Intranet Wish List

If you’re in the process of updating or replacing your intranet, you know that there are a million decisions on which you’ll need to reach consensus. Even after you’ve selected your platform, whether it’s SharePoint or one of the many SaaS platforms now available, you’ll still need to determine all the features and functions your new intranet will offer.

What are the best features and functions? You might want to consider incorporating some of the five capabilities on this intranet wish list.

Can your intranet do this?

Be easily updated by non-technical communicators

Keeping a steady stream of fresh content is important for maintaining your intranet’s relevance. But if you have to wait for your IT department to upload new material or make even the smallest change, then you lose some critical momentum. Your content can be old news by the time it’s posted. Look for an intranet solution that makes it easy for people on the communications team to maintain the site.

Make it easier for employees to do their jobs

When the tools employees use day in and day out are just a click away, that saves them time and hassle. When a directory makes it easy for them to find other people in the organization, that helps too. But what about all those other documents and files that employees need less frequently? Just because it’s on the intranet doesn’t mean it’s easy to find. Disciplined meta tagging and a good search function can make all the difference.

Filtering content by audience

Does an engineer in London see the same content as a supply chain manager in Atlanta? Do employees of different brands in your holding company see content that’s specific to their brands? Most platforms can now point meaningful content to employees, based on their geography, their business unit and/or their job function. It’s like having the content curated to individual needs.

Enable employees to add content

Your intranet can be a lively main street where employees bump into each other and share their latest news — if they’re able to upload content. You can open this capability to everyone in the company, or you can train and approve content managers to represent each division or location in your organization. At the very least, you can allow employees to post comments on existing content.

Reach non-desk employees

If a large percentage of your employees are working in manufacturing facilities, retail locations or other work environments without dedicated computers, they may never see the intranet. Some companies provide intranet access with tablets in breakrooms or other employee spaces. Mobile-friendly intranets appeal to desk workers as well as non-desk employees, although generally employees will need a company email address to log in. If you really want to reach everyone, you might consider an app.