By now, most corporations have developed an intranet as a tool to help improve employee relations. But there's a big difference between availability and use.
"The intranet is a tool that allows every employee to possess that same knowledge as every other employee," says Tom Hoog, president of Hill and Knowlton. "By hitting a few
keys on the computer an employee can tap into research, background information, case studies and a whole host of other things."
But offering a mountain of data on your intranet will not ensure its use.
Employees tend to visit intranets only for mission-critical information, says Shel Holtz, a consulting partner at NetGain and head of Holtz Communication + Technology. Offering
useful information or benefits can bring employees in more regularly.
He cites Delta Airlines as an example. Its intranet allows employees to locate stand-by seats on its upcoming flights.
Allowing employees to add outside links and create their own personalized page will increase an intranet's importance. Workers will reference it several times a day if it
affects them personally. But, while perusing their site, employees will also see important business information. Intranet items worthy of making an employee's front page are:
- Changes in the company phone directory.
- The ability to change W2 information.
- Benefits enrollment deadlines.
- Job openings within the company.
- Company news, including stock price.
- News about competitors.
- Recognizing employee achievements.
But with posting the information comes responsibility. "The intranet can not just be a depository where any information goes. It has to be current," says Jack Tozier, group
manager of ebusiness solutions for Sprint. "It also has to take the work off the shoulders of the employees by helping them do their jobs."
Examples of intranet items helping employees do their job are:
- Expense reports: allowing employees to fill them out and submit them online.
- Online training: allowing employees to sign up for classes and attend them virtually.
- Collaboration: posting secured documents so employees living in different time zones can work on the same project.
But employees need to be shown just how valuable the intranet is before they will begin using it.
Leading by Example
If the company's top brass does not embrace its intranet, the workers below will fail to see its significance.
"To get employees using the intranet, the system must be championed by a high-ranking, visible sponsor, like the CEO or COO," says Rick Faulk, VP of marketing for
Intranets.com.
Holtz agrees, and takes the notion one step further.
"One CEO I worked with told his employees they would be visible by their absence if they did not participate on the intranet," says Holtz. "He said some information critical
to career advancement would only be posted on the intranet."
The CEO in this case was talking about the company's discussion board, where he could see who had posted entries. He also reinforced the behavior by participating in the
discussions. Workers logged on to the intranet because it was the only place to find certain information.
"Once an employee begins using the system, they will buy into it if it lets their voice be heard," says Karen Leavitt, director of product marketing for Intranets.com. "If the
company has a new product and asks employees to voice their take on it, those who participate will have a vested interest in the new line."
Plotting the Course
How efficiently an employee can find information on an intranet will determine how often it gets used. When deciding which items should go under what headings, it's important
to remember that everybody thinks differently. The navigation of the intranet should reflect this.
"The front end of your system should have multiple options in getting to the same place," says Tozier.
When there is new information, his company uses banners and icons to direct employees to it. But they can still find it clicking through the usual channels.
"The navigation has to be set for the lowest common denominator," says Faulk. When building the system, make it useable to the worker who is least computer savvy.
(Faulk, 888/932-6200, Holtz, 925/673-9896; Hoog, 212/885-0500; Leavitt, 781/932-0960, Tozier, 703/295-5786.)
Who Wants to Use the Intranet?
Even though its content was updated frequently, initial response to SunCom's intranet was light. To combat the issue the company, which specializes in wireless communications,
fashioned a contest after the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"
At SunCom, the question became "Who wants to be a SunCom Superstar?" It featured three company-and industry-related questions each day with multiple-choice answers. Finalists
were chosen randomly from contestants who answered all questions correctly. The deadline for answering questions was coordinated so employees from all shifts could play. Answers
to all questions could be found on the intranet site.
The average hits for pages per day jumped from 2,720 to 3,700 in just one week when the contest began. As an added benefit it created a sense of camaraderie among the nearly
1,000 employees. (Stephanie Kaniecki, 804/344-2401.)