Is your internet a virtual company headquarters, uniting your workforce
wherever your associates may be?
Or is it a document graveyard, serving little purpose beyond allowing
people to dredge up outdated versions of your travel expense form—before
they give up and email a co-worker to request the right one?
A free report from Ragan Communications and Simpplr, “
How to make the case for upgrading your intranet
,” provides tips for elevating your hub from dusty digital shelf to
powerful tool.
The guide will help you build a case for an internal platform that promotes
your culture, recruits talent and fights fake news. It cites informed
sources from GoDaddy, Simpplr, eVestment, Strategic Communications, J.M.
Wilson Corp. and other organizations.
A modern intranet unites employees who would otherwise work in silos, and
it aligns them with the strategy and purpose of the organization, says Sam
Keninger, senior director of product marketing at Simpplr.
“We’re all inundated with information,” Keninger says. “We have access to
too many systems. The rank and file can’t see the forest for the trees. We
need a place to up-level our understanding, to see how we contribute to the
bigger picture and to focus on it.”
At GoDaddy, the intranet has become a unifying force for an employee base
that has rapidly expanded through growth and acquisitions.
“Suddenly we’re bringing in people with completely different languages and
cultures who never had worked with an American company before,” says Kim
Clark, director of internal communications at the domain registrar and web
hosting company.
Here are ways the guide will help you chart the path to a better intranet:
-
Clarify your approach. Sort out whether you’re looking for a platform
that builds collaboration and cooperation, or simply serves as an
old-fashioned repository of forms and policy statements.
-
Sound out your workforce. Learn why an advance survey of employees
isn’t just a thermometer to test internal temperatures, but also a tool
to help you launch a companywide campaign that clearly conveys your
intranet’s purpose.
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Help with recruiting and retention. Boost internal communications so
employees solve problems within, rather than feverishly venting their
spleen on Glassdoor.
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Push productivity. At eVestment, the intranet taps into its culture of
learning and development and keeps employees focused on objectives and
initiatives.
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Boost efficiency. On a social intranet, employees can share information
that never could have been communicated in meetings, emails or memos.
By creating sub-sites, you can enable teams such as Marketing and Sales
to exchange essential information that helps the organization meet its
quarterly goals.
-
Surface expertise and new ideas. Often employees do an amazing job at
their desk, yet only a handful of their co-workers know what they’re
contributing. The intranet can help you find internal talent.
Download your free guide here
.