Why a New Intranet Should be on Your Christmas List

With 2016 drawing to a close your organisation might be reflecting on business performance. Now is a great time to consider ways in which you can make some changes to improve efficiency and grow your business. One way is through a new intranet. Most of us access intranets on a daily basis from our smart phones, tablets and other devices without appreciating its true ability. Intranets are becoming the digital hub of the business so it’s more important than ever to understand the benefits they can bring. For a more detailed discussion, book your place at one of our Showcases in the new year.

Universal Benefits

Intranets impact different organisations and different departments in different ways but there are some universal and overarching benefits to effective intranets. These include:

1. Improved productivity - Enabling employees to locate information easier and faster.
2. Improved communication  - Information can be easily broadcasted around your organisation; important messages can be broadcast to the right people when needed and documents updated in real time.
3. Employee engagement - An effective intranet will encourage engagement and make collaborative working easier.
4. Improved accessibility - Intranets enable ease of access for all employees, including remote workers, no matter where and how they are accessing the intranet.
5. Improved business processes - Applications can be designed for specific business requirements and to address specific problems.
6. Reduced email volume - Intranets provide a centre point for information limited the need for mass emails. 

Department Benefits

In addition to the above advantages, individual department benefits include:

Sales & Marketing:

1. Instant access to up-to-date sales information and ability to update reports in real time
2. Communicating brand guidelines and latest campaigns to the right people at the right time and the ability to check everyone has accessed the information
3. Internal PR campaigns managed and published centrally via the intranet

Accounts:

1. Publishing financial policies and procedures in central location
2. Enabling expenses to be completed online, saving administrative time
3. Distribute sensitive information securely

HR:

1. Enable employees to access and request holiday information from multiple devices
2. Instant access to the live version of the employee handbook and policies and procedures
3. Staff training opportunities communicated to the right people at the right time

Senior Management:

1. Publish Targets for the coming year along with mission statements and objectives
2. All meeting minutes held in one place, making access easier and instant
3. The ability to securely distribute sensitive company information to management teams

I hope this demonstrates just how powerful your intranet can be and how the collective result is a more engaged, efficient and productive workforce. If this blog has sparked your interest and you want to find out more, get in touch or attend one of our Showcases. And, if you need help writing your own business case, download our free guide.