Are you ready for an intranet system?

Deciding if your company is ready for an intranet system may seem like a strange question to ask, after all it’s ‘just another platform to use’ right? Wrong!

Looking back it’s easy to see why people of influence and decision makers would disregard the benefits an intranet system may have. Historically, systems have been functional but difficult to navigate, or pleasing to the eye with little or no functionality.

Some people will blindly throw money at a problem and expect it to go away, whereas others will bury their heads in the sand and disregard the mere suggestion that there may be a better way of doing things or that a problem even exists. Neither approach is advisable and, to overcome any issue, it must be acknowledged that there’s a problem in the first place.

There are a number of key questions you can ask yourself to establish if an intranet system could be of benefit; Do you or your employees have excessive email traffic? Have you ever had to solve the same problem twice? Is there a lack of relevant information available when it’s needed? Do your employees feel valued and have a voice within your company? Is there access to the relevant individuals when they’re needed? Is there a system in place and is it future-proof? Do you have the need to cooperate with colleagues or customers that aren’t office-based or don’t share the same office as you?

The benefits of a social collaborative network are only limited by your requirements and imagination. Anything is possible and yes, it is possible to access everything you need from one hub – don’t let anyone tell you differently! And, perhaps most importantly, it doesn’t have to cost the earth.

Firstly, introducing any new software has to be carefully considered, especially when the true value of the system is dependent on the content populated and the user participation. For an intranet system to become successful it has to be the central point for everyone and inviting hub of relevant information, that encourages user participation. After all, the future of your company is fundamentally dependent on your employees, their attitudes, and their behaviours. One of the greatest assets that your company has is the knowledge of your employees, so why not utilise that knowledge from your centralised knowledge base and develop a culture that self-perpetuates success and participation?

Change implementation may sometime be painful, but fear not as there are a number of solutions to overcome this problem. There may be additional training requirements for some but, having said that, any truly great system should be as straightforward, intuitive and as inviting as possible.

It is also a common misconception that intranets are only for companies of a particular size which have dedicated IT personnel or full-blown IT departments. To find out if you could benefit from an intranet, the question to ask is; “Is there a need for centralised information?” Would your company benefit from mobile access to information, as well as all of the questions listed above? These are not issues faced by companies with a particular number of employees, these are problems almost all businesses face, regardless of size or turnover. Our smallest client has just five employees and our largest has 3,000, but the issues they both face are almost identical.

Obviously, there will be significantly more information on one system than the other and requirement will vary, but this is where a flexible system really adds value. A system such as The AXIS is tailored to suit your business requirements and additional features can be integrated into your system without having to redesign the intranet.

We are always more than happy to have a chat about any areas you feel could do with some attention. Feel free to read further information on this subject and more at www.barabano.com