Intranet Management 10 new year’s resolutions for your intranet With a new year upon us, it’s time to take that momentum and set some resolutions for your intranet. Here is a list of ten options to keep you inspired. 6 minute read You might also like… Whitepaper Intranet use cases Whitepaper 10 Award Winning Intranets Like many of you, we are pretty excited over the start of a new year! The past year (and the two years before!) brought a lot of change and unpredictability to workplaces around the world as many of us are still navigating post pandemic workplace structures—like the hybrid workplace model. Fortunately digital workplace technology, like intranet software, provided ample opportunity for employees to remain connected and engaged to each other without any risks to productivity. Not that there was any doubt, but the last few years have solidified the significance of intranet software. With a new year upon us, it’s time to take that momentum and set some resolutions for your intranet. Your intranet resolutions should be unique to your organization, but here are a few to consider: Intranet Use Cases Curious how an intranet fits into your work environment? Download our whitepaper now. Download now 1. Conduct a content audit A content audit may feel like an arduous task, but it’s essential to the success of your intranet. If you are unfamiliar with a content audit, it’s a process that involves cataloging all the pages and files on your intranet, and then determining the usefulness of each one. Content audits are the first (and arguably the most important) step in developing a solid information architecture (IA) and are critical to prevent content sprawl. Our article on content audits breaks it down in detail. 2. Update employee profile pages Employee profiles on your intranet may feel secondary to critical content and news, but what happens when you need to locate a subject matter expert? If your workplace is hybrid or remote, you cannot rely on simply walking around the office enquiring who knows what. A robust employee directory on your intranet will contain detailed information and expertise on your employees, and is one of the easiest intranet resolutions to achieve. If you are having challenges motivating employees to populate their profile, consider gamifying it with badges like our client MedData did, or offering rewards. 3. Commit to more employee centric stories Don’t lose sight of your most important resource—your people! In spite of the unpredictability in the last few years, your workplace likely still had a lot to celebrate such as babies, graduations, weddings, and other personal milestones. On our ThoughtFarmer intranet, every new hire gets a blog post with a quick summary that outlines their role, but also a bit about themselves—their interests, their hobbies, their life outside the office. It’s a great way to get to know your coworkers and make them feel welcomed in their first few weeks in a new job. Is it any surprise that this content gets a lot of engagement? 4. Set some intranet goals Your intranet should have attainable goals and metrics, so why not make it visible to the entire organization? When employees see the intranet metrics for themselves they will be more invested in the adoption and success of your intranet. And speaking of goals, take some time to align your intranet goals with your business goals. Whether it is achieving better work-life balance, increasing sales, or establishing a diversity, equity, and inclusion program, your intranet can play a huge role. 5. Invest in a makeover Keeping your intranet fresh and dynamic is great for maintaining intranet engagement—just ask Carea Community Health Centre. After noticing usage and visitation on their intranet was dropping, they decided to invest in an intranet overhaul last year. The result? Improved adoption, and a more employee-focused site. If you do not have the bandwidth for an entire overhaul, take advantage of customization opportunities—like updating the header on your intranet homepage. 6. Launch a survey We love surveys here at ThoughtFarmer, as they allow us to easily identify how employees are feeling about a particular project or initiative. Surveys played a very important role in the redesign of our own intranet, as we aimed to deeply understand how employees were currently using it, what they liked, and any challenges they were experiencing. Why not start the year gauging how your employees truly feel about your intranet? For tips on how to get this project rolling, check out our blog post on how to create an intranet evaluation survey. Short on time? Consider trying a pulse survey. 7. Leverage features Are you using all your intranet’s features? Modern intranet platforms carry a sophisticated feature set allowing you to broadcast important messages, make content required reading, and easily create forms. In other words, features that make your life so much easier. Commit this year to learning about features within your intranet platform that can help you accomplish your intranet goals. And if you are unsure where to start, contact your professional services team. 8. Launch a CEO blog The pandemic catapulted leaders into the spotlight like never before. With employees requiring frequent news and information, many CEOs turned to their intranet to post updates, announcements, and videos. If you haven’t already launched a CEO blog, now is the perfect time. With increasing pressure to keep employees informed, CEO blogs are more relevant than ever before. Need more proof? Research we conducted revealed that leadership posts consistently rank high amongst that highest in engagement. Ready more about popular intranet posts here: What intranet content strategies work? We analyzed 16,000 intranet posts and this is what we learned. 9. Create a mental wellness section The last few years have taken a toll on employee mental health as many employees continue to deal with anxiety, stress, and isolation. Some of our customers have launched incredibly thorough resource sections on their intranet sites that aim to answer questions, concerns, and any anxieties employees may be dealing with during the pandemic. Commit in 2023 to sharing not only practical and logistical work tips, but also information and resources that can help employees take care of themselves, and maintain a healthy mind and body. 10. Add gamification elements Intranet gamification is a clever competitive strategy that incorporates elements typically found in gameplay and applies it to actions on your intranet. Actions to consider gamifying include: editing a profile, commenting on a news post, or following specific pages. If you haven’t already incorporated gamification into your intranet, now is the time, as gamification is a great way to increase intranet adoption and engagement. You can learn more by reading our case study: How MedData Created a Winning Gamification Strategy. What intranet resolutions do you have planned for 2023?