The pandemic accelerated workplace digitization by 3-4 years. And for many, this meant hurriedly developing intranet solutions to facilitate employees as they continue to work under unprecedented conditions.
The primary function of internal communications is to share information, instill purpose, create a work-conducive culture and engage employees – business needs that have never been more critical. But while these are the goals, how can you be sure that your intranet is any good at achieving them?
Let’s take a closer look at how you can measure the effectiveness of an intranet to ensure you fully utilize the several benefits this robust internal communications tool provides.
There are several KPIs you can use to measure your intranet’s effectiveness. However, we have narrowed down the top 5 for you:
Increased employee engagement and seamless communications may seem like the most apparent advantage of intranet implementation. However, another crucial benefit that emerges when productivity increase is a reduction in business costs.
Going digital saves costs by reducing paper, printing, and distribution expenses, and intranet platforms, in particular, can save money in other areas of business as well. For example, as remote collaboration becomes accessible, travel expenses can be lowered as well. There may also be a cost reduction in labor as a result.
Also, since employees can access forms digitally through such platforms, HR overhead costs can be cut considerably. Finally, set up an analytics system to measure how many hours workers have saved, so you can get an exact amount of your saved money and create a standard metric to measure this KPI.
This may seem like the most subjective KPI to measure. However, it can be an excellent way to measure how successful your intranet platform is. When put into numbers and figures, employee satisfaction can help conclude whether the main reason you wanted to implement an intranet platform- to increase productivity- is being seen to.
The simplest way to check if your intranet performs according to the goals of this KPI is by sending out employee satisfaction surveys. First, ask the right questions to understand how intranet UI, design, content, tools, efficiency, and search engines enhance employee experience. Then, quantify this data to figure out if your organization is headed in the right direction.
When employees get adequate support, it makes them feel empowered and pleased with their jobs. Likewise, track your organization’s turnover rate for insights into internal communication efficiency and employee satisfaction.
When communication systems are effective, it’s easier to keep people in the loop and ensure their professional needs are met. Conversely, communication barriers can lead to lower satisfaction, personnel issues, and high turnover.
The easiest way to measure this KPI is through HR records. Look for a connection between turnover rates and your internal communication KPI results to calculate this. Also, you can see whether intranet implementation made any difference by surveying new hires who were there before the implementation.
Knowing how well your employees interact with the actual interface of the intranet platform lets you know if the software is engaging enough.
Track how many times each user clicks on links within the platform to see a clear picture of employees' intranet adoption and engagement rate. You can also measure the overall performance of your intranet when there is an increase in internal communication.
An intranet platform can enable your sales team to easily access information, resulting in increased productivity, faster turnarounds, and more efficiency.
Improvement in collaboration and communication can also increase the number of sales. When you provide your sales department space to share information and ideas, make suggestions, and collaborate, it can increase leads, and thus, more sales.
Organized sales tracking and improved customer data storage can streamline the sales process and boost productivity.
Microsoft 365 products such as SharePoint can be used to create communication channels according to specific audiences. Moreover, they have features that allow users to create and share organizational news and create portals and landing pages to streamline workflows.
Microsoft capabilities such as ‘Microsoft Lists’ and document libraries allow for improved collaboration. It enables employees to dynamically display and securely store content that can easily be accessed on any device.
SharePoint team sites can also create collaboration spaces for internal teams that are safe and can get updates, news, and share content.
Intranet platforms are undoubtedly a great way to improve communication and make collaboration easier. However, tracking KPIs and measuring them is critical to make the most of such a multi-faceted tool.
Head over to Definity First to learn more about an intelligent intranet platform that deploys Microsoft products and enhances your analytics capabilities.