Parthenon Publishing

(aka: How To Make Your Employees Give A Damn About Corporate Sharing)

When employees hear the word “Intranet” they often imagine an endless procession of cubicles, red tape and TPS Reports. So as an executive who really wants to engage employees, you’re fighting an uphill battle.

The benefit of a corporate intranet is obvious to those in management: it provides a private web space where employees can access information in real time. The drawback for employees is that, if done poorly, it can feel like yet another interface they’re required to monitor that provides little reward.

In order to combat this stigma, we’ve created a cheat sheet to help you make your intranet engaging and empowering for executives and employees alike.

1. Keep it current.
   1. When you launch your intranet, make sure it’s populated with timely content. Then make sure you have a plan to update that content frequently and consistently so people know they’ll be getting new information each time they visit. (One easy way to make things look fresh: Rotating content wells. They’re a content manager’s best kept secret.)
   2. Use the intranet as your information hub. If the IT department will have the email bounce-back problem fixed by 2 p.m., post that on the front page. Communication like this probably one of the reasons you commissioned this system in the first place, so take advantage of it.
2. Keep it conversational and community-focused.

   1. 

      If everyone in your company is gathering here, let them talk to each other. A fun, collaborative work environment only exists when people like the other people they’re working with, so help your employees bond over shared interests.
      After the Thanksgiving potluck, let everyone share their recipes. Nothing fosters affection between people like sharing Grandma’s Secret Pecan Pie recipe.

   2. Give people the freedom to show who they are. If you don’t want to go no-holds-barred with a personal profile, at least let everyone contribute a headshot for the contact list. If you’re part of a larger company, this will allow people who have never interacted before to get a sense of who someone is so they don’t walk into a meeting cold. Think of it as Intranet Facebook with an actual corporate purpose.
3. Keep the feedback coming.
   1. Give people a space to ask questions. Once they’ve been answered – and if they provide information that others would find interesting – publish them. That will show everyone that someone is listening and, more importantly, responding to employee concerns.
   2. Let your employees suggest new things. Sometimes you miss out on the best ideas because people just don’t know where to take them. Consider and implement those that are worth doing, and recognize the employees who offered the best ones.
4. Keep their attention with incentives.
   1. Incentivizing participation doesn’t have to mean huge prizes. It can be as small as posting a poll on a timely topic that shows participants the results immediately. This allows people to see what their coworkers are saying and give their own two cents, which is the only amount of money people are always willing to give away.
   2. That said, nothing gets people fired up like free stuff. Hold contests for employees to submit their photos or stories and give out a prize for the best one. You can do this on occasions like Grandparents Day where people share stories about their own grandparents, or you can great creative. A contest for the best pirate costume made out of things found in your cubicle on National Talk Like a Pirate Day? We don’t mind if we do.
      Then reward the winner with a free pizza for lunch or an extra half day off. By keeping the contests timely, surprising and backed by serious incentives, you’ll ensure a steady stream of traffic to your site.
      Plus your employees will think you’re cool. And you should never underestimate the power in that.