Upwards of 47% of employees consider their company’s intranet “difficult to use,” and — according to the same source — just 18% of employees make use of the intranet’s built-in search capabilities.
If you have experienced consistent engagement and adoption challenges as a result of these statistics, then you know firsthand how frustrating they can be. After all, you have poured significant time and resources into your intranet — the last thing it should do is go unused.
The good news, thankfully, is that you can boost employee engagement and adoption by leveraging a few proven tips, and you won’t have to track these strategies down on your own. Below, we have composed a list of 15 great intranet ideas sorted into three categories: content, engagement, and page ideas.
5 Intranet Content Ideas
Content is what draws users to your intranet in the first place, which is why it is the best place to start when sharing some useful intranet ideas. As such, we recommend including such content as the following:
1. Surveys
There is such a thing as “survey fatigue,” but it only takes hold when you bombard your team with a bunch of mandatory questionnaires and the like. With calculated and moderated usage, surveys can be fun for your staff and prove useful for your decision-making team. Put out a survey on your intranet at least a couple of times each month. You can create surveys that are more recreational in nature to gather information about topics like the party themes. If your company is heading toward a major shakeup, it’s best to create a survey to determine how your team feels about the proposed changes.
2. Policies and Procedures
Every intranet should include a list of policies and procedures, but it’s important to make sure you don’t just upload your entire policy manual. Instead, go the interactive route and make it easy for your team to find the information they are looking for. Divide policy content into categories so that employees are not left skimming through hundreds of pages in search of guidance. While your employees won’t be lining up to peruse your policies and procedures, it is still vital that they know what you expect of them. Making your policies available and accessible section by section on your intranet is the simplest way to keep everyone on the same page.
3. Customer Stories
Highlighting customer success stories reminds everyone why they work so hard each day. You can showcase an account the team just won or highlight the latest project you’ve all completed. Drawing attention to customer success stories will encourage your team to take ownership of their work while also boosting morale and building a sense of chemistry, as everyone will be more aware of what they can achieve together.
4. Messages From Leadership
Publishing messages from leadership may seem like an obvious move, but it is one of a few intranet ideas that a number of companies execute poorly. When constructing your messages, you need to be concise and honest. Never assume that your team knows you appreciate them and let them know that you do via regular communication. If you are part of an especially large organization or if you manage a hybrid workforce, consider publishing a video message. Such an approach will breathe life into your message and can help to establish greater trust throughout your team.
5. Employment Anniversaries and Birthdays
Publishing employee anniversaries and birthdays on the company’s intranet pages can help form a sense of camaraderie. Highlighting major employment milestones like ten, 20, or even 30 years of service also works wonders in making your staff feel appreciated and valued. As for publishing birthday shout-outs, make sure to ask each employee if they’d like to opt in or out before doing so.
5 Intranet Engagement Ideas
Keeping your team engaged can be a challenge, and if you want everyone to embrace your intranet platform, you need to turn it into a full-fledged engagement channel. You can do so by publishing news and content that includes the following:
1. Contests
Hosting a department or company-wide contest is an excellent means of bringing everyone together. Once you plan your contest, keep everyone updated on its progress using your intranet. Your team will flock to your intranet to see who is in the lead, track their performance, and find out who wins the grand prize. Generally, contests will center around key performance indicators, but not every contest has to be work-related. Some contest ideas include weekly trivia, cooking contests, fitness challenges, work-from-home setup contests, and sustainability ideas. It is up to you! Be as creative as you want.
2. Events
Use your intranet to promote company events, such as an annual barbeque or virtual conference. If you host company gatherings, your employees will check in to see what the next event on the schedule is. It’s important to place event information in a prominent location on your intranet. While you can have a dedicated event page, you should also highlight upcoming events on more widespread and general areas of your platform.
3. Useful Tools
While your intranet can be a fun place to hang out, the ultimate goal of any internal network is to make your team more productive and efficient. To that end, you need to fill your intranet with useful tools and applications. An intuitive communication tool like hubley should be at the top of the list. With it, your team can share information, contact employees in other departments, and collaborate like never before.
4. Throwback Posts
Make the most of old posts by getting in on popular trends like Throwback Thursday. Publish engaging photos from past holiday parties or contests, repurpose old posts, and give your team a reason to visit your intranet on a regular basis. Publishing throwback posts is especially important in the weeks leading up to annual events. For instance, if you want to maximize attendance at your annual summer picnic, post photos of last year’s event to remind everyone of how fun it was.
5. Company Progress Reports
Sharing insights about your company’s health and performance helps to build trust and show your integrity. You can publish quarterly financial reports and other data to let your team know how the business is doing as a whole. Be honest about your successes and failures, and unless operational security requires it, don’t hold back relevant information from your staff. Even if your business has encountered a few hurdles, be honest with your workers.
5 Intranet Page Ideas
When designing your intranet, you should include these five essential pages:
1. Employee Directory
An employee directory should list each staff member and include information about them, such as their:
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- Title
- Phone number
- Department
- Office location (floor and suite number)
- Email address
- Work status (on-site, hybrid, remote)
A comprehensive, easy-to-navigate directory encourages collaboration by making it easy for employees to get in touch with one another.
2. About the Company
An internal “About Us” page can mirror the corresponding page on your website, but the version of the page on your intranet should be more in-depth in comparison. Dive deeper into your company’s mission, vision, and goals, as doing so will solidify your workplace culture and help new employees better understand how they fit in the organization’s overarching strategies.
3. Job Opportunities
Hiring from within is great for employee morale and retention. When practical, you should post jobs internally before seeking to fill vacancies with external talent. Creating a “Job Opportunities” page makes it easy for existing employees to learn about new vacancies within the company. Each listing should include standard information, such as a list of expectations, responsibilities, and further requirements.
4. Training Opportunities
If you want to give your employees a reason to visit your intranet, create a page that highlights all internal and external training opportunities and that includes links to your training request form to make it easy for staff members to apply for upskilling opportunities. If sending employees to outside conferences and training sessions just isn’t in the budget, get creative. You can host internal training sessions or a weekly “Lunch with the Boss” meeting that gives career-minded individuals a chance to grow and develop.
5. Human Resources
While everyone knows how to get a hold of HR, you can minimize the workload on your human resources staff by creating an HR-specific page on your intranet platform. Make sure to include self-service tools so that employees can handle simple requests on their own. If your staff can submit address change requests, update their contact information, and perform other basic tasks independently, it will make life a whole lot easier for everyone.
Ready to Put These Company Intranet Ideas to Use?
Now, you have plenty of great intranet ideas to boost employee engagement and adoption, but you don’t need to feel as though you’ve got to use them all at once. Instead, start with a handful of ideas that you believe would resonate with your staff. Also, make sure to explore some new tools for your intranet platform so it can provide additional value to your team.
If you still aren’t sure where to start, get your team involved from day one and seek their input. Together, you can make your intranet the asset you’ve always hoped it would be!
