Intranet definition:
To put it simply, an intranet is an internal web application made available to the people in your organization, it allows members to communicate, collaborate, and access resources. There’s no limitation to what an intranet can be – in fact an intranet can serve a variety of purposes depending on the person, team, or even organization.
An intranet is similar to a website.
1) How is an intranet accessed?
Today, most intranets are accessed online in the cloud (the preferred method). Intranets can be hosted internally, accessibly by people on your network, or via a VPN connection; however, they lack the mobility and access that most users are looking for. Cloud-based intranets can be accessed anywhere with ease, whether your members are in-office, or on their phones thousands of miles away. Members/employees access the intranet from a secure URL such as engynn-intranet.com/yourcompany, using a username and password.
2) What are some of the features and benefits of an intranet?
Intranets can be used for a variety of purposes, depending on who you ask, you’ll find there are different priorities. However, some of the most popular features and benefits are:
Improve Internal Communication
As stated in a post from the Australia Institute of Business, communication plays a fundamental role in all facets of business, including the ability to remain innovative and flexible. Some of the features of intranets that help foster communication could include:
- News and Story Feeds: When an employee wants to know the latest news, he or she can log into your intranet and view it all in one intranet software portal, and ask questions via the comment feature.
- Messenger: Having an employee chat in your intranet is a great way to facilitate communication between employees in an already engaged workplace. Our messenger features allows real-time communication between employees 24/7, direct to each other’s mobile device or computer.
- Employee Status Updates: You’d be surprised to know what employees share when you give them the availability to do so. Status feed intranet features are a great way for employees to keep each other up to date on the latest news in their lives and careers, helping foster strong relationships.
Improve Process Management
Process Excellence Network states that business operations are getting more complicated by the day, and it’s true. When businesses are able to standardize their processes, they are more likely to deliver a consistent experience to their customers. You would be surprised just how much complication around business processes can be removed by more effective communication, and hosting documents in one place. This is why we recommend:
- Document Management Features – Have you ever heard an employee ask, ” Where is the sick-day process form?” or “What is the process for handling a customer compliant?”. Well, with an intranet software, you are able to place documents in a central repository where all employees can access them. You can even restrict files and folders to employees by their role.
Information Access
It’s crucial for employees to be able to access information as easily as possible. This includes company contacts, documents, and news (as stated earlier). An intranet can allow you to organize all of this information in one place with access to employees based on their roles.
3) Why is an intranet important to business success?
In today’s ever-evolving world, it’s crucial for organizations to stay connected, agile, and ready to face new challenges. An intranet can help your organization with the following:
- Improve Communication leading to better customer service, engagement, and increased sales.
- Improve Employee Engagement decreasing turnover and reducing costs.
- Streamline Onboarding of new employees, decreasing turnover and improving efficiency.
- Efficiency in implementing new policies, initiatives and promotions – increasing business flexibility.
- Improving corporate culture and strengthening your business in the long-term.
At Engynn, we refer to a proven model called the “engagement->profit” loop. By increasing employee engagement using tools like an intranet, you can increase employee success and reduce stress, leading to increased customer service, more sales, and further engagement.
The relationship between employee engagement and increased sales/profit.
4) What does it cost to get started?
There are numerous options for intranet service providers, all at different price points and pricing models. Intranets likely range from free to upwards of $10,000/month
Here are some of the options you’ll likely find during your search:
- By User Price, Per Month: These services will charge you $x per user each month. For example: 100 users X $5/user = $500/month.
- Tier Level Subscription: Subscribe to different access levels each month. IE: Up to 100 users for $99/Month.
- Upfront Cost: Typically the most expensive up-front cost, these services charge an upfront cost to buy a software license outright. (Least Popular).
Engynn Intranet uses a tier level model. View our pricing page here.
5) How do I get started?
Although products like Engynn make it easy for you to start an intranet, there are still a number of steps included in the successful roll-out of an intranet. You can view more of these steps in ourintranet tips blog, however here are a few to get you started:
- Determine who will be involved in planning and approval of your intranet? Depending on the type and size of your organization, there will be a variety of stakeholders playing a roll in the decision to move forward with your intranet and it’s ongoing planning or management. In some cases, the planning could fall primarily on IT staff, HR staff, internal communications, and marketing. In other cases, planning can fall on one or two people. By understanding who the various parties will be, and what their needs are, you can set yourself up for a successful launch.
- Determine your intranet needs: Once you know who will be involved in planning, you’ll want to determine what your needs are for functionality and organization of your intranet. Once again, depending on the type and size of the organization, your needs will change. Some important questions include:
- Will you need to restrict access to specific information and resourceS?
- Who will get an account, and how will this be managed?
- What responsibilities will each party have in the management?
- What price point is acceptable?
- Find the best intranet service provider: Although we strongly believe Engynn Social intranet Software is the clear winner – we encourage you to research competitors and determine which service provider will be the best fit for your overall needs.
