The rise of intranets and digital transformation signifies a fundamental shift in the workplace: out with the old, in with the new. Organizations large and small are embracing the concept and moving towards a digital workplace.
A digital workplace provides employees with the self-serve convenience of a digital information hub and collaboration tools. The digital workplace is also becoming an increasingly popular way for organizations to drive employee productivity and engagement.
The power tools – including intranets – that make up a digital workplace allows HR and communicators to be more efficient in their jobs by digitizing and distributing important documents, sharing critical policies and information, as well as communicating with and engaging employees.
Top 9 intranet & digital workplace trends:
1) User experience. With any technology, ease of use will assuredly dictate user adoption. When transitioning to a digital workplace, easy navigation and robust search functionality can lead to a more efficient user experience throughout the digital workplace. When in doubt about what your employees want out of their user experience, explore their needs through interviews, focus groups, or observational research.
2) Q&A and FAQ depository. Give your employees a way to ask questions and get direct answers. Having a Q&A functionality within the intranet opens another line of communication. Many HR departments also leverage the intranet within their digital workplace to provide access to a depository of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and their answers. This becomes a resource where employees with common questions can be directed and can help streamline consistency in knowledge-sharing and be a time-saver for HR professionals.
3) Change management. By managing a digital workplace using iterative design, companies can make smaller changes over time. Handling change in this manner tends to be more manageable and less stressful for employees, leading to a happier workforce.
4) Self-service. In order to increase efficiency and productivity, it is becoming necessary to offer self-service access to information throughout the digital workplace. With self-service functionality, employees can, and are encouraged to, keep their own personal information up-to-date within the digital workplace.
5) Going mobile. With hourly and remote employees, and the nature of the changing workforce, giving employees 24/7 self-serve access to forms and other information is becoming standard. Employees expect to be able to communicate with each other and access relevant information from any device, any time, anywhere.
6) Employee life cycle. Intranets can be a useful tool from the point of recruiting all the way to “off-boarding”. As an information hub, the intranet has the ability to nurture an employee’s experience and lifecycle, as defined by HR, Community Managers, and any other intranet managers.
7) Branding. Internal branding – a hot topic for communicators, HR, and marketers alike – contributes to building employee engagement. The company’s brand should be mirrored within the digital workplace, and all internal materials, to create consistency and build loyalty and trust in the brand within the organization.
8) Employee performance. Incorporating employee performance review technology into the digital workplace can help create a more fluid and holistic review process, leading to more engaged, informed, and motivated employees.
9) One voice. Multiple people and departments are working within the digital workplace. HR might use the digital workplace as a platform to roll out the new employee recognition program while Corporate Communications might provide an update on the social corporate responsibility initiatives. Whatever the department or job function, brand and voice guidelines should be upheld. With one voice, the information is consistent and cohesive, which leads to greater comprehension.
Tell us in the comments section below: What intranet and digital workplace trends are you seeing?
Learn more about at Transitioning to a Digital Workplace in Atlanta on February 2-4, 2016.