Increased productivity, effective collaboration and a connected workforce are just a handful of benefits resulting from high intranet engagement. Intranet engagement (and it's importance) was discussed back in February in a blog which set out 5 suggestions for maintaining employee engagement with the intranet. This blog hopes to discuss intranet engagement in a bit more detail, setting out 10 steps for achieving engagement from day 1 and beyond. To find out more about intranets, intranet engagement and more, attend one of our regular Showcases.
An effective intranet will bring together business information, documentation, news and events in one central hub making it easy for employees to find what they are looking for. It should also offer a platform for collaborative working and automise tedious every-day processes. As a result, a good intranet will rapidly increase productivity within the organisation and will benefit each and every employee on a daily basis. Each organisation is different so achieving intranet engagement will differ from business to business. However, the following 10-steps are a good guideline that every business can follow to help encourage engagement.- Simplicity
Less is more; a successful intranet is not overly ‘busy’. Instead, it will offer easy navigation, clear signposting and display recent, relevant and important information. Modern intranets can be easily modified so information can be frequently changed to display only the newest and most relevant content. This flexibility allows for a less intimidating and entirely up-to-date intranet guaranteed to entice employees.
- Satisfaction Survey
A simple and effectively designed survey offers the opportunity for employees to give direct feedback and is invaluable to improving the intranet. Remember to use straightforward closed questions with the opportunity for further open ended feedback. That way, those with limited time can complete the questions and those who have specific things they want to report can also do so.
- Training
A fully engaged workforce know exactly how to use their intranet and how it improves business processes. Therefore, effective and tailored training is crucial. Here at SORCE we deliver industry leading training, get in touch with one of our experts for more information.
- Clear Goals and Objectives
An effective intranet will have a clear overarching objective and will respond to the changing needs and goals of the business. Any intranet improvements should reflect these goals.
- Steering Group
Ensuring that step 4 can be achieved effectively you will need an Intranet Steering Group. Establishing a Steering Group from the outset can act as a guiding force for your intranet to ensure that costs are kept down, objectives are met and everyone’s voice is heard. A Steering Group will act as a community of individuals from around the business who influence and guide the future of the intranet based on the needs of the organisation and its employees. For more information, check out our Steering Group Blog post.
- Intranet News Feed
A news feed can serve as a central location of information, promoting the newest and most relevant information. Every employee can have a tailored news feed so that the information displayed is directly relevant to them. This personalisation will avoid information overload and benefit every individual.
- Entertainment and Humour
Intranets should always involve an element of fun. A social community should be light-hearted and focus on the “social” side of the business, encouraging communication and collaboration. Always use the intranet to promote social events and consider posting relevant but humorous videos to keep up morale.
- Calendars and Collaboration
Sharing employee calendars is a huge benefit of an effective intranet platform. If employees keep their calendars up-to-date, communication is easier, events can be applied to multiple calendars and important events are less likely to be forgotten.
- Employee Ownership
One key way to ensure your employees are engaged with the intranet is to offer them responsibility and ownership. If they are directly involved in the intranet, either through the Steering Group or producing content such as blogs, then they are more likely to be engaged and concerned about the success of the intranet.
- Lead by Example
What better way to encourage intranet engagement than to lead by example? Make a point of being visible about your use of the intranet, post engaging content and ensure that employees can see how much you value the intranet.
I hope this blog has given you some ideas about how you can create ongoing enthusiasm and engagement with your intranet. For more help and advice, search our Knowledge Centre for free downloadable learning resources and/or attend one of our upcoming Intranet Showcases.