You’ve been charged with promoting the new company intranet to a skeptical workforce. Some employees have been with the company for several years and know pretty much everything there is to know about the business and its operations. They may be resistant to change generally and are not convinced that the intranet will make a difference to them. Does this scenario sound familiar? If you are grappling with these issues then read on as we look at how to present the concept of a company intranet to staff.
How To Convince Staff Of The Company Intranet Benefits
The most important point to remember is that presentation is the key. Focussing on the ways in which the intranet will directly benefit employees is the way to approach it. If staff can see how their daily working lives will be improved as a result of the intranet, they are more likely to be enthused about it.
With that in mind below we present six of the key benefits that an intranet will bring to your organization, which you can use in your presentations to staff members.
1. Improved Communication
Especially in larger companies, the whole process of communication can be time-consuming. While the intranet will not do away with the need for face-to-face communication, it will make it much easier and quicker to disseminate those key corporate messages throughout the company.
2. Streamlined Processes
The company intranet will be much more than just an information hub. It’s important that staff appreciate that it will contain the actual tools that employees need to use in order to complete their work. Many companies are using the intranet to automate and streamline work processes. These could be for simple processes like booking annual leave, claiming expenses or setting up a new supplier on the system. Or they can be more complex tasks like employee appraisals, product management and customer relationship management processes. In this way, the paper and email trails in the office are substantially reduced along with the amount of staff time that they involve.
3. Improved Employee Engagement
Engaged employees
Collaborative workspaces on the intranet will enable more joint working across the business and will help to break down any departmental silos. Staff can team up and work together on daily tasks or on long-term projects. These collaborative workspaces will enable staff to share files, conduct multiple conversations and reference pertinent data.
Blogs and discussion forums enable staff to share data and information across the business as well as best practice ideas and initiatives. These tools can also be shared with management in vertical as well as horizontal information flows.
4. Increased Opportunities For Flexible Working
Remote working and flexible arrangements are no longer the exception. More and more staff are looking to achieve a better work-life balance. Cloud-based intranets can be accessed 24/7 from a tablet, PC or smartphone and so support the implementation of more flexible working arrangements. Staff no longer need to be tied to their desks as a mobile-friendly intranet means they can still be connected and productive whether they are working from home or on the road. Giving employees this freedom and allowing them to take control of their working lives is an important intranet benefit worth highlighting.
5. Improved Productivity
- Booking meeting rooms
- Checking diaries
- Consulting a company policy
- Locating a colleague in the staff directory
- Reading up on the latest company news
- Completing a survey on the new logo
- Voting on the location of the Christmas party in an opinion poll.
The possibilities are almost endless. But the end result is the same: improved productivity and a greater sense of achievement from staff members.
6. Knowledge Management
Summary
When it comes to getting staff on board with the idea of a new company intranet, the critical task is to answer the ‘what’s in it for me’ question that will be in the back of each employee’s mind. Demonstrating that the intranet will simplify their daily lives and make it quicker and easier for them to get their jobs done, will make the difference between having a receptive and enthused workforce or a disengaged and negative one.
Thinking of implementing a company intranet? If you would like an informal consultation on the benefits of an intranet and how to get staff onside, then contact the experienced team at MyHub who will be happy to help.
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