Why is no one engaging with your intranet content? Perhaps they don’t know it’s there. Or they do, but it’s not easy to access. They can’t see it on mobile. Or the content is outdated.
Let’s assume that it’s none of the above. That you’re doing everything right, but your analytics are still telling you that employees are not engaging with your pride and joy.
If that’s the case, we’ve shared some insider know-how, the tried and tested tricks of the trade that really will get eyeballs on your intranet content.
1. Put anything food-related on your intranet
The winner for an internet is food. That’s the thing people come for. Put the restaurant menu on your intranet. Make sure it’s right at the bottom of your intranet homepage so employees have to scroll all the way down (past all your other lovely content) every day to find out what they’re going to have for lunch. If you don’t have a restaurant, but have a sandwich ordering system, or anything food related, get it on your site.
2. Include a Who’s who? directory
It’s been the same for 15+ years we’ve been in business. It doesn’t matter what technology it is, the Who’s Who? or People Directory is a huge draw. The bigger the company, the more important the Who’s Who? becomes because it’s pretty much the phonebook. And although lots of people are now using Teams to call, it’s still no less important. In the past, the directory used to be a very big Excel sheet. Now it’s a dynamically updated resource that shows names, departments, skills, email, contact information, and availability, which is why it’s still the holy grail of intranet tools.
Case study: Find out about how Involv customer Kingswood School in Bath, UK, is using Involv’s Who’s Who function to provide a useful customisable profile page for each staff member, including pronouns, site location, contact information, and car badge (for parking). Read our case study for more details.
3. Make holiday, sick leave forms + policies easily accessible
Whether they’re planning a holiday, expecting the birth of a child or booking compassionate leave due to sick family member, your employees need to be able to access HR forms and policies quickly and efficiently. Make sure your documents are tagged with the relevant search keywords to make it as easy as possible to find them!
4. Take a multi-channel approach to publishing content
Cross-channel publishing, where you share or post news to multiple channels, is a big winner. Perhaps you have QR codes on your digital signage, or dynamically linked articles from the intranet in your newsletter. Or you send a news digest via email, so employees get a taster of the news, with links back to the live site… you’ve got to be creative to entice people to come. Think of your intranet as the town square, and all channels as avenues that lead employees back the central place where your company news lives.
5. Use mobile push notifications sparingly
It’s tempting to use mobile push notifications a lot. But if you use them sparingly, they’ll be far more effective and less likely to be ignored. The rule of thumb is not to spam people. Save these notifications for urgent content. And remember, target your user groups, and personalise your messages. For incidents and emergencies, use an incident push feature, which can be highlighted on your homepage, specific department sites, via email or mobile app.
6. Make your site accessible
You don’t have to have a disability to find staring at a screen all day a challenge. Which is why introducing an accessible intranet can make the all the difference to your users’ engagement levels. By opening up your intranet to third-party web-extension accessibility tools, such as screen readers or contrast palettes, you will help to improve the user experience for everyone working in your organisation, regardless of whether they have a disability or not.
Case study: Find out how Involv worked with Scotland’s leading body responsible for the country’s natural heritage, NatureScot, and its D.A.W.N. Network (disability, ability, neuro diversity, network) to introduce a WCAG 2.0 compliant intranet that instantly improved accessibility for all. Read our case study for more information.
7. Gamify your content
Offer incentives to entice people to your intranet. These can be simple things like recognising and praising the most active users or using gamification strategies, like earning points or badges for certain activities.
Whatever tactics you choose to use, the key to employee engagement is putting people at the heart of your internal comms content strategy. If you think about the motives of the people you’re trying to reach first and plan accordingly, you’re unlikely to go wrong.
But if you need help. We have a friendly team of customer success managers ready and on hand to give you strategic and tactical advice. Get in touch. We’re looking forward to meeting you.