10 reasons why employees abandon the intranet

There are several reasons why some intranets succeed in engaging their users and some don’t. When you boil it down – the intranets that fail have some things in common. Things that cause low user adoption and little engagement.

As someone who has worked in the industry for more than 10 years, I know what makes a successful intranet; as well as what’s stopping employees from using the intranet.

Knowing these mistakes is the first step to avoid failure and start creating an intranet that employees will love to use.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of user experience in the intranet – or any other software. Using the intranet should feel effortless and intuitive.

If the intranet software makes it too difficult for users to obtain certain information (due to a confusing navigation for example), or it’s too complicated to use certain features, these things contribute to a bad UX.

Keep in mind that each intranet user role (end-users, content creators, admins) has different needs. Choose the intranet software that accommodates all user needs to ensure a high adoption.

Involv intranet makes it easy for you to create news, events and pages that look fantastic on any device.

Content is one of the key factors of intranet usage and engagement. However, many intranets are treated like a junk drawer full of stale, outdated and irrelevant content. It fails to provide valuable information to users, which is one of the most important purposes of the intranet.

What you need is a communication plan to consistently keep the intranet content up-to-date and relevant to employees. An intranet software with a great document management system will help you control versions and prevent duplicates. And a targeting audience possibility makes sure employees only see content that is relevant to them.

📑 Read also: 10 intranet content ideas for better engagement

Much like the user experience, the intranet design – especially the intranet homepage – is critical for user engagement. It’s advisable to keep the intranet design clean, clear and organized so users can find their way in it, as well as search for what they want as quickly as possible.

There are several things you should avoid as they make an intranet look cluttered and less aesthetically pleasing. You’ll want to avoid a too heavy-text design, lack of clarity (information overload), lack of visuals, bad color combinations, hard-to-read fonts, etc.

📑 Read also: What makes a great intranet homepage design?

A very common complaint we hear from users with an outdated intranet is “I can’t find anything” or “It never gives me relevant results”. A poor search functionality is one of the greatest frustrations of intranets, and a contributing factor for intranet failure.

What your intranet should have is a powerful search feature, allowing employees to easily search and find everything they need, whether it’s documents, files or people to collaborate with. The modern intranet with a smart search possibility can return live results and suggestions as users type keywords.

Look around you. Are all of your colleagues sitting in the office, in front of a computer? In fact, 80% of workers don’t sit at a desk. They are working in manufacturing, delivery, on the shop floors or construction sites. Because of that, many can’t access the intranet easily.

When building an intranet for employees, think of all your intranet users. Make sure that everyone can access the intranet without any struggle. You’ll want your non-desk colleagues to be able to access the company intranet on their smartphones.

With Involv, you have your own company branded mobile intranet app.

Introducing a new intranet means a new way of working. And this requires a behavior change from employees.

To make the transition easy, it’s vital to communicate the why to end-users. Tell them why having a new intranet is necessary, what are its benefits for the organization and how the intranet helps them to do an even better job. The key is to make sure everyone is aware of the upcoming intranet and understands it’s built for them.

Not everyone will immediately feel comfortable and confident using the intranet. Your employees have different levels of digital skills. Some are more tech-savvy than others. Because of that, no matter how easy and intuitive your intranet is, a training session on how to get the most out of the intranet is necessary.

It’s advisable to provide a customized training for different groups of users, based on user roles (end-users, content creators, intranet admins) and based on job types and skill levels.

Which department do you think should take ownership of the company intranet? IT, Communications, HR, Marketing or all of them? It’s essential to determine who or which team(s) are the owner of the intranet.

Like any software, your intranet can encounter some issues or need improvements or enhancements for better use. Clear ownership will ensure an effective and sustainable intranet. An intranet’s performance will suffer if it’s not clear who takes the responsibility to make it better.

Using a mix of different channels is a common practice to maximize the reach of your message. However, if these channels aren’t managed and used effectively, it can cause overload and confusion. It’s essential to determine which is the single source of truth for all information.

For many organizations, the intranet is the central hub for all the company news, resources and people. Make sure that you communicate this information with employees and have a plan to get your employees to adopt the platform.

📑 Read also: 10 top tips to boost intranet adoption

Engagement starts at the top. Getting your entire organization to adopt the intranet requires a definite organizational commitment from the top.

Leaders play a powerful role in promoting the intranet’s values and motivating employees to use it. They are the strong influencers in the organization.

Get your leaders involved, have them on your intranet. Make the intranet a platform for leaders to share news, give recognitions, share knowledge and engage with employees. Doing so will give people reasons to keep coming back to the intranet.

Deploying an intranet that your employees love to use requires a lot of work.

But don’t worry. We’re here to help.

At Cognit, we created a turnkey SharePoint intranet solution called Involv which is very easy to use, easy to maintain. With Involv, you have instant access to the most requested features in a visually appealing and intuitive design.

Working with us gives you access to a team of experienced intranet specialists and useful resources to ensure your intranet success.

If you want to get to know more about Involv or how we can support you in deploying a modern intranet, please schedule a free demo with us.

(image: Freepik)