Introduction
You’ve found the right platform. Maybe you’ve even designed a beautiful homepage. But when it comes to the actual rollout, things often fall flat.
It’s not a tech problem. It’s an adoption problem.
If you want your intranet to become the go-to place for news, updates and connection, you need more than a launch date. You need a plan. One that’s thoughtful, structured and rooted in what people actually need.
Here’s a six-step roadmap to help you launch your intranet with confidence and keep the momentum going long after day one.
Get your people in place before your pages
Before diving into layouts and content types, take a step back and ask yourself: Who’s going to make this a success?
Pull together a cross-functional steering group. The goal? Bring together the right expertise from the start and avoid surprises later.
| Stakeholder | What they bring |
|---|---|
| IT | Platform setup, security, integration |
| HR | Employee engagement, onboarding, training |
| Internal Comms | Messaging, tone, content planning |
| Department Leads | Local needs, feedback loops, workflows |
Choose a platform that helps you move faster
Let’s be honest: most comms teams don’t have weeks to learn SharePoint quirks or chase IT for every minor tweak. You need a platform that lets you move – not wait.
Look for a solution that offers:
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Prebuilt components (news, events, people directory)
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Drag-and-drop editing (No coding required for a stunning layout)
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Branding that matches your org (no dev team required)
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Seamless integration with tools like Teams, Outlook and Viva
Involv Intranet is built for exactly this. It provides the power of SharePoint under the hood but removes all the friction, allowing you to focus on your message instead of the technology.
Governance = freedom (with guardrails)
You don’t need a 50-page policy. But you do need a few guardrails to keep your digital workplace clean, current and secure.
Define the following early on:
- Who has permission to publish content?
- What is the approval process?
- How often should content be reviewed or archived?
- Who owns each section of the intranet?
Involv Intranet makes this easy by allowing you to set content ownership and automated expiry dates right from the start.
Test with real users, not just your project team
Before you go live, pilot your intranet with a mix of employees. Not just the usual suspects – include people from different roles, regions and tech confidence levels.
Why? Because according to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute, employees spend nearly 20% of their workweek just searching for internal information. That is roughly 1.5 hours every single day lost to digital friction.
Test real tasks with your pilot group:
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“Find the latest hybrid work policy in under 30 seconds.”
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“Submit an idea for the company newsletter.”
If they struggle, iterate quickly. Small fixes now prevent a massive drop in adoption later.
| Method | What you’ll learn |
|---|---|
| Usability testing | Navigation issues, layout clarity |
| Short surveys | Initial impressions, relevance |
| Observation | Real behaviours, workarounds |
| 1:1 chats | Emotional reactions, deeper feedback |
Make your launch feel like an invitation, not an instruction
A single “it’s live” email won’t cut it. People need to see the value (the “What’s In It For Me?”) before they’ll make it a habit.
Ideas to drive excitement:
- Launch Teasers: Create a short video showing how the new intranet simplifies their day.
- Mobile-First: Remind employees they can access Involv Intranet via the mobile app – perfect for frontline workers.
- Incentives: Hide a “digital easter egg” on a deep page to encourage exploration.
Involv Intranet helps you guide users with built-in onboarding flows and targeted banners that highlight the most important features.
Don’t stop at go-live. Keep evolving.
Your intranet isn’t a one-off project. It’s a living platform. To ensure long-term user adoption, you must track, listen and adjust.
- Analyze: Use the built-in analytics to see what content gets clicked and what is being ignored.
- Freshness: Rotate homepage features weekly to give people a reason to return.
- Feedback: Host quarterly reviews with your steering group to act on user suggestions.
With Involv Intranet, you can see what content gets clicked, what pages are ignored and what people are searching for – so you can adjust in real time.
Quick recap: 6 keys to a successful rollout
| Key | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Involve the right people early | Prevent blind spots and siloed thinking |
| Choose the right platform | Avoid delays, friction and rework |
| Create lightweight governance | Keeps content clean and trustworthy |
| Pilot with real users | Surfaces pain points before go-live |
| Make launch engaging | Builds momentum and internal trust |
| Plan beyond launch | Keeps your intranet relevant and valuable |
Your intranet deserves more than a soft launch
A modern intranet has the power to connect teams and simplify work, but only if people actually use it. By focusing on adoption through these six steps, you won’t just launch a portal, you’ll launch a habit that saves your team time and frustration.
Ready to see a smarter intranet in action?
Book a personalised demo of Involv and discover how it transforms your intranet from “just a portal” into a powerful engagement engine.
