What is an Employee Intranet?

According to a 2021 Employee Engagement survey, it was discovered that nearly 64% of employees had stopped being engaged at work.

As people were forced to stay at home and consequently became less engaged because of the pandemic, digital tools like employee intranets gained traction. This came as no surprise as businesses had to devise other means to aid work collaboration, increase productivity, and enhance internal communications within the organization.

Digitally connecting employees and bridging any existing communication gap has never been more needed than now, where a vast majority of employees work remotely. At the most basic level, employee intranets help businesses solve the dilemma of communication, collaboration, and information sharing within the workplace.

Employee intranets are not necessarily novel or new. In fact, they’ve been used by businesses for decades. However, not many are presently aware of the benefits this internal communication work tool can offer to them and their business. For many, the first image that probably comes to mind when the word employee intranet comes up is an out-of-date, clumsy, difficult-to-navigate intranet platform, and that’s understandable. 

The traditional employee intranet software most persons were used to came with a number of limitations. Modern intranets, however, bear little similarity to their cumbersome counterparts of the past. They are, in fact, more crucial than ever before. Interesting right? Let’s take a look at what a modern employee intranet is and what it does. 

Depending on the organization involved, intranets can take the form of a website, collection of collaboration tools, internal communications platform, information-sharing platform, or even a social network. There is really no standard format. Because of this, people tend to get confused as to the exact nature and definition of an intranet. No worries, we’ve broken it down.

An employee intranet is a closed/private and secure network used by employees for internal communication, collaboration, and information sharing. You wouldn’t be wrong if you simply called it an internal communications hub. Think of it as a work-system built to manage and distribute information exclusively to employees within an organization.

Much like a company’s website, which acts as the face of an organization or brand, an intranet software serves the same purpose only this time, behind closed doors and accessible only to employees.

Intranets make up one of many tools that constitute the digital workplace. Collaboration tools like cloud-based productivity solutions, Teams and Slack, and other traditional enterprise applications are among the others. These tools, when combined, make up the digital employee experience (DEX) 

With new changes in the technological landscape taking place almost every day, many organizations are now tilting to intranet solutions to keep their employees up to speed.

Modern intranets should ideally promote internal communication and make it easier for employees to execute their given tasks by providing them with a unified hub where they can easily:

• Access document files
• Connect socially with colleagues
• Log timesheets
• Find the right tools they need to do their job
• Communicate and share information
• Collaborate on current projects
• Access company resources, and keep up-to-date with company news and events 

In essence, a successful intranet bridges any existing communication gaps between employees solves the problems of disconnect between teams, improves workflow, centralizes information and activity, builds culture, and makes work easier while improving productivity and the quality of workplace life.

The internet, intranet, and extranet are all types of computer networks. Their difference, however, lies in the purposes they serve and who they’re meant for.

While the internet is a global public network accessible to everyone, intranets are privately owned networks accessible to only a specific group of users, in this case, employees and members of a company. An extranet is quite similar to an intranet in terms of features, only that this time it is available to an approved set of persons or authorized third parties such as partners, customers, and vendors.

It is a no-brainer that employee intranets have become an essential piece of the workplace in recent years. By providing a secure space for modern employees to communicate and collaborate, businesses can improve communication, teamwork, and organizational efficiency. But what are the specific benefits of using an employee intranet?

#1. Improved Internal Communication

The first and primary benefit employee intranet offers is improved internal communications. Communication is a common goal for every workplace.

Employee intranet makes all the difference by creating a circle where teams can effectively collaborate and communicate thereby keeping the entire workforce glued to achieving smart goals. This, in return, creates an opportunity for improved communication speed and overall communication quality. 

The beautiful thing with employee intranet is that these pieces of information shared within the entire workforce stay within the team.

#2. Safe And Secure Communication

Without proper measures, information passed using the internet can easily be hijacked. An employee intranet, on the other hand, provides a secure space due to its limited accessibility.

Because an intranet is a closed, private network, it is less vulnerable to external attacks. This provides you peace of mind, knowing that your company’s sensitive information and papers are secure. 

#3. Easily Accessible

A mobile intranet is key to improving employee engagement and ensuring that they always have access to the most up-to-date information. Thanks to mobile, employees may access their intranet at any time and from anywhere in the globe. It is critical for the intranet’s success to have a mobile-friendly version.

#4. Increased Productivity

According to 86 percent of CEOs, ineffective communication impacts productivity negatively. It’s easier to share information when you have a dedicated employee communications platform. An intranet increases productivity in the following ways:

• Cuts down email – An average employee spends about 3.1 hours per day responding to company emails. An intranet is a more efficient way to foster information sharing.
• Allow for faster responses to minor and medium-sized concerns by centralizing FAQs, helpdesks, and resources all in the same place.
• Provides employees with all of the tools and information required to effectively carry out their jobs.

#5. A Friend To Remote Workers

A large number of people who were forced into a remote work situation struggled to work from home. Only a few were able to keep up with the demands of deliverables, communication, and meeting punctuality.

Organizations that had looked at intranet quickly discovered that it was the best way to track and help workers working remotely to communicate efficiently. With the intranet, meetings were easily organized for those working remotely, and they could communicate in real-time without interruption.

Moving past the pandemic, the intranet has continued to function as a haven of calm for remote workers who are relieved to know that communications and deliverables can be unaffected within the company.

#6. HR Hub

The human resource team is usually the organization’s support framework in most industries. Employee intranet has the obvious advantage of assisting the different HR teams to work together more effectively in one central location.

#7. Tool Integration 

Having several digital tools all over the place can be exhausting. Employee intranets allow you to connect several work centers while helping to integrate all workplace digital tools in the same space. 

Imagine opening your laptop and finding that all of your work tools are linked to a single location. It’s incredible, isn’t it? That’s the satisfaction an employee intranet provides.

#8. Better Employee Experience

Modern intranets provide features that make employees’ jobs simpler and less stressful. With employee intranets, everyone on the team can enjoy a better workplace experience without any hassle. 

New employees are not left out as they are able to perform their introductions, get a total office setup, and have all the documents they need (past and present) to understand an organization within a central place. With this, the friction of introducing new employees is reduced, and communication internally is enhanced. 

#9. Strengthens Workplace Culture

The workplace has faced several challenges in the previous year, emphasizing the necessity of having a strong business culture.

Emphasis on communities that value and give attention to workplace culture has also grown within the last few years. According to Glassdoor, 56% of employees applying for a role value strong workplace culture first over their pay.

Beyond information sharing and communication, modern intranets provide a space where your organization’s culture can shine through. Easy collaboration and communication also go a long way toward fostering a sociable environment where employees can easily interact and get to know one another.

#10. An Engaged And Connected Workforce

Another benefit modern employee intranet offers is an engaged and connected workforce. Employees do not feel disconnected from the company and its goals as strong company culture and constant communication are always in place. 

#11. Secure Knowledge Management

By providing a central repository where employees can easily access all up-to-date company documents, the company intranet can make it easier for employees to find the information they need when they need it.

This can improve productivity and efficiency within the company, ensure that access to information is not affected by personnel turnover, and make certain that employees always find the information needed by them to perform their jobs (thanks to tools like search).

In general, employee intranets provide a secure, private online space for employees to access company information and collaborate with their coworkers.