“North American companies spent $12.2 billion on Search Engine Marketing in 2007,” according to businesswire.1 Throwing money at increased site traffic seems to be standard protocol. But while companies excessively spend to wrangle in an external audience, their employees continue to be ignored.
A professionally developed intranet is a liberating tool for employees: a “home base” for information, company resources and insightful knowledge.
Companies turn a blind eye to this captive audience due to the following factors:
- high budget resources available to the public site
- lack of available IT resources
- simply too busy for internally-focused projects
The Value
Perhaps worse than a company ignoring their employees is the fact that employees are blind to the powerful role that an intuitive, interactive resource plays in their professional lives.
The spatter of statistics validating intranets cannot be ignored. One recent stat from the Nielsen Norman Group states, “the productivity gains from a major improvement in intranet usability were 72% on average (in 2007).”2
The Necessity
Okay, you see the value and currently have an intranet. But many intranets fall short in usefulness, functionality and design leaving employees frustrated and less productive.
A strategically designed intranet:
- focuses on usability and functionality
- creates a centralized information hub
- interacts with and recognizes each individual user
- deciphers and distributes user-specific information
“Employees are demanding simpler, more intuitive and more “Web” like intranet experiences,” according to CIO.com.3
The Benefits
Companies that realize the necessity and embrace this captive audience are better positioned than their counterparts. Increased employee productivity and efficiency are direct results of a continually evolving intranet.
The modern intranet is able to:
- populate and share online calendars
- streamline processes with task management options
- provide search capabilities and tailored RSS feeds
- place frequently used tools at employee fingertips
- locate employees through subject specific directories
- create visual bios from contact information
Knowledge is power. Armed with the value, necessity and benefits of a professionally developed intranet, isn’t it about time to stop ignoring and start empowering?
Sources:
- Search Engine Strategies New York 2008. “Search Engine Marketing Shows Strength as Spending Continues on a Growth Track Against Doom and Gloom Economic Background.” March 17, 2008. (http://www.businesswire.com)
- Nielsen Norman Group Report. “Intranet Design Annual 2008: Year’s Ten Best Intranets.” (http://www.nngroup.com)
- Schindler, Esther. “Success Factors for Corporate Intranets.” January 11, 2008. (http://www.cio.com)
