“Yes, I know what an intranet does, but it’s not something that benefits my job.”
It’s something we’ve heard a lot since the mid 2000’s.
Not that we blame people. Intranets have changed a lot over time.
If you used one of the first generation intranets you probably remember that they did little to address organizational challenges, and were often criticized for taking employees away from their work. Now intranets are essential for connecting employees to their work.
So what do different roles within a workplace need to know about how an intranet supports their specific work? In this blog post, we'll explore some of the different employee roles that benefit from intranet software.
Human resources
HR professionals are responsible for a wide range of tasks, from recruiting and onboarding to employee benefits and performance management. Intranet software helps them streamline these processes by providing a centralized platform for tracking vacation time, managing benefits, and communicating with employees. To learn more about how to build an onboarding hub on your intranet check out this blog: 7 tips for building an onboarding hub on your intranet.
Front-line workers
Front-line workers, such as customer service representatives, bus drivers, and warehouse workers, often work in remote locations or on-the-go. Intranet software helps them stay connected with the rest of the organization by providing access to company news, policies, and procedures. To see how RFTA kept their bus drivers informed on company news and events, read this case study: How ThoughtFarmer’s mobile app empowered RFTA’s frontline workers.
IT professionals
IT professionals are responsible for maintaining the organization's technology infrastructure and ensuring that all systems are running smoothly. Intranet software can help them manage software updates, troubleshoot problems, manage IT requests, and communicate with other departments about technology-related issues. Through features liked Required Reading, IT professionals can also be certain that important security policies are read by employees.
Executive
Executives are often tasked with making important decisions that impact the entire organization. Intranet software can help them stay informed by providing real-time access to key performance indicators (KPIs), financial reports, and other important data. They can also use the intranet to communicate with other executives and keep track of important meetings and events. Perhaps the best use case is where executives leverage the intranet to demonstrate transparency and to communicate directly to their employees. For a sneak peek on how this can be achieved, check out PCI’s case study: Inside the best place to work. Their CEO uses their intranet to blog every single day.
Sales
Intranet software provides a centralized platform for sales teams to access and share information, such as sales data, meeting minutes, training resources, success stories, customer information, and product information, which can help improve collaboration and communication within the team. It can also facilitate the tracking of sales performance metrics and goals, enabling the team to monitor progress and identify areas for improvement.
All employees
While the examples above highlight specific use cases, there are still many other ways all employees can benefit from an intranet platform. At ThoughtFarmer, we rely on our own intranet for things like coordinating events, managing polls, welcoming new employees, managing RFPs, and recognizing and applauding employee milestones and accomplishments.
Obviously this is just a brief snapshot of the many use cases intranet software can support. By providing a centralized platform for communication and collaboration, intranets can help executives stay informed, HR professionals manage employee data, marketing and communications teams promote the organization's brand, IT professionals maintain technology infrastructure, and front-line workers stay connected.
Have questions? Get in touch! We're always happy to hear from you.
