Looking to the future: Does the intranet matter?

Thumbs up to working from home – but how do we really feel?

Before the pandemic, 44% of companies worldwide considered working from home unacceptable. The reason? There was a lack of governance and leadership and certainly a sense of lack of control.

As we move back towards a more normal workday, nine out of ten want to continue working from home at least one day a week. At the same time, a report from Previa shows that we have never felt so physically and mentally unwell at (home) work as we do today. Many have worried about loved ones. And working at the kitchen table month after month is not ergonomically sustainable in the long run.

The pandemic has made us digital, but it has happened in a hurry. It is still often the case that governance and leadership have not kept up. Now we need to create the conditions for the prosperous homeworker. Because they are here to stay.

Context and hub

We see new user behaviors. Many start their day in a collaboration tool (like Slack or Teams) rather than on the intranet. At the same time, it's important to deliver content that helps with work and create a context that everyone is part of. Using an intranet as a hub avoids the trap of building small companies within the company. It also becomes a natural place to collect documentation, posts and other content after the meeting is over.

Conceptual confusion

We used to talk about intranets or digital workplaces. Now we talk about Hybrid Workplace or Employee Engagement Platform. Whatever the term, the best part is that the discussion has shifted to how digital tools can promote wellbeing and engagement (not just productivity). About how HR, IT and communications can work together to create a multi-functional intranet.

– After all, we are not human robots who must constantly optimise productivity, Johan concludes.

The Swedish Public Employment Service's intranet project

Karin Gustavsson is a product manager at the Swedish Public Employment Service and is responsible for the project to develop a new intranet. At the Swedish Public Employment Service, they recognise the confusion of concepts but ended up creating a fairly traditional intranet that solves the needs of the business.

To find out what is wrong with the current intranet, they conduct regular surveys among employees. The priority is to make the intranet a starting point where employees can find information, even if it means transferring them to other systems.

When asked what the success factors of the project are, Karin replies:

• The people. We have a good, cross-functional team with many different skills. Stars that we have then combined with hand-picked consultants.
• Working agile. The project is run through an agile approach where we are prepared to change along the way. The team checks, measures and redirects. With a bit of a trial-and-error attitude, we can deliver in parts and move quickly through the project.
• Beta version. Having a beta version out early, and moving content in stages, increases engagement.