Will Implementing an Intranet Improve Morale and Productivity?

Expecting that a company intranet will improve morale and productivity? You shouldn’t ignore the possibility that this tool could have the opposite of its desired impact.

Is there any proof that using an intranet tool increases engagement in the workplace?

There are times when we realize that no workable answers exist for a particularly difficult problem. We seek comfort in platitudes and dubious sources that give us the answers we’re looking for. It is in our human nature to prefer simple and direct answers.

Consider the case of disinterested employees. Every manager and leader has wondered how they can increase employee enthusiasm for their work. Countless resources exist to help businesses cater to their workers’ preferences and inspire them to take an active role in the workplace.

The issue of how to keep workers interested and invested in their jobs is complex, and there are no simple solutions. Employees may not immediately get on board with using a company directory or management system designed to promote knowledge sharing. It’ll take a long time and a lot of effort to figure out.

Perhaps you’ve been reading up on intranets in an effort to crack the code on employee participation. Maybe you believe that implementing an intranet is the best way to get employees more involved in their work.

Before we go any further, let’s be clear that an intranet is not the silver bullet for all of your employee motivation issues. However, it may be a factor in fostering a more cohesive workplace.

That is to say, an internal network is not the magic bullet you may be hoping for. Even though it offers resources for boosting employee morale, improper application of those resources can have the opposite effect.

Employee Engagement and the Role of Company Intranets

So, let’s take a look at how you can utilize intranets to help your employees feel more engaged in their work.

You can boost company culture by sharing experiences with your employees (as long as you don’t spam them).

When people talk about their accomplishments and wins, they help others see the bright side of things. This keeps people from feeling isolated and ultimately boosts morale and psychological security in the workplace.

Encouraging users to post interesting content is one of the most important things an intranet can do to increase participation. An effective method of spreading the word within an organization is to share personal anecdotes that feature the achievements of specific individuals. Because your intranet (or alternative solution) was created with a specific goal in mind, this is a fantastic chance to foster team cohesion and identity.

The human tendency to relate experiences, good and bad, is universal. As a result, the way in which a company’s culture is portrayed through stories is critically important.

Like the mysterious algorithms of social media, the structure of intranets can cause content from different people or departments to compete with one another. No one will see your fresh material unless you publicize it.

The result is an overload of company announcements, which is both annoying and distracting. The constant stream of alerts is not only annoying but also makes it difficult to concentrate. If you just bombard people with irrelevant information, they won’t be as productive or interested as you’d like.

And what happens when the means of communication deteriorate into an annoyance? When users stop coming back to the intranet, it’s useless to try and entice them back.

Make sure that people are getting the recognition they deserve from their superiors and peers.

Employees who are most invested in their work are often invisible to those who aren’t a part of their management or team. It’s possible that their enthusiasm is felt by the people they work with on a regular basis, but it’s not recognized by management.

Some bosses will hold an all-staff meeting or send out an email to the company to publicly recognize their employees’ hard work and dedication. Although this is a considerate method of recognizing exceptional workers, not all bosses practice it.

Internal company websites provide a forum for top-down, company-wide recognition, and can amplify successes through newsletters and announcements for staff. But as stated above, you’ll end up annoying your staff with useless notifications, without any assurance that your content will stand out from the sea of promoted, equally “important” content.

When users can acknowledge one another on your platform, it opens up a lot of doors. The company’s success culture will be bolstered if employees at all levels are able to publicly acknowledge one another’s contributions. Employees’ positive actions can be more visible when they are recognized for upholding the company’s values.

Facilitate the assessment of engagement activity (assuming that is the correct metric).

Estimating the enthusiasm of your workforce is difficult. It’s because the term has no universally agreed-upon definition. A company’s success may depend on its customers’ level of satisfaction. For some, it’s a question of commitment, for some contentment, and for some of vitality.

When asked about employee engagement, many intranet service providers will say that the more often someone uses the system, the more invested they are in it. To what extent, though, can engagement and, more importantly, employee morale, really be gauged by looking at how much time workers spend on the intranet? If you’re counting on low turnover and high retention, focusing too narrowly on so-called engagement rates and vanity metrics could be a disastrous miscalculation.

In a way, you could say that an intranet makes employee engagement more visible because it raises the profile of those who take part and those who make contributions there (especially in a digital workplace). However, you can’t simply compare the number of posts each employee makes to your intranet and conclude that James is more involved than Sarah.

Take this into consideration. Is it still considered engagement if a user clicks around a hundred times before giving up on finding what they need? Ideally, you’d want your staff to be able to find what they need with as few clicks as possible.

If you dig deeper, you might find that the reason for this “intranet engagement” is that users are being forced to wade through a sea of irrelevant, out-of-date content, broken links, and spam.

So, this is where we end up.

Motivating employees is only half the equation.

In fact, any HR professional will tell you that getting employees to show up to the newest office parties can be a real challenge. Particularly in a far-flung location where establishing a connection is difficult and where participants are growing weary of video conferences.

A lot of effort has gone into making the workplace more exciting and interesting for workers. Then why do only 20% of workers say they are fully invested in their jobs?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you may have been looking in the wrong direction.

Individuals are more motivated to help out when they are interested in the task at hand. If you try to make a contribution but encounter difficulties, you may become frustrated and stop trying altogether. The term “wall of frustration” describes that point perfectly. Does this sound familiar to you?

There’s a risk that increasing efforts to motivate workers will have the opposite effect.

Business owners and managers shouldn’t assume that implementing an intranet will increase employee morale. Keep in mind that employee engagement is only one of the three necessary components for a productive workforce.

Equal emphasis on enablement and recognition is required if you care about employee achievement.

Conclusion

It could be that you’re considering an intranet rollout with the goals of fostering team unity and boosting morale in mind. While this is a commendable effort, your end goal should be the success of your staff.

Organizational and individual disengagement are said to be addressed by intranets.

Take a glance at a platform that cares about employees’ overall success, not just their engagement, instead. One in which people are motivated to help, have the resources to do so are recognized for their efforts. Achieving widespread engagement and higher levels of productivity, retention, and happiness is possible if this is executed well.