An excellent corporate culture requires clear and effective communication. But there's a problem…
- People don't know where to find information.
- No one uses the old intranet because it makes their work harder.
- The old intranet is not integrated with other commonly used tools.
Sound familiar? Then it’s high time to switch to a solution that actually makes the above possible. Here are three rules of thumb that a modern intranet should follow.
Reason 1: All the information is available in one place
A treasure trove of information—you can find everything on a good intranet platform. Whether it’s general company policies, templates for creating documentation, or the new COVID guidelines… all information should be accessible in one place. That way, your employees know what’s going on and have everything at their fingertips. It also helps streamline all kinds of processes and workflows by bringing information, documentation, and tools together in one place.
The general knowledge database grows along with your organization. But it’s not just about transferring and making knowledge available. A professional intranet should also make it easier for people to connect with one another. This strengthens the bond between employees and your company.
In short, the intranet serves as a central hub for everything and everyone. News, upcoming events, documentation, announcements… everything can be found quickly from any location or device.
Checklist:
✅ Improve internal communication
✅ Encourage knowledge sharing
✅ Centralize information
✅ Simplify your search
Reason 2: The Start of a Healthy Corporate Culture
A company stands or falls on the strength of its employees. The intranet should bring them together and help them interact with one another and share knowledge. Engaged employees are also happier and more productive. An intranet is therefore the ideal platform for communication and knowledge sharing. It also fosters a positive company culture and reduces employee turnover. That’s because active knowledge and information sharing makes it easier for everyone to understand the specific contribution they make to the company.
On the other hand, a good intranet simplifies the onboarding process. New colleagues use it to find their way within the organization—think of documents, organizational charts, the latest news within the organization, and so on. It creates, as it were, a safety net for new employees, who can turn to one central location with all their questions. This has been an absolute asset since the rise of remote work. As a result, every new colleague is connected and integrated into the organization from the very start.
Checklist:
✅ Connect everyone to the company
✅ Let the corporate culture grow
✅ Build Engagement
Reason 3: Simple and easy for anyone to use
Maximize the impact of the intranet by making sure it remains user-friendly and accessible. Everyone should be able to easily connect with one another, share news and updates with each other, as well as with specific departments. Find information and gain knowledge at any time—whether on a mobile device, tablet, or desktop… Everyone stays engaged and connected anytime, anywhere.
Checklist:
✅ Keep the structure simple and organized
Order and structure make the most important content clear. Be selective about how much content you display and what you include. Otherwise, the environment will become chaotic, and users will lose interest. A clean design is timeless, so the intranet will never look outdated.
✅ Easy navigation
Make sure your employees can see the forest for the trees and avoid an overloaded navigation bar. Try to limit the top navigation bar to about five topics. For additional—secondary—information, a navigation page or a dropdown menu is more convenient.
✅ Make your content visually appealing
“Seeing food makes you want to eat.” Visual content is more eye-catching and, quite simply, more inviting. People are more likely to watch a short clip than to read something in its entirety. Make use of images, videos, GIFs, graphics, and more.
