Ten Steps to a Useful Intranet

By David Cummings

Friday, December 1st, 2006 at 1:30pm

1. Update it frequently (announcements, news, etc)
   By updating the information on your intranet site frequently, your staff gets recent and accurate information.  An intranet is a great way to spread the news.

2. Make it simple and easy to use
   If it’s not easy to use, people won’t use it.  The goal of an intranet should be to simplify and consolidate, not add to the mess.

3. Provide a search feature
   Your intranet is useless if people can’t find what they need.  Even the most logically structured intranet needs a search bar for people in a hurry.

4. Track the usage (hits and visitors)
   Your idea of what’s useful and what’s actually used may be completely different.  Keeping stats is a good way to help you shape your intranet according to your staff’s needs and expectations.

5. Organize it logically according to departments and teams
   By organizing content around departments, you give each department its own place to call home.  An intranet’s functionality should reflect the functionality of the company.

6. Provide a starting page for each department
   A starting page for each department provides staff quicker access to relevant information. It eliminates confusion and allows for much easier navigation.

7. Include files, documents, policies, procedures, etc.
   Keeping important information on your intranet makes it easy for staff to find what they need.  And having one central location makes for faster updates when information changes.

8. List phone extensions and contact lists
   Instead of having to search around for a hardcopy of phone extensions and contact lists, putting this information on your intranet makes frequently needed (and often forgotten) contact numbers easy to find.

9. Allow for feedback forms
   Feedback forms and comments are a great way to improve communication and collaboration – which is the whole point of an intranet.
   
10. Use a content management system
    We use Cascade Server to manage our own intranet.  Using a content management system is the quickest and easiest way to maintain an active intranet. ... but you all already know that, right?

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