Why has this happened?
In the quest to serve every employee, an intranet homepage laden with links often ends up serving no one effectively. The overwhelming number of links can make it unclear who they are meant for, leading to confusion and inefficiency. When links lack clear categorisation or relevance to specific user groups, employees spend more time searching for the information they need rather than utilising it for productive purposes.
Furthermore, such a homepage fails to account for the different roles and objectives within an organisation. A one-size-fits-all approach does not recognise the distinct needs of various roles, from frontline workers to head office employees. Each role has unique requirements and workflows, and a generic homepage does not support these distinct needs, leading to frustration and decreased productivity.
Ultimately, an intranet homepage teeming with links does not help people get their work done. Instead, it creates a labyrinthine experience that hinders efficiency. Employees are forced to navigate through a sea of irrelevant links, which detracts from their ability to focus on their tasks. An effective intranet should streamline access to essential tools and information, empowering employees to perform their roles efficiently.
Moving Away from a Page of Links
The first step towards a more effective intranet is to identify key audiences within your organisation. Segmenting your audiences is crucial for tailoring the intranet to meet specific needs. For instance, your organisation may have distinct groups like frontline workers, head office staff, and contact centre employees. Alternatively, if most of your workforce are office workers, segmenting based on business goals is beneficial. In scenarios where growth is a priority for example, client services and sales teams may be treated as key audiences. This segmentation ensures that the intranet serves the specific needs of different employee cohorts effectively and there is business value in focusing on them.
Conducting surveys and interviews with representatives from each target audience is the next crucial step. This process helps to understand the frequently undertaken tasks and the most used documents, tools, and systems. Gathering this information provides insights into what enables and supports productivity for each audience. Understanding their needs and pain points allows for a more tailored and effective homepage design that truly serves its users.
Based on the analysis from surveys and interviews, the homepage should be designed to cater to the identified needs. The homepage must be zoned to consolidate content and capabilities pertinent to each audience. This design approach not only aids in user efficiency but also ensures that essential information from departments like HR and Communications is ‘pushed’ to employees in a structured and accessible manner. A well-zoned homepage helps employees quickly find what they need and stay informed about key organisational updates.
By moving away from a cluttered page of links to an audience focused homepage, organisations can significantly increase the value of their digital employee experience at the same time as improving the efficiency and satisfaction of their workforce.
Register now
Is your intranet failing to serve the unique needs of each employee? It’s time to boost engagement with a digital employee experience tailored specifically to meet those requirements.
Join us to discover how Jonathon Pinch, Head of Internal Communications at Wincanton, transformed their intranet into an intuitive and engaging platform in the first session of our Peer Insight Series. Register now to save your spot and receive a calendar invite!