Intranet software has come a long way since its early days of being simply an information repository. After decades of evolution, modern intranets have become central to organisations’ working practices, especially for those with remote or hybrid teams.
Indeed, throughout the pandemic, modern intranets have given teams a much-needed platform for sharing information, facilitating internal communications, and improving online collaboration whilst working from home. It’s also provided business leaders with the tools for strengthening company culture and increasing employee engagement within the digital workplace.
Crucially, online intranet software has been central to helping staff remain productive during what’s been an extremely challenging time. Thanks to the breadth and depth of features that intranet solutions provide, such as task management, collaboration tools, and business process automation, teams have been able to continue their day-to-day job from home with little disruption.
Below we explain why intranet software is key to helping improve employee productivity:
Intranet search and process automation save employees’ time
Searching for information and undertaking repetitive, low-value tasks are major time wasters for your staff. Indeed, a white paper found that employees spend a quarter of their time searching for, consolidating, and analysing information, whilst a poll revealed that staff spend 5 hours a week on manual admin. That leaves very little time for meaningful or productive work.
Intranet software features such as intranet search and process automation are purpose-built for saving time and improving productivity, for example:
- Intranet search centralises your company’s data, meaning staff only need to look in one place to find the information they need.
- Process automation turns manual, administrative tasks – such as expense claims and invoice requests – into automated workflows, dramatically reducing employee input.
Easy-to-use and personalised intranet software increases employee engagement
Engaged employees are productive employees, and this starts by providing them with easy-to-use intranet software that’s personalised to their needs.
Of course, building an engaging intranet is not a one-off task, and it requires thoughtful planning and a vision for the future. User needs and the digital experience are constantly changing, so you’ll need to treat intranet management as an ongoing project in order for it to continue engaging your staff.
Here are a few tips on creating an intranet that will engage your staff now and beyond:
How to make your intranet more engaging
- Use content management tools to target relevant content to your teams, so they don’t get bogged down with unnecessary information.
- Create an engaging user experience by using intranet design tools to customise colours schemes, styling, fonts, and layouts. Consider updating your intranet design every year or two to keep things fresh.
- Encourage team communication by adding corporate social media widgets to your intranet homepage and replacing email with engaging intranet messenger apps.
- Get buy-in from your leadership team to promote your intranet as being essential to your business operations, which will improve intranet adoption rates.
Intranet software improves knowledge sharing
As the saying goes, knowledge is power. But it’s also vital for improving productivity.
A report by the Technology Services Industry Association found that 43% of respondents believe they could improve productivity by at least 30% if they had the tools to share knowledge more efficiently. Intranet productivity tools – which include knowledge management features at its core – would be a good place to start.
Knowledge management software makes company knowledge visible and accessible to all, by providing a centralised space for staff to share their expertise, collaborate on how-to articles, and ask questions to their coworkers.
This is especially useful for uncovering tricky-to-document tacit knowledge, which describes the intuitive intell that people hold after years of experience and insight. In contract, explicit knowledge – which is more factual and tangible – is much easier to share.
Both types of knowledge are extremely valuable, and by using knowledge management tools to improve the visibility of this know-how, you’ll be improving productivity too.
