Unily named in Raconteur’s Connected Business special report
Raconteur has just released a special report published in The Times that examines why cultural change is the key to emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic with a more empowered workforce. A technology spotlight casts intranets as “the perfect way to keep company culture intact”, with one of our travel and tourism clients receiving special recognition.
The intranet age is upon us
56% of UK workers say productivity is stalling at their company due to outdated technology. Raconteur’s special report explores how adversity often gives rise to innovation and a boost in efficiency.
The report anticipates the rise of the intranet given the technology’s potential to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the exodus to remote work and the resulting rise in social isolation issues.
In a section titled ‘Return of the Intranet’, author Gareth Platt positions intranets as the fulcrum of the digital workplace. After years of solutions that served primarily as a digitized bulletin boards, Platt asserts that the intranet has reached an evolutionary milestone – providing a virtual office to employees in a way that is critical to the provision of positive employee experiences.
"Finally, however, the intranet is doing what it was supposed to do all along"
Digital workplace expert Sam Marshall supports this notion: “Now they recognize it can be much more transactional and interactive. Today it’s still about news, a reference point for all the nuggets of information. But it’s also the place to go for employee services.”
The report lists examples of major companies from across the globe who are, “rebuilding their employee experience around the intranet.” As a result, suggests Platt, previous challenges around adoption of internet technologies – a problem that had plagued the industry – are now falling to the wayside. With employees now unable to connect and exchange ideas in a physical office space, the intranet is filling the demand for a ‘virtual water-cooler’ and taking its place center stage in the new world of work.
"The modern intranet helps to fill this gap. It can serve as a virtual water cooler, enabling employees to feel more connected by allowing them to take part in a company’s culture and dialogue, and providing two-way, transparent communications features like social networking and news."
Unily and Flight Center recognized for leading the charge
It is technology breakthroughs that have allowed the intranet to evolve to respond to the challenges of remote work. The report credits Unily as one of the vendors responsible for leading the charge in the intranet space. According to the author, companies like Unily have enabled streamlined launches which reduce intranet creation times from more than 6 years to ~1 on average.
Other core intranet developments called out by the report include the provision of mobile access, the simplicity of design and the ability to personalize experiences to individual users. To showcase the impact of these new features, Platt again points to Unily and Flight Centre Travel Group’s platform as an example of a futuristic intranet.
In addition to earning top honors at Nielsen Norman last year, Flight Centre’s intranet has become a central pillar of the travel company’s business model. PILOT, the name given to the platform, features a mobile app to connect retail users and integrates with Facebook’s Workplace platform to instill a culture of social togetherness across the organization.
Make sure your enterprise is prepared for the intranet era
With nearly three quarters of executives planning to shift to partial remote work permanently, the need for digital tools that cultivate connectivity has never been more pressing. If you’re looking to launch a futuristic Intranet platform that will drive collaboration in the virtual age, get in touch with our experts to find out how Unily can bring your vision to life.
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