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11 ways a modern intranet can transform digital employee experience

Enterprises that aren’t fine-tuning their employees' digital experience now are setting themselves up for future failure. According to Gartner, two-thirds of business leaders believe that organizations that fail to upgrade their digital offerings within 2020 will lag behind savvier competitors.

Employee accessing intranet on his mobile device for a superior digital experience

What is Digital Employee Experience? 

Digital employee experience recognizes the role that workplace technology plays in shaping employee experience. As the workplace becomes ever more digital, the link between an employee's virtual experience and their perception of an employer becomes more defined. 

"Digital employee experience (DEX) is the sum total of digital interactions within the work environment."

James Robertson - CMSWire

What employees want from digital technology

Enterprises with best-in-class digital workplaces are those that take notes from customer experience theory, or CX, which helped inspired the DEX movement.

Every employee is also a savvy consumer who has grown to expect a personalized experience. From targeted ads to customizable products, brands strive to build specialized relationships with consumers to maximize their experience and generate more revenue.

Employees now expect a similar sense of personalization in the workplace. As organizations vie for top talent, the value of cutting-edge tools grows. Oftentimes, modern intranets are the foundation of an enterprise’s DEX efforts as they provide a centralized hub for communication, collaboration, and productivity.

11 ways a modern intranet drives superior DEX

Intranets are one of the most influential tools within a digital workplace. Below are some key features that can be deployed to level up employee experience:

#1. Single sign-on

Single sign-on technology simplifies the login process by using one set of credentials that connects users with every application. Modern intranets also allow employees to sign in with their own identity management provider, offering flexibility and increased usability.

#2. Powerful search

Content and information from different sources can be presented as tabs on the top of the search center for quick switching and filters and refiners help contextualize results, ensuring ease of navigation throughout the intranet.

search features

#3. Single pane of glass experience 

Intranets centralize every business system, app, and tool. Third-party platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot can be plugged into your solution for a seamless user experience that cuts down on distraction and drives productivity.

#4. Consumer-grade UX

Consumers now expect UX designers to have their fingers firmly on the pulse of the latest design trends, whether that is the popularity of negative space or featuring large, tablet-friendly hero banners. 

#5. Feedback

Customizable and easy to embed forms streamline the feedback process and give leaders the option to target segments of the workforce for specialized results. 

#6. Analytics

Once feedback is compiled, built-in analytics present leaders with key metrics surrounding engagement and adoption and pinpoint any pain points that can be tackled.

#7. Targeted communications

Intranets cut through the noise by enabling leaders to segment audiences by user type and target updates in accordance to each persona's needs and interests. 

#8. Gamification: reward & recognition

Badges, kudos, and completeness gauges can be used to drive new behaviors and stimulate increased engagement. Gamified strategies are shown to underpin positive cultures and can also increase productivity by 88 percent, according to a Linkedin study.

#9. Centralized services

A best-in-class digital workplace will streamline the onboarding process by centralizing key resources such as company policies, FAQs, and guidelines surrounding protocol.

#10. The social enterprise

Thematic and targeted channels encourage knowledge-sharing and put users in control of conversations with colleagues. Intuitive features such as @mentions and #hashtags are a fun and user-friendly way to cultivate authentic dialogues. 

#11. Personalized experiences

A superior intranet will allow you to personalize everything from the design to the items you see on drop-down menus to your profile in the user directory. 

Create a best-in-class intranet for your enterprise

To create a best-in-class digital solution, leaders must reflect on the needs of their workforce and design a targeted platform that puts user priorities at the forefront. If you are interested in deploying a bespoke intranet that will take digital employee experience to unprecedented levels, get in touch with our digital workplace experts.

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