communication is essential for any role in a business, and the quality of a company’s internal communication sets the stage for the future.
Here are, in our opinion, the 15 ways you can get the most from your Intranet:

 1. Integrated Work-Based Social Feed

A fully integrated workplace social feed is a great way to inspire internal communications among team members and anyone who currently works for you. Creating a central hub in which employees can communicate internally with their own team members as well as any other employee of your company is a way to streamline the process of communicating. Benefits of using an integrated workplace social feed include:

• Cut Out the Use of 3rd Party Apps: Using one central intranet social feed eliminates the need for third-party desktop or mobile apps, such as Slack or Windows Teams.

• Create Segmented Teams: Segment workers into teams based on departments and the level of security or clearance an individual has while on the job.

• Monitoring Sentiment Analysis: Implement sentiment-tracking technology to oversee how employees feel about a particular policy, change, or even about their role altogether.

2. Create a Recognition Program

Another way to put AI and a corporate intranet to work for you is to boost morale within the intranet itself. Including the option for employees to provide their peers with digital "kudos", "claps", or even virtual rewards is a great way to keep lines of communication open at all times.

Implementing this type of system is also a great way to gauge which topics are generating the most buzz and surrounding conversation. Workmates offers an all-in-one solution to offer your employees recognition and rewards.

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3. Open Workplace Topics and Posts for Feedback

If you want to encourage conversation and engagement among your staff and team members, consider opening the workplace forum topic and posts for all. Not only will an open forum allow employees to provide genuine feedback to help the company grow, but it can also serve as a safe location for those who are disgruntled to share their grievances.

Opening your central forum for employees to share their feedback can help to implement useful improvements while eliminating unnecessary tasks or other workplace guidelines that are currently in place. Allowing your employees to freely speak their minds will help them feel more comfortable doing so without the fear of retribution. If one of your main goals is to inspire your own company's communication, it is important to act as a leader who is open-minded and understanding. Some of the benefits of opening your workplace forum to all employees and staff members include:

• Gauge wants and needs: Discover the wants and needs of those who work for you to determine what improvements may be necessary to facilitate these changes.

• Learn about problem areas: At times, any business owner is likely to encounter issues. An open forum provides employees with the opportunity to share their grievances with the hopes of seeing improvements in the near future. Providing open dialogue can also help employees take more pride in their work, incentivizing them to try harder when they are on the job.

• Get to know who works for you: Creating a sense of community among your workers can help them feel more comfortable with you and more prideful when it comes to their jobs. The more satisfied someone feels at work, the more likely they are to put their best foot forward in just about any position.

4. Use a Centralized Hub

Using a centralized hub, or CMS for your company's intranet is a way to remove guesswork when it comes to managing your current employees and/or staff members. A CMS makes it easier to manage different hubs necessary to run your business, whether you are managing a digital newspaper or an international retail chain. Using an integrated CMS can help oversee which areas of your business require attention while also providing data and feedback that is most valuable to your business model in real time.

The intranet also functions as a localized project management tracker and repository of information, in case you prefer not to use cloud-based repositories or project management tools like Confluence.

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5. Take Advantage of Real-Time Analytics

While there is plenty to offer when it comes to implementing a CMS, or Content Management System, into your own workplace, it's important not to underestimate the power of monitoring analytics in real time. Real-time data is extremely insightful and can help you learn more about your company's needs for communication as well as individual preferences.

Using a centralized CMS is a way for you to quickly gather, organize, and utilize data for future campaigns, promotions, and even product development projects.

Understanding the role that corporate intranets play in all industries in society is integral for any corporate leader today. Implementing inspirational intranet solutions for your own company can ultimately result in significantly improved methods of communication, conducting business, and ultimately, generating revenue. 

6. Provide a Personalized Experience

Make your intranet special for each person at work. Give everyone their own profile where they can show off what they're good at and what they like. Use smart technology to make sure everyone gets messages and alerts that matter to them. Help each person grow by offering training that fits their goals and how well they work. To make things even better, create rewards and ways to appreciate each individual's efforts. When you make the intranet personal, people work better, feel happier, and enjoy their time more.

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7. Promote your internal brand through the platform

Your company's intranet is really powerful and can help in promoting your internal brand. Make sure it shows what your company stands for - its values, mission, and culture. Use things like logos, colors, and messages to keep it consistent. Tell stories of success, highlight employees, and celebrate the company's wins to boost morale and unity. Give employees space to share feedback and be part of decisions so they feel important and listened to. When you include the brand in the intranet, it makes things come together smoothly for a fun experience that gets everyone on board with who you are and what you aim for.
Some intranets provide features like employee advocacy that significantly expand your total reach, amplifying your brand and your presence on the platforms you’re already using. Not only does this help create an army of advocates willing to promote your company, but it can help grow your business.

8. Build a true digital workplace by integrating with other tools

To maximize the potential of your intranet by combining it with other important tools and platforms. Linking your intranet with project management software, chat apps, & HR systems forms a smooth digital setup. Employees can find all they need in one place, saving time from jumping between apps. This teamwork strengthens cooperation, simplifies tasks, & increases efficiency. A fully linked intranet becomes a complete digital workspace, helping your team do their finest work.

How to Choose the Best Modern Intranet Software for Your Company?

Whether you are just informing yourself on the intranet topic or your company has been using one, it is good to consider implementing a modern one in your organization. 

The next question would be, which intranet software is the best to use? Well, that depends on the goals and values your company wants to achieve, so start by identifying your organization’s specific needs.

If seamless communication is required, maybe Slack would be the one to look for. If a robust document management system is more important, then Microsoft SharePoint is a good way to go. If you want to boost employee engagement with features like employee recognition and feedback mechanisms that contribute to a positive workplace culture, driving motivation and productivity, then you should look into Workmates. One of the advantages is that it is an employee app, which means it supports both desktop and mobile devices.

“Our staff has praised the increased communication level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.”

Christopher Baggott Chief Executive Officerator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC.

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Selecting the most suitable modern intranet software is vital for improving communication, cooperation, and efficiency within your organization. Here are aspects to take into account:

So what should you look for to find the best Intranet platform?

• User-Friendly Experience: Choose software with an easy-to-use interface and navigation. Ensure that employees can easily access information and tools.

• Customization Options: Seek software that permits customization to mirror your company's identity, ethos, and specific requirements. This may involve customizable dashboards, themes, and modules.

• Integration Capabilities: Confirm that the intranet software can smoothly integrate with existing tools and systems like HR software, project management tools, and communication platforms.

• Mobile Compatibility: Given the prevalence of mobile work setups, opt for software that supports mobile devices through responsive design and native mobile applications for on-the-go accessibility.

• Corporate data hub: It’s important for the intranet solution to integrate with corporate enterprise systems to enable connected workflows and easy data retrieval. For example, HR Cloud users can connect and use HR data with the point of sale systems using Microsoft’s Power BI. 

• Sharing and collaboration: A good company intranet should include functionality that promotes sharing and collaboration, such as features that enable employees to view, comment, and distribute helpful information.

• Social networking and employee advocacy: These are important when you consider that today, employees create awareness about their company and can serve as valuable brand advocates.

• Push notifications: Instant alerts help workers see new updates, such as new project assignments or tasks, content updates, or specific conversations.

• Org charts and contact databases: These are very helpful, especially as employees may look to find or contact others in the organization.

• Security Measures: Give priority to software with strong security protocols, including data encryption, user verification, and adherence to industry standards like GDPR and HIPAA.

• Analytics and Reporting Features: Look for intranet software that offers analytics and reporting functions to monitor usage, engagement, and the effectiveness of communication and collaboration initiatives.

• Support and Resources: Consider the availability of customer assistance, training materials, and user guides to ensure a seamless implementation process and ongoing support.

• Demo and Trial: Request a demo of the software to see it in action. A live demonstration allows you to explore features firsthand and envision how they would fit into your company’s workflow. Some vendors also offer free trial periods to test usability and functionality before committing.

By taking these considerations into account, you can choose intranet software that aligns with your organization's objectives, boosts employee engagement, and contributes to overall success.

Workmates: A Comprehensive Intranet Software Solution 

Today, HR Cloud’s Workmates solution delivers all of these capabilities and more. To see how Workmates is revolutionizing the way companies think about and deploy intranets—for significant business improvements—visit our Workmates page or request a free, no-obligation Workmates demo!

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About Author: 

This article is written by a marketing team member at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications & engagement, and rewards & recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.