Measuring the success of your intranet: Benchmarks and metrics
In the modern digital workplace, the intranet is the central hub for communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing. Measuring its success is essential to ensure it meets the needs of your organization and its employees. However, measuring this success can be challenging without the right benchmarks and metrics.
Benchmarking is a structured methodology for comparing the effectiveness of your intranet against that of peers. It provides impartial measurement and evaluation, as well as insights for how the intranet can be improved. It is an essential process for driving change or building a business case for investment into an intranet.
Key areas of benchmarking
DWG’s benchmarking covers three important areas that are necessary for the growth and success of an intranet:
- Modern intranet management: This involves evaluating the overall management and governance of the intranet, ensuring it aligns with organizational goals and user needs.
- Digital communication channels: Assessing the effectiveness of various communication channels within the intranet, such as news feeds, blogs and social media integrations.
- Intranet usability: Ensuring that the intranet is user-friendly and accessible, providing a seamless experience for all employees.
To gauge the effectiveness of your intranet, it’s important to track specific metrics that reflect its usage and impact. Here are some key metrics to consider:
- User engagement: Measure the number of active users, frequency of logins and the duration of sessions. High engagement indicates that employees find the intranet valuable and are using it regularly.
- Content interaction: Track the number of views, likes, comments and shares on intranet content. This helps identify which types of content resonate most with employees.
- Most and least viewed content: Page views will reveal which pieces of content are popular and which are not. This will support a robust content strategy ensuring that intranet content is relevant and useful.
- Search effectiveness: Monitor the number of searches performed and the success rate of those searches. A high number of unsuccessful searches may indicate that content is difficult to find or that the search functionality needs improvement.
- Task completion rates: Assess how efficiently employees can complete tasks using the intranet. This includes workflows, form submissions and accessing important resources.
- Mobile access: With the rise of remote work, it’s important to measure how often the intranet is accessed via mobile devices. This can highlight the need for mobile optimization.
User feedback and improvement
Organizations can benchmark their intranet user feedback and use this data to improve the intranet by following a structured approach that involves several key steps and best practices.
Establish clear feedback mechanisms
- Direct contact with content owners
Ensure that users can easily establish direct contact with content owners for every area of the intranet. This can be facilitated through clear contact information or feedback forms associated with each content piece.
- Solicit feedback and ratings
Implement a system to actively solicit feedback and ratings about intranet content. This can include surveys, rating systems and comment sections where users can provide their input on the usefulness and quality of the content.
- Manage and act on feedback
Develop a robust system for managing and acting on the feedback received. This involves categorizing feedback, prioritizing issues and ensuring that actionable items are addressed promptly.
Integrate user feedback into continuous improvement
- User-driven value and design
Involve users in the development process by gathering user requirements when planning changes to the intranet. Conduct user testing at all stages of development to ensure that the design meets user needs and expectations.
Actively solicit user feedback on the features and performance of the intranet to continuously refine and improve the user experience.
- Monitoring use and performance
Employ appropriate tools to measure the usage of different areas of the intranet. Analytical data is helpful to drive strategic and operational improvements.
Performance indicators can be used to track progress against the intranet’s strategic goals. Regularly review metrics and reporting to ensure that the intranet continues to meet user needs.
Foster a culture of collaboration and communication
- Employee involvement
Use the intranet for two-way communication between senior business leaders and employees. Gather input, ideas and feedback on changes within the business to make employees feel involved and valued.
Enable publishing by and conversations between all employees to foster a collaborative environment.
- Collaboration and knowledge sharing
Support both formal and informal collaboration through the intranet. Provide online spaces for project teams and departments, and encourage knowledge sharing and innovation.
Implement governance and standard
- Standards and publishing controls
Establish clear standards for the design, usability and accessibility of content. Ensure that there are guidelines for writing for the web, including tone of voice, structure and audience considerations.
Implement a framework for determining where content should be published and ensure that there is clear ownership of published content.
- Enforcement of controls
Provide training for publishers on tools, policies and standards. Ensure that there is a system to monitor and enforce adherence to these standards.
By following these guidelines, organizations can effectively benchmark their intranet user feedback and improvement processes. This structured approach ensures that user feedback is integrated into continuous improvement efforts, fostering a collaborative and user-centric intranet environment. Regular benchmarking and adherence to established standards and governance practices will help organizations maintain a high-performing intranet that meets the evolving needs of its users.
Intranet benchmarking: Comparison against peers and industry standards
Benchmarking your intranet against industry standards and best practices can provide valuable insights into its performance. Use benchmarking to establish a baseline measure of the current state of the intranet. This provides a clear picture of where the intranet stands and helps gauge future progress.
A consistent framework to compare the intranet’s performance with that of other organizations will help identify areas of strength and weakness, and provide insights into best practices.
When benchmarking your intranet, consider the following key questions to gain a comprehensive understanding of its performance and areas for improvement:
1. Modern intranet management
- How effectively is the intranet managed and governed?
- Are there clear roles and responsibilities for intranet management?
- How well does the intranet align with organizational goals and user needs?
2. Digital communication channels
- How effective are the various communication channels within the intranet?
- Are news feeds, blogs and social media integrations being utilized optimally?
- How well do these channels support internal communication and collaboration?
3. Intranet usability
- Is the intranet user-friendly and accessible to all employees?
- Are there any usability issues that hinder employee productivity?
- How intuitive is the navigation and overall user experience?
How intranets impact retention, efficiency and business success
A well-designed and effectively managed intranet can have a significant impact on employee retention, efficiency and overall business success.
Enhancing employee retention
Intranets contribute to employee retention by fostering a positive work environment and supporting employee engagement. They serve as a central hub for internal communication, ensuring that employees have access to company news, updates and policies. This transparency builds trust and a sense of belonging among colleagues.
Intranets also facilitate collaboration by providing online spaces for project teams and departments, encouraging teamwork and innovation. Tools for knowledge sharing and idea generation enhance their sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Moreover, intranets support flexible working arrangements by providing access to company resources from any location. This flexibility enables employees to balance their work priorities with home life, making them more likely to stay with the organization.
Improving business efficiency
Intranets streamline communication by serving as a central repository for company information, ensuring everyone has access to the same content and information. Intranets provide centralized communication channels (news feeds, blogs, social media integrations) facilitating effective internal communication and coordination.
Intranets also enhance collaboration by offering tools that support both formal and informal collaboration. Features such as document sharing, real-time editing and discussion forums streamline collaboration efforts, reducing lengthy and clunky email chains and excessive meetings.
Additionally, intranets provide access to essential resources such as HR policies, IT support, training materials and company forms. This reduces the time employees spend looking for these resources.
Driving business success
Intranets drive business success by enhancing communication, facilitating collaboration, improving efficiency, promoting organizational culture and supporting strategic decision making. They reflect the organization’s values, culture and branding, helping to reinforce a sense of identity and belonging among employees.
Intranets also provide valuable data and analytics on employee engagement, content usage and collaboration patterns. This data can inform strategic business decisions and support continuous improvements. Regular benchmarking of intranet performance against industry standards and peers can help businesses to identify strengths and weaknesses, providing insights and recommendations for improvement.
By creating a more connected and informed workforce, intranets help organizations to achieve their goals more effectively and efficiently. They support both formal and informal collaboration, enhance communication and provide easy access to essential resources, all of which contribute to overall business success.
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Categorised in: Intranets
