Why is it Important to Have an Intranet Strategy?

• Intranet strategy
• Intranet strategy

It takes a strategy, time, money and other resources to plan and allow a corporate intranet. You want one of the best intranet solutions for your organization. As you need it to make some positive changes in your organization, it is important to define the purpose and objective of it. Keep in mind that it is going to be one of the important assets of your company.

It is going to influence help, engagement, sharing of information and other critical workplace components. Following are the important steps you have to take:

1. Learn about how your corporate intranet will drive employee engagement.
2. How will it support your employees?
3. Make your employees expert enough to use your corporate intranet regularly.

Importance of an intranet strategy

Start with a high-level understanding of what you want to achieve with your intranet. Having a strategy will help you in apply your intranet and measuring success with the following indicators:
1. Internal Communication
2. Ability to locate information
3. Action on all level of seniority and roles
4. Boost your brand and values
5. Connecting the company across different locations
6. Hopeful ideation and knowledge sharing
7. Blow up company culture
8. Ensuring accessibility and efficient use of intranet by employees

What a wrong strategy can do

Not having a good strategy greatens your chances of failure. The success of your intranet depends on the clarity of its potential. You should create a well-documented plan your employees can follow. Going ahead without proper planning can leave your employees disgruntled, lower return on investment, and even affect the work efficiency of your organization. You are far less likely to achieve your  goals. Or, you will achieve your goals at a much slower pace. An inefficient intranet strategy can lead to the following failures:

1. Lack of engagement
2. Lack of interest in the use of intranet
3. Little management and senior staff support
4. Lack of education on the right use of the intranet
5. Poor file sharing options
6. Slow performance

Creating your intranet strategy

Taking small steps is a good practice while putting a strategy together. Start with assessing the current situation of your organization. What factors have made you consider investing in a corporate intranet? How do you want to help your employees? How will thishelp in providing these solutions?

Put your workforce first

Your employees should be the main focus point when it comes to improving internal communications. Your employees are the primary users of your corporate intranet. So, put them at the center of the planning. Otherwise, your  strategy is destined to fail.

You have to ask some critical questions to put your employees first. This will help in understanding the way your organization is working and challenges your intranet solution has to address.

Think about and document how your intranet will support your employees. Measure up to what extent your employees will be involved in this. How successful they will be in sharing information around the organization. Recognize your existing limitations and challenges. You can take the following steps to achieve this:
1. Conduct Interviews
2. Try possible solutions

Conduct Interviews

Involve as many employees as possible to ensure a well-informed decision-making process. Get feedback on how employees are using the existing intranet on a personal level. This will provide you with a more transparent understanding of things that are working and things that are failing.

Get feedback on the following objectives and standards:
1. Enhancing how your employees are searching information and resources
2. Efficient content management
3. Efficient document management
4. Mobile-friendliness
5. Easy navigation
6. Improving employee engagement levels
7. General site efficiency and page speed
8. Project collaboration
9. Time management of remote employees
10. Proficient management of meetings, events and calendars
11. Proper notifications

Try possible solutions

Once you have got employees’ feedback, pay attention to intranet components or solutions that are failing. Your employees might have listed an overwhelming number of issues. Prioritize essential improvements. There should not be only one person making the final decision. Get suggestions and try proposed solutions.