An intranet is an essential tool for any large organisation, but did you know small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from them, too?
In fact, if you employ more than a few people, you should probably have an intranet.
In the past, people mostly communicated face-to-face in the workplace; this was especially effective in small organisations without many staff.
But today, mobile and flexible working is expected even in very small companies, which makes a communication tool like an intranet essential.
Wherever people are working from, whether it’s the office, at home or on the go, they need to be able to communicate instantly with colleagues and collaborate on work. For this reason, SMEs can benefit from an intranet as much as very large corporations. It helps to keep your company agile and competitive.
So, how does having an intranet benefit SMEs? Here are just some of the ways...
Improve productivity
People are more productive if they can access the tools they need to do their jobs. Instead of spending time searching networks for documents, people and other apps, your teams can locate information quickly and easily using an intranet. This saves valuable time and lets people get on with the tasks they have to do.
Create unity and consistency
For companies with more than one site or office, an intranet is the perfect way to create unity and consistency. It also helps stop siloes being created, which have a detrimental effect on the business.
An intranet can make teams that are located far away from each other feel like they're close by. This can create better collaboration, communication and efficiency, as people are able to work together more easily and get projects completed.
Intranets also enable knowledge sharing and let teams share information and processes, which is beneficial for everyone.
Better communication
An intranet can really help a company with their internal communication. A good intranet will let people message one another, have an area where people can communicate publicly - like on social media - and let employees communicate with each other in the way that suits them best. An intranet also reduces your reliance on email, cutting the number of emails staff send and receive. This makes inboxes more manageable for everyone and means you're less likely to miss important information that is sent by email.
There's no doubt that easier communication is a major plus point and incentive for having an intranet, but it needs managing. You and your teams need to know how to use the platform and the type of content that should be shared. With this in mind, different areas can be created within one intranet and used for different purposes. For example, a social area or channel can be created where staff can share and discuss events. Another area might be dedicated to employee praise and recognition. A third area could be dedicated to certain projects. There are lots of different options, but the key to getting the most out of your intranet, is to show people how and what it can be used for.
What if we choose not to have an intranet?
Whether you’re a large multi-national corporation or an SME with a dozen staff, an intranet can help improve productivity, communication and collaboration. Nearly all companies can benefit from having an intranet, no matter what their size or sector.
Companies that don't have an intranet are bound to be less agile than their competitors, and aren't taking advantage of a prime opportunity to improve the way their teams work and communicate.
Core can help you with the design and build of your intranet, using SharePoint and software from our partners at Beezy. Contact us for a chat if you'd like to discuss any aspect of your intranet.