The planning stage is an important part of the intranet creation process. But where do you start? With over 20 years of experience behind us, we know a thing or two about how to set up an intranet! So we’ve put together an intranet requirements checklist to help you build an intranet that will resonate with your teams.
Description for this block. The first step of the intranet creation process is to define a goal. It’s important to spend time on this step, so that you can effectively measure the success of your intranet site over time. Typical goals may be to improve internal communications, increase productivity, or boost the efficiency of accessing information.
Who is your intranet for? Defining your audience is a key part of your intranet plan, as it allows you to prioritise which parts of the intranet are essential – such as knowledge management tools, e-forms and workflows, and e-learning – based on your team members’ needs.
If you’ve already defined your intranet goal and users, deciding which intranet features are essential will be much easier. For instance, if your intranet goal is to improve communication, then communications tools such as internal social networks will be vital.
Decide which digital workplace features you want to focus on first. You may choose to start by building intranet pages and content, then roll out e-forms or e-learning later. Or you may want to implement everything at once. Every company is different, so choose what will work best for your business.
An intranet works best when you have a dedicated project team behind it. Take the time to assign roles – such as content managers and intranet administrators – so that intranet responsibilities are clearly defined from the start. Then use intranet permissions to manage user access to certain areas of your system.
Your intranet design should be a natural extension of your company’s branding, so that the team instantly recognises that it’s the go-to-place for business activity. Use our intuitive intranet builder to design a personalised intranet solution in a few clicks.
There’s no avoiding the conversation; an intranet needs a budget, and it needs resources. By planning costs and available resources effectively, with a long term and sustainable goal in mind, you can mitigate any surprises that crop up along the way, and ensure a smooth and successful delivery.
The time it takes to deploy an intranet varies from business to business. If you’re moving from an existing intranet to a new one, plan for extra time to migrate documents and content across. Larger companies may also need additional time to sign-off work and authorise new intranet processes.
After initial deployment, don’t lose the momentum that made your intranet launch so successful. Plan for the long term to ensure that your intranet remains a relevant and positive force throughout your company.
