Intranets have now surpassed internal newsletters as one of the main tools for internal communication. A survey carried out by internal communications researcher Melcrum Publishing found that 90 per cent of staff wanted more company information to be available online, but one respondent in two claimed that their company's intranet did not fulfil its internal communications objectives.
Intranets can have a major impact on both employee relations and the bottom line, if implemented and maintained correctly. They can effectively communicate everything from internal news to procedures and company policies, as well as providing easy online access to databases, CRM applications and other business systems.
The simple fact is that intranets go beyond internal communications and offer companies other important benefits from intranets including significant cost and time-savings for employees as well as enhanced customer satisfaction.
Broadland District Council in Norfolk is a great example. In 2004, Broadland replaced an existing system of email based news updates for its 230 staff with an intranet. The intranet includes access to a geographic information system (GIS), which enables employees to access vital information about homes and businesses within the District.
This has saved the Council considerable time and effort in information searches and has meant that almost any employee can easily field queries from customers and the public because all the relevant information is at their fingertips.
Breaking down boundaries
Many organizations are now making the tools to create and publish intranet content more widely. If the intranet is to be successfully used by employees, it should allow non-technical users to be able to use the tools without the need for extensive training.
An easy to use content management system will ensure the site remains up to date and engaging. However the system itself should be rigid enough to ensure the intranet's structure and the business processes governing the creation and publication of new content, are respected. The correct choice for your company - dictate or democratize?
According to Melcrum, 90 per cent of managers agreed that employee engagement schemes - including intranets - increase employees' awareness of the business.
Half of the respondents to the same survey reported improvements in employee retention and customer satisfaction as a result of these efforts - highlighting the real benefits of an intranet, which truly represents employees' interests.
This is why it is important that, when developing intranets, companies should ensure it meets both employee expectations and business objectives.
Generally companies can examine two approaches. First, the top-down, or centralized approach, which involves direction from senior management and information channels that are managed by the head office. Second, the democratic approach, which is increasingly popular and allows employees to submit their own content for publication on the intranet.
To be successful, the second approach needs a degree of supervision. If a company allows too much free reign, its intranet may become unmanageable - page counts can swell and tracking down the right information can, once again, become an arduous task.
Managing the intranet's structure, as well as establishing controlled processes for developing, approving and finally publishing new content, is vital. The increased employee involvement afforded by this 'democratic' model can be a real driver of employee satisfaction - and bottom line growth.
Electrocomponents: democracy in action
An example of a company that has successfully implemented a democratic intranet with stunning results is Electrocomponents, better known for its RS Components subsidiary, which supplies a wide range of electronic components and devices to a global customer base.
Although not new to intranets, Electrocomponents' previous effort stored information in 'silos', making it difficult for employees in one business group to find out about the workings of others. Breaking down these 'silos' was a key objective of its new intranet and it trained a group of 100 webmasters across the business, to take control of their departments' content.
So successful has this approach been, that almost two thirds of Electrocomponents' employees began using the intranet regularly within days of its relaunch, and it went on to win two awards at the 2005 Communicators in Business Awards.
The Electrocomponents case demonstrates that an intranet's consistent structure and accessible content management can give employees from different divisions easy access to information held in other areas for the first time - thus breaking down organizational barriers.
Conclusion
Intranets can play a vital role in delivering information and enhancing employee communications but to a large degree success will depend on the content management system used.
Plan and implement the project successfully with a powerful yet flexible application and the intranet will prove a vital tool for informing, engaging and developing employees, whilst increasing businesses success as a whole.
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