As you probably know, an intranet is a private online communications network that only internal employees and management can access. An intranet contains a wide range of tools and modules that can help to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of business operations, so it can be very useful to develop an intranet when you’re ready to grow your business. 

Your intranet could include interactive staff directories, collaborative workspaces, news pages, surveys, quizzes, and automated business processes, to name just a few. But how exactly should you go about developing an intranet that’s right for your company? Let’s find out. 

Determine What You Want from Your Intranet

There are a number of intranet software solutions on the market, so you need to look at the best intranet software to compare features, usage, requirements, customer service, and so on, to find the right option for your company. 

But before you do so, you should define what the purpose of your intranet will be and what you want to gain from it. 

Therefore, you need to ask yourself various questions to determine what features you need and which software you should get. 

For instance, ask questions like:

• What challenges do you want to solve with the intranet? 
• What outcomes do you expect to achieve?
• What functionality do you want your intranet solution to have?
• What success metrics do you need to develop your intranet?

Get Input from Your Employees

In addition to considering what you want from your individual intranet at a management level, it’s also important that you seek input from your employees. After all, they’re the ones who will be using the intranet. 

Just like always ensuring your employees are engaged with their work, you need to make sure you know what your employees want out of an engaging intranet. By finding out what they want from an intranet, you can ensure you tailor the intranet accordingly in terms of things like the structure of the intranet, its governance, and its features. 

For example, by finding out what communication channels your employees prefer for their day-to-day activities, you can better decide on intranet features like file sharing, task management, and one-on-one and group messaging.

Make Sure Your Intranet Is User Friendly and Easy to Navigate

While you need to spend time looking at your own requirements and your employees’ wishes for the intranet you are going to develop, there are some things that every intranet should be. 

Your intranet should be user-friendly, highly organizable, and easy to navigate, for instance. So, ensure the intranet you develop doesn’t forget to include such basics in its design. 

When looking for intranet software, bear in mind that options range from off-the-shelf to fully customizable solutions. Make sure you get the solution that best suits the needs of your employees and your growing business. 

Monitor the Intranet’s Success After Rollout 

Once you have determined what you want from your intranet, chosen the right software solution, and rolled it out across your company, you need to measure how successful it is. 

In fact, because problems and complexities can potentially arise early on, it’s a good idea to test it with select groups before you roll it out to the whole company. That way, you can iron out any issues and ensure the company rollout is a success. 

But even after the intranet has been rolled out throughout your entire company, you need to measure its success. By looking at things like success metrics, analytics, and employee engagement levels, you can get an overview of how successful your intranet is. You can then adapt it as required. 

Share Article

Follow Us

Return to Previous Page