If you are old enough to have used a computer in the early to mid-90s, you probably associate the word “intranet” with a simple, text-only file storage system – basically a primitive version of what we now refer to as “The Cloud”.
Well, a lot has changed since then. A modern intranet for business is a dynamic virtual place that, yes, stores files, but also enables communication and collaboration. These extremely functional systems act as an online portal for employees that acts as a news source, a reference guide and a repository of institutional knowledge.
Modern workers looking to be as productive as possible require two primary facets of communication. First, they need to be able to access and share important information. Second, they need to be able to communicate with coworkers, whether they are located across the room or across the country.
Just about every company needs to be able to store a large amount of information for its employees. For example, HR and legal departments need a place to store important onboarding material and legal policies. Keeping paper copies in a bunch of filing cabinets is such an outdated approach, it’s no longer considered an effective way of doing business.
Usually, an intranet for business functions as a central hub of information. While platforms like Dropbox and Google Drive also allow businesses to store important information, companies that use an intranet as the cornerstone of their internal communications provide a simple, unified approach.
How can an intranet help drive success?
If an organization started in 2020 without using an intranet as a centralized hub of information, the COVID-19 pandemic likely made them wish that they had. The mass exodus of the workforce from offices around the world put a blinding spotlight on IT, especially the importance of having a centralized location for communication and collaboration. Perhaps now more than ever, companies that use an intranet are seeing the value and using it to store information, share updates, facilitate collaboration and do work.
An intranet for business can make life simple. Perhaps the biggest benefit of an optimized intranet is a reduced reliance on emails for communication. Many intranet systems have an integrated chat feature that makes conversations easy to have. These features keep inboxes clear of clutter and avoid the disastrous possibilities of a mistaken reply-all email.
An intranet also makes it easy to ask for ideas and collect feedback. When used correctly, it can also cut down on the number of annoying, inefficient meetings. Employees can easily have open discussions, share ideas, provide updates and interact with leadership.
An intranet also enables the kind of two-way communication that makes employees feel heard. By offering an open forum, an intranet empowers knowledgeable employees who want to make contributions on a daily basis.
New solutions from employees can then be stored on the intranet. This ability to store institutional knowledge is invaluable. When a top employee leaves the company, all of their “tricks of the trade” don’t go with them. This not only helps with onboarding new employees, but it also can help existing employees do a better job.
Finally, an intranet can support a company’s culture, values and overall brand. It offers a number of avenues for promoting social events and reinforcing why the work that employees do matters so much. Company leaders can’t share news articles and other content that relates to company values. They can also ask employees to share content that relates to their job or the company.
When employees are given a platform and encouraged to use it, they are more likely to engage with their work and forge strong relationships with others in the organization. This leads to higher levels of employee loyalty, fewer conflicts, more creativity and lower turnover.
How can Tryane help you optimize your intranet?
Although you could just set up your company’s intranet, direct employees to it and hope for the best, that isn’t the best approach. To make sure you’re getting the most out of your efforts, you shouldn’t be tracking its usage, including how employees interact with it and what aspects of the intranet they use the most.
Our intranet analytics solutions can allow your company to track many different metrics related to usage and engagement. An analysis of data can reveal where your efforts are getting their most return and what parts of your intranet need to be changed. For example, we can determine which internal blog posts get the most clicks and which employees are the most active users.
This kind of information can help you target specific audiences and empower the most active users. Action plans can also be developed to engage the least active users and convert them into meaningful contributors.
All of these benefits can be realized through the use of our analytics solutions. If you would like to learn more about how our solutions can optimize your intranet, please reach out to us today and we can address any questions or concerns you may have.