What are the Benefits of Intranets for Your Startup

Most entrepreneurs don’t realize the power of intranets. It’s 2020, and they’re still thinking of them as old-fashioned and inconvenient. The truth is their organization can benefit from this software on so many different levels. From enhancing collaboration, productivity, engagement, all the way to marketing and sales. Have a look at some of the most interesting advantages of intranets in greater detail.

All Files in One Place

Corporate intranets are great for keeping all relevant business information in one place. Not only do they serve as digital storage but also as a comprehensive guide to your organization. The intranet allows you to create different sections, subsections, and pages. Thanks to this feature, you can create separate spaces for work, socialization, and development or onboarding. In the first section, you and your employees can share knowledge, information, updates, and send messages. The second section can be dedicated to employees and their interaction. It’s a virtual place where they can chat, bond, and grow as a team. Meanwhile, the third section can contain guidelines, instructions, policies, rules, etc. They are useful for your existing staff members and the newly recruited ones because it makes it speeds up the onboarding process.

Well-connected Employees

Even before the pandemic struck, some employees had been working remotely. Due to the unprecedented situation on a global level, the number of telecommuters has considerably increased. As a consequence, employers needed to find a way to keep all employees on the same page. There’s no better way to connect all staff members than through the intranet. No matter where your employees work from, they can still work together, participate in all activities, and contribute to reaching common business goals. The same goes for management. If you or any other manager leave on a business trip or decide to work from home, the intranet can help you stay on top of things in the office.

Innovation Everywhere

Since you’re launching a startup, you need all the help you can get to break into the market. Take a moment and look at your employees. Every member of your staff has unique personalities, skillsets, and ideas. Why not use it and boost innovation in and out of the workplace? Your employees are well-connected, thanks to the intranet. All you have to do is give them the push they need to unlock their creative potential. Whenever you can, create collaborative opportunities for them. You can even take it another level and introduce cross-collaboration between teams and departments. Encourage them to share their different work experiences, skills, and knowledge with others through the intranet. By sharing, they can come up with revolutionary ideas, problems solutions, designs, improvements, etc.

Social Media Marketing

It has already been mentioned how you can use the intranet for employee socialization purposes. Now you can take it up a notch and open the social section of your corporate intranet to the public. It’s a great way to bring your startup closer to the audience. The social section already functions as an internal social network. Only now others can take a look at its content, videos, pictures, etc. Moreover, you can include your brand’s logo, design, colors, and promote its mission and culture. Furthermore, sharing engaging content that also has value will keep the audience coming back for more. Grabbing their attention will boost your social media marketing strategy and raise awareness about your startup.

Good Impression on Investors

Chances are you aren’t in this business alone. You probably have investors watching every move you make. There’s no better way for them to see how the startup is progressing than by showing it to them. Thus, make some room for your investors on your corporate intranet. Seeing how well you function as a team and communicate with customers will leave a good impression on them. They will be glad their investment is slowly starting to pay off, and they might even want to invest more in the future. Even if things at some point don’t go as planned, the investors will value your brand’s transparency and honesty.

Ongoing Learning Process

Did you know the intranet can help your employees bring their skills to perfection? Well, it can! It’s one of its many perks. Your complete staff is already connected through the intranet. All you have to do now is organize seminars, workshops, provide instructions, and assign challenging tasks. Besides, the intranet is already interactive by nature. Every time your employees communicate, they share knowledge and information without even realizing it. They learn so much just by asking and answering questions. Through their communication, you see how powerful mentors more experienced colleagues are. That is why you shouldn’t worry if you forget to organize a more formal education, such as online courses. Your employees can rely on themselves and the intranet for learning aspects.

Encouragement

It takes one look at your corporate intranet to see what kind of culture your brand cultivates. Moreover, it’s easy to determine whether or not your employees and the audience are engaged enough. That is why you should use the intranet to create a positive work atmosphere and a pleasant work environment. Furthermore, you should build a culture of mutual encouragement and support. Don’t forget to make giving and receiving feedback a part of your workday. They are necessary for improving product range, customer support, and professional relationships. Besides, intranets are great for recognizing employee efforts and awarding them properly.

Effective Communication

Last, but definitely not least important advantage is effective communication in the work environment. In the business world, mistakes, confusion, misunderstandings are considered unprofessional. To keep it professional at all times, you and your team have to communicate effectively. Intranet can help boost internal communication and prevent mix-ups from happening. Since intranet can be used to keep files, upload and share meeting minutes, instructions, contact lists, or any useful information. This data can help keep all employees well aligned not only with each other but also with business activities.