Intranet Insights

Intranet onboarding improves employee engagement

Written by Paula Darch | 15 June 2016

 

 

As the ownership of intranets shift away from the IT, the HR team are beginning to become one of the biggest users of the intranet. Traditionally, this has been to share policies and procedures or to manage companywide HR processes (such as absence or holiday tracking). As usage has matured, HR experts are now looking at this tool more holistically, considering how it could be used to improve retention and employee engagement across the business. To find out about this, and more, book your demo now.

Onboarding is the induction a new hire gets with a company, it sets the scene for how they perceive their objectives fitting into the wider goals of the business. Getting this process right is a crucial first step on the path to productive employee engagement and the contribution they bring to your business.

This is reflected in the research from the Aberdeen Group, as discussed in Roy Maurer's article, that found 66 percent of companies with onboarding programs claimed a higher rate of successful assimilation of new hires into company culture, 62 percent had higher time-to-productivity ratios, and 54 percent reported higher employee engagement. 

As an organisational-wide tool the intranet is being used to help new starters connect with the vision and mission of the business. It provides a forum to present staff with videos they need to consume and documents that need to be read. The intranet can track all of this and, with the help of intranet eLearning applications, provide feedback directly to the employee and their manager. Retention is improved as managers gain feedback to see where their new hires are struggling while employees become more engaged in not only the processes of the business but also in the conversations that are happening on the intranet in general.

Lets not forget, the intranet is also a social platform. A platform that can be used to connect remote workers together, getting new employees engaged in the organisation and sharing ideas.

The intranet impacts employee engagement and retention by beginning conversations and providing them with information to do their jobs. Due to the flexible nature of the intranet, this information can be securely accessed at home, work or when out meeting clients.

When onboarding staff the intranet shouldn’t be ignored. Engaging employees early into their careers can not only improve their engagement with your business but engagement with the intranet itself. If you would like to see how our intranet software can help your employees, request your demo. One of my colleagues will listen to what you are trying to achieve and show you examples from other businesses.