What are the goals of intranet implementation?

Why an intranet? This question is asked quite often, and there are many answers. Over the years, we have implemented such solutions in many companies – more! We use our intranet in SharePoint every day. Do we see pluses? Sure!

The better workflow in the company

More and more companies enable their employees to work remotely. And no wonder – the year 2020 has proved to us that you can work as effectively in the office as in your apartment. But while work can be organized remotely, most of the documents are still in paper form.

How can an intranet help? Of course, as a document management tool! It is a great convenience for companies – to have all the necessary documents in one place, to be able to share or edit them, of course by the previously agreed permissions.

It will be easiest to imagine it on the example of the holiday application flow – instead of the long tedious process of submitting and signing applications, personally agreeing with the schedule, finding out at the last minute that a colleague we were supposed to work with has just a day off … do you know it? For sure. And yet it can be simplified to a few clicks and the notification system is on the intranet. Look how we solved it.

Increase in efficiency in the company

What? Greater efficiency due to the availability of common network space? Of course! If we use documents, databases or cooperate with other employees at work, the intranet saves a lot of time. The process is not complicated: it is enough to find out which way of segregating and storing data is the most convenient for employees and this is how to organize the intranet. The tedious search for a logo, forms for a company presentation or the necessary documentation disappears like by the touch of a wand 😊

Employee opinion survey

Surveys, inquiries, discussions – the intranet offers such opportunities and, if we ask for the help of experts, we can completely personalize such tools. Let’s take the MS SharePoint intranet as an example. In the basic version, we have Microsoft Teams at our disposal. Surveys that we can conduct using the messenger are, in many cases enough to get to know the opinion of employees.

However, if a simple closed question isn’t enough, SharePoint experts can create a personalized solution. Just like us – for one of our clients, we have created a discussion solution based on SharePoint – eVetting.

Help for the HR department

Did we mention the leave request workflow? Exactly! And yet HR is not only vacation requests but also databases. You can read about SharePoint structure and how to easily adapt it to the company’s needs here. An intranet is a great place to create folders with employee data, collect CVs, and recruitment advertisements. The settings for intranet access will allow you to keep all personal data protection rules, and collecting documents in transparent structures will certainly make recruitment processes easier and avoid so many mistakes.

Sharing knowledge in the company

You don’t have to explain much here – the knowledge base is at your fingertips. Orderly documentation, company presentations, communicator … If we are to learn something, only yes! Of course, training at the beginning of cooperation is very important, but we know how it is – after some time, it is best to repeat the acquired knowledge. Therefore, it is good to have all the necessary information in one place, available, arranged so that you can easily use it in your daily work.

Building relationships in the company

Did we surprise you? Yes – the intranet can be a tool for integrating employees and building relationships within the company. Let’s think of it as a shared space. Not all employees work in one office. The intranet can be a bulletin board, messenger, photo archive, and reports from shared outings and trips, as well as everyday work in the office. If employees find a space for themselves to talk, share photos or experiences, relationships in the company will certainly be more durable.

There are also special tools to integrate your team through the intranet – for example, vGoal, our bet-for-fun application.

Tools integration

To do our job properly, we need the right tools – that’s clear. We often keep the programs and applications we use on the desktop. What if I could put them on the intranet? It’s easier than you think.

Again – it’s easiest to explain with an example. We work on large databases in Excel sheets. We filter them, collect information, copy them, create reports, and finally send them by e-mail. Until we switch to working on the intranet, it is difficult for us to imagine how all these functions can fit into the intranet. Well – it is possible and it significantly improves the quality of work. At Vialutions, we have created several applications that facilitate office work.

Their names – vSend, vZip, vScan – speak for themselves 😊 for a more detailed description see another entry!

Grassroots initiatives

Yes, the intranet is also a place where ideas for improvement in the company are born. Maybe you’ve heard about Kaizen before? This is the Japanese way of functioning of the company. Its assumptions are simple – each employee knows the company’s needs well, gets involved in its activities, and can indicate areas where some improvements can be implemented. Sounds good right? And it works – look at how it works at Toyota factoriesOf course, in the intranet version!

Do any of these factors convince you in a particular way to your intranet?