Intranets: Connecting management and team24 January 2006
A lot of people are probably under the impression that while large companies benefit from having an intranet, they are less relevant to businesses with fewer employees. The potential for enhancing staff working relationships and improving company focus can, however, be appreciated by any business of any size.
Intranets use internet protocols to create a miniature version of the internet offering the same kind of sound, graphics, video and mail services but only accessible to staff members. As such, they can provide an ideal medium to broaden communications between staff and management, which can prove advantageous for small businesses.
Benefits
An intranet is a reliable way to communicate company goals, information and news to all staff members efficiently. The benefits for employee relations are:
- Clearer communication: The transfer of news or information through individual email and word of mouth can lead to misunderstandings and a staff sense of being "out of the loop". For employees to feel involved and satisfied in their roles, it is essential they are correctly informed and interact with management to achieve common business goals.
- Distribution of information: Posting information relevant to any aspect of employees' work, such as public holiday information, human resources forms including vacation requests and personal details and staff contact details will save staff time allowing them to be more productive and less frustrated at work.
- Confidence that information is correct and up-to-date: Posting documents or notices on the intranet allows employees to feel confident that they have "come from the top" and are current.
- Keep teleworkers included: One of the downsides to homeworking is the loss of communication and colleague relationships. Having access to a central "notice-board" for the company will improve employee integration.
- Create a sense of community: Intranets can also be used for staff newsletters which notify other team members of birthdays, nights out, promotions, leavers and so on. This helps increase employee involvement with the company and can increase commitment.
How to go about it
It is possible for businesses to create their own intranet, all that's needed is a server, a network, a router and an off-the-shelf software package such Microsoft Front Page and Macromedia Dreamweaver. This option is ideal for small businesses as it is economical and entirely adequate for a relatively small amount of users. If this seems like too daunting a task, consult with a solutions provider for more details on consultation and implementation costs.
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