Intranet support - what to expect from your SaaS vendor
Launch is only the beginning of your intranet journey. To ensure your platform enhances employee experience and generates value in the long run, ongoing guidance is essential. Since the right support team can make all the difference, learn what to look for when evaluating service providers.
Are you getting the right support from your intranet vendor?
You decide to enhance employee experience with an all-new intranet. The project is celebrated by your HR team, eager to create a new onboarding site. It's also a win for internal comms, as the solution will be designed to underpin an omnichannel messaging strategy that's sure to deliver results. But unlike their colleagues, your IT team is less than enthusiastic.
All too often, launching and maintaining an intranet is a massive undertaking for internal IT teams that causes both resources and energy to run thin. But with the right support services, it doesn't have to be this way. If you select an intranet service provider with a superior support team, you can avoid weighing down your IT employees and create a solution that is well received by your entire workforce.
With more than one fourth of IT projects failing outright and another 20-25% falling short of demonstrating a return on investment, it's clear that guidance is needed to create an intranet that is an all-around success. Here at Unily, our support team is committed to providing just that by taking a proactive approach that ensures every clients’ intranet remains fit to serve.
5 items to add to your checklist for evaluating your service provider’s support
When it comes to evaluating support amongst software-as-a-service intranet providers, all options are not created equally. The caliber of support your platform receives will be a deciding factor that dictates your project’s success. Consequently, it’s important to prioritize the following criteria:
#1. Round-the-clock support
With your intranet serving as the backbone for communication and collaboration, even a minor incident can lead to mass disruption. If your service provider’s support team is limited, there’s a real risk that your problem will continue to weight down your end-users as you await a resolution.
To improve the quality of your workforce’s intranet experience, you need a service provider with a comprehensive support team that’s ready to jump in at a moment’s notice. Here at Unily, our support team works in shifts to ensure there is an engineer available to resolve critical issues throughout all 24 hours of your day.
#2. Ongoing, considerate communications
It’s basic human nature: when a problem occurs, we want to know what’s being done to solve it. The same concept rings true for your intranet. When you have an issue, generic answers are insufficient. Your platform’s design and use cases are unique and as such, the types of support your solution will require will also vary.
The best support teams adopt a personalized approach that gives every client the information they are looking for, while being mindful of time and circumstance. Your service provider’s support team should offer a breakdown of what’s happened so far and a timeline for what will happen next.
Ideally, support should tailor this information based on who they’re speaking to. For example, a conversation with your IT team will likely have a greater technical focus than an update for your marketing division.
#3. A network of experts
Just as your intranet powers collaboration throughout your organization, teamwork is the answer to ensuring your platform remains fit to serve. Even the greatest technical experts benefit from bouncing ideas off each other and learning from their peers.
Instead of a one-person show, your service provider’s support team should be comprised of experts that work together to devise innovative solutions. Here at Unily, our Support Engineers and Managers frequently collaborate with Customer Success Managers, Subject Matter Experts, and Operations Engineers to make sure every customer receives a seamless service.
Unily's Paul Seda hosts Unite 19 in New York.
#4. A big picture approach
Since your entire workforce relies on your solution for timely updates, your platform needs to function at full capacity consistently. Consequently, when a problem occurs, a bandage solution is never going to cut it.
If your service provider’s support team is subpar, they might rely on workarounds instead of long-term solutions. Over time, this quick-fix approach can lead to ongoing outages that will diminish the efficacy of your platform. Look for a service provider that will get to the root cause of your problem, even if that means pulling in other team members or escalating the issue.
#5. Continuous improvement
With the pace of technology rapidly accelerating, you need an intranet that will keep up with the times. Evolution and iteration should be part of every support team’s DNA. Consequently, as a customer, you should expect to have the opportunity to share your feedback on your experiences working with support.
Continuous improvement is key principle for our own support department. Every team member is encouraged to expand their skill set, learn lessons, and utilize client input to optimize our processes and performance.
"Our support team really cares. We always strive to do what’s right for our clients and prioritize continuous improvement so that we can go above and beyond for them. We’re growing our department, enhancing the way we work, and broadening our base of product experts to ensure we can always deliver."
Unily Support offers:
The caliber of support you receive can make or break your intranet project. To ensure we can go the extra mile for all of our clients, our support team at Unily offers the following:
- A dedicated and ever-expanding team of Support Engineers, regional Support Managers, and subject matter experts, led by our Director of Technical Operations and Global Head of Support
- An emphasis on cross-functional collaboration with our colleagues in Customer Success, Operations, and Development, to ensure a seamless customer experience
- Round-the-clock support to resolve critical issues as efficiently as possible
- A proactive approach underpinned by data analysis, in which we identify existing patterns, troubleshoot, and continuously evolve
- Regular ticket closure surveys to support continuous improvement and ongoing iteration
- Considerate and consistent communications via ticket updates, emails, and phone calls to provide regular statuses, answer questions, and maximize client satisfaction
Paving the way for future successes
As enterprises shifted to remote working models in response to COVID-19, the importance of quality service support has come to the forefront. 68% of respondents indicated that their C-level executives have become more involved in their digital workplace since the pandemic’s onset.
In most cases, the organizations best equipped to transition to remote work were those with the right technological infrastructure and ongoing intranet support services. Since our own support team can work 100% remotely, they have been able to project a seamless experience for each of our customers and have ensured that they’re equipped to overcome emerging challenges.
"As a Manager, one of my top priorities is making sure our team continues to improve and grow. This year has highlighted that our focus needs to go beyond looking at the numbers. We’re continuing to expand our skills and knowledge to proactively address the new challenges our customers face."
Get the most out of your intranet with superior support
If you’re looking to make sure your employees can take full advantage of your platform for the long run, the right support service is crucial. To learn more about what you can expect from our support team during your intranet journey, get in touch with our digital workplace experts.
