Technology has broken down the walls between the office and home, with more than 40 percent of employees in 2023 working in some hybrid or fully remote arrangement, according to FORBES. Fortunately, SharePoint intranets are coming to the rescue with inexpensive, easy-to-implement communication tools. You can quickly replace labor-intensive corporate newsletters, printed guides, and in-person training with sleek, customized multi-media intranets on SharePoint.
By simply using the wide variety of templates Microsoft 365 offers, organizations of any size can quickly create one centralized platform for company news and resources. Conversely, they can create specialized intranets around specific needs, such as training, human resources, or a live online event. You can have as few or as many portals as you need at no extra charge.
It truly is one of the great, underused resources in SharePoint. Are you interested in creating an Intranet for your company? Here is what you need to think about before you get started.
What Features Can You Expect from a Modern Intranet?
A proper, modern intranet design provides more than just a pretty interface. It can be an engine for driving employee productivity, inclusiveness, and engagement. Here are just a few things you can accomplish with a SharePoint intranet:
Campaign automation
Need to send out a survey to a select group or tailor internal stories to just one team? You can do that with most modern intranet systems.
Mobile connectivity
Send out emergency alerts via text, direct links to all-hands CEO messaging, and more. And all intranet content can be read on an employee’s phone or tablet, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
Decentralized Publishing
While most companies will always have centralized communications teams that publish corporate news, the decentralized functions in SharePoint Portals can allow employees company-wide to post content. For instance, it allows engineering to post a blog about the new product release, IT to send out messages about the latest security patch, or HR to upload photos from the company charity event. This removes communication bottlenecks, increasing the amount of information available exponentially.
Customization
Companies can still decide what news is mandatory for all employees. However, on the employee level, SharePoint allows them to configure the information they want. They can prioritize specific feeds, like those from their department or location, and place forms they often need where they can easily find them.
Surveys
Whether you’re planning a lengthy survey or a short, one-question quiz, Facebook surveys can provide the answers you need. Surveys can be delivered on desktop and mobile, and results come with report-worthy pie charts.
Tracking
From your admin panel, you’ll see precisely how many employees have read or interacted with your posts and what types of information are trending in popularity. If you need to make a quick pivot, you can do so. You’ll have all the information you need to make the right call.
SharePoint Intranet Use Cases
Anytime you have significant and recurring documentation about a topic, a SharePoint Intranet site can be a great way to ensure everything is grouped for easy use. Here are a few sample templates from Microsoft that give you a taste of what these sites can do.
Human Resources/Onboarding
Do you have new employee training modules for your people and forms they must fill out? Put them all in one place to ensure these tasks are not forgotten.
Company News
A central portal for your company can be set up to appear as the home screen for your employee intranet. Filter all the latest breaking company alerts here, as well as executive videos, important meeting photos, KPI reporting, and more. You’ll make significant gains with your transparent leadership.
Brand Resources
If your sales force never seems to have the correct supporting material, here’s your solution. This kind of site is perfect for storing all your brand assets or linking to web pages to order custom-printed business cards, wearables, or client gifts. With a central hub for all company assets, you’ll reduce versioning errors and free up your marketing staff’s time.
Volunteerism Hub
Are you hosting a company event or running a charity drive? A SharePoint intranet site is a great place to tell local stories, allow employees to sign up, and access the forms they need if they want charitable donations removed from their paychecks.
The Benefits of Intranets in 2024
Of course, all the communication conveniences of an Intranet are nice. But a well-run intranet can be a massive boost to your productivity, with real-world benefits including:
Saving Money: Intranets can eliminate the need for costly in-person meetings or email chains. You’ll never need to waste time printing newsletters or sending out never-to-be-read emails.
Saving Time: A good intranet can eliminate news bottlenecks and communicate in real-time, all the time, on whatever device employees use most.
Reducing Risks and Improve Compliance: SharePoint makes documents easy to find. Teams communicate more fluidly, too.
Gathering Feedback in Real Time: Ask a quick question, get a quick answer. Intranets give you the information you need to move on decisions.
Engaging Remote and Hybrid Workers: As companies decentralize and more workers work from home, Intranets become the keeper of employee culture and a company “campfire” that improves team morale and cohesion.
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