The benefits of an intranet portal
Centralizing information and breaking down silos
Intranet portals bring together multiple applications and information into one cloud-based portal and central hub, helping to reduce silos, support knowledge sharing across the business while improving efficiency and subsequently increasing staff productivity. With the right content management foundation, intranet users will have access to more information all in one place thanks to an effective employee intranet portal and company intranet portal, helping them to do their jobs more effectively and improving the overall user experience across the digital workplace.
Many organizations also use an intranet portal as a single workspace to unify their broader tech stack, including Microsoft and SharePoint, plus tools for project management and CRM workflows, so employees can access the right resources in one place. .
Improved communication
Communication is very important for the success of an organization. It is vital to keep employees engaged and involved in corporate conversations. An intranet portal can streamline and centralize your communications and improve employee engagement by delivering relevant updates in real time, across channels and devices.
Whether your office staff are using using their web application, your frontline staff are using the employee app, or factory workers seeing comms via digital signage, you can reach the right people with the right message in the right language. A mobile-first approach also helps ensure a more user-friendly experience that fits naturally into the flow of work, which can lift adoption rates over time. This will encourage employee participation and engagement, setting you on the right path to business success.
Improved collaboration
Encouraging collaboration and teamwork within a global enterprise is pivotal. However, seamless collaboration can be difficult in large organizations due to the international scale of business operations. Employees will speak different languages and be based in different locations around the world. Bringing everyone together can be a challenge that an intranet portal can help overcome. A social intranet portal breaks down barriers and provides an accessible platform to encourage collaboration.
A modern intranet can support:
- Social networking through communities, comments, and forums
- Faster coordination with instant messaging for quick questions and updates
- Clearer alignment between stakeholders, teams, and cross-functional initiatives
It can also help new hires get up to speed faster with searchable onboarding resources, clear navigation, and a consistent experience designed for usability. All of these experiences can extend to a mobile app, helping people stay connected wherever they work.
Document management
An intranet portal improves access to company information. When you consider that on average employees spend almost 10 hours a week looking for information, the importance and benefit of centralizing documents becomes obvious. Advanced search functions allow employees to quickly find what they’re looking for, increasing productivity and giving them the tools to do their job.
Strong permissions and access controls matter here. The best intranet portals respect existing security models so employees only see what they’re allowed to access, while still making information easier to discover.
Self-service workflows
Beyond publishing and comms, many organizations use intranets to streamline business processes with self-service experiences, such as submitting requests, sharing feedback, or accessing standardized resources. This can reduce back-and-forth for teams and create clearer pathways for getting work done.
Key intranet features to look for
A scalable intranet portal should include key features such as:
- Flexible templates to speed up content creation and support a smoother rollout
- Core intranet features like search, news, navigation, and content targeting
- Employee directories that help team members find colleagues by role, skills, or location
- Collaboration tools that support teamwork across departments and regions
- Analytics and dashboards to understand what’s being used and improve decision-making over time
- Integrations with the tools you already rely on, including Microsoft 365 and line-of-business systems
Take a tour
These are just a handful of the benefits of an intranet portal can bring to your enterprise. Reimagine the employee experience with Unily, an intranet software provider, and elevate and empower your employees with streamlined, seamless and stress-free intranet solution.