Intranet for startups: Do small companies need an intranet?

Some smaller businesses, even those expanding rapidly, are slow to adopt new technologies, even when those technologies could help them better foster company culture, engage employees, and streamline communication.

They believe things like corporate culture will develop naturally and expand with new personnel, so they have no reason to worry about it just yet. The founders of new businesses often have trouble looking farther than the next month's rent, much less imagining a day when company culture would play a significant role.

However, the fact is that the decisions made at the startup phase of your business will have long-lasting consequences. If problems like poor employee engagement or a hostile work environment aren't addressed, they will only worsen. This holds true whether your business is a cutting-edge startup developed in a university lab or a family-run hardware store celebrating its 75th anniversary and planning to expand.

Suppose you own a small business and care about things like expanding your company's culture, maintaining employee engagement, and keeping everyone on the same page. In that case, you should have a modern intranet as soon as possible.

Why is it important for small businesses to rollout an intranet? 

For small businesses, an intranet for employees can be a great way to keep employees and customers engaged. With an intranet, sharing important documents, challenges, and goals can help create a sense of community. It also allows employees to have quicker access to resources they need while providing a safe environment for communication. 

By using the intranet as a hub for information and progress, it also provides an area where employees can track their work and any project updates in real-time. 

Having access to these tools helps small businesses maintain productivity without needing an abundance of additional resources or personnel. In today's world, setting up an intranet is essential for keeping your team connected and moving forward. 

What are the Benefits of Intranets for Your Startup?

 When it comes to getting a startup off the ground, investing in an intranet can be hugely beneficial. 

-For one thing, it helps create a collaborative work environment – allowing employees to communicate seamlessly, share information and collaborate on projects with ease. It also enhances business productivity; with the right tools, it's easier for teams to stay on top of tasks even when working remotely and keep track of project status updates. 

-Furthermore, an intranet can provide unlimited storage space, meaning managers do not have to worry about running out of hard drive space or losing crucial digital documents. 

-The security benefits can't be ignored either; deploying user authentication measures through an intranet helps keep confidential information secure while allowing users access only to data they need.

-Additionally, an intranet platform can help easily onboard new staff members by providing easy access to company policies, tutorials and the like from day one. All in all, entrepreneurs who invest in an intranet for their startups will gain huge dividends down the road.

A survey by Deloitte found that there was a 20% increase in employee satisfaction and a corresponding 87% increase in employee retention in organisations that implemented social intranets.  Have a look at the Best CMS for intranet

An intranet is needed for the company's growth 

It's crucial to consider how a digital workplace might affect a company's chances of expansion. A company's expansion rate can be sped up by using an efficient intranet that encourages teamwork.

This holds true even in typical times, and it will increase because of the rise of telecommuting. In particular, a trustworthy intranet system is important in the process of onboarding new staff. 

The intranet works as a central hub 

The word "central hub" comes close to describing what an intranet is. However, this internet component is critical for new employees' motivation. As well as being a central hub for disseminating corporate updates and contact information, this platform also facilitates the rapid and easy retrieval of personal details. This simplifies routine onboarding tasks, allowing new hires to devote more time to what really matters to the company.  

It works as a community space ​

A company's intranet may also be a virtual gathering place where new employees can make friends and feel at ease. Even though face-to-face communication is preferable, new hires might rapidly feel like they belong to the team thanks to the workplace intranet.  

It can be used for training ​

When starting a new job, it might be intimidating to approach people with queries. However, this is frequently the most effective method of getting started and solving simple issues as they crop up.

A company intranet makes it easier for new hires to ask questions and get answers. It's far easier to open up in a conversational setting than in a one-on-one with someone more experienced. 

Intranet helps you to focus on your company's mission 

Employees that are invested in their work are the key to fostering team buy-in for the company's goals. Whether the goal is expansion or something else completely, the message has to be distributed throughout the company by the greatest people.

This is of paramount importance if your small business is still in its early, unprofitable phases. 

Gamification

Using game mechanics to increase participation is possible. Motivational factors exist for this. However, your company's culture is what determines employee participation, and as the CEO of a small business, your opinion matters more than most. In a company's intranet, you may show your support for the company's values and encourage others to do the same.  

Enhanced Concurrent Interaction

To publicly honor workers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and provide internal information, you may utilize your intranet to give "shout-outs" and share news and corporate success stories. 

It's a great approach to show that your business cares for its employees and their well-being. Assuming you're setting a good example, others will soon follow suit.

That is to say; the intranet should be used constantly. The sooner you include it in your routine, the more of an impact it will have on employee motivation as your company expands.

Intranet works as a digital workplace

Multitasking is commonplace in small businesses, and so is the use of reduced staffing levels. The true challenge, however, occurs when this concentrated workload must be conveyed and made meaningful by a small number of individuals. In such a setting, intranet applications become crucial.

The intranet is a central hub where all teams can easily communicate and share information daily. The intranet is unquestionably going to cause a major upheaval in the workplace.

Companies will rely on digital infrastructure to keep teams informed, engaged, and communicative as the prevalence of remote work and telecommuting grows. Solutions for an organization's intranet can offer just that.

This digital hub can be a central location for sharing and storing company data, receiving updates from upper management, and coordinating other types of back-and-forth cooperation.

Factors to consider when selecting the intranet for your small business

When looking for an intranet portal provider, you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. A few examples include AgilityPortal, Sharepoint intranets, G-Suite, and so forth.

However, for those unfamiliar with intranet software development, the process of selecting the best intranet solution, including its construction, kind, and similar details, may be extremely perplexing.

Accordingly, we have compiled certain considerations that a small business, in particular and other businesses, in general, should make before settling on the intranet.

Stay focused on your end goals

It's important to create a comprehensive plan for the objectives you hope to achieve with the help of intranet software. You can consider switching to an intranet platform if you want your team to work more efficiently. In this case, "increasing efficiency" would be a goal. There are a variety of other uses for an intranet that is worth considering.

Much will be determined by the specifics of your business and how things are going right now. Then there are some other shared objectives to think about, such as developing a sense of community among workers and inspiring them to do their best. Keep an eye on the degree of congruence between the specific and the overarching objectives.

Cloud intranet vs an on-premise intranet

Selecting an intranet's type is important in building a functional network. One kind of intranet is the cloud-based one, while another is the on-premises one. If you have employees in many locations, you might consider a cloud intranet.

In addition, AgilityPortal and other cloud-based intranets take advantage of numerous aspects of today's intranets to make it easier to integrate file sharing into your business. The newest AgilityPortal features will turn the office into a technological and artistic extravaganza.

Engaging intranets may also be created with the help of premade and bespoke platforms. Personalized homepages, video-playing capabilities, newsfeeds, document libraries, activity streams, team stories, blogs, and a mobile interface are some features that may be found in off-the-shelf intranet solutions.

In contrast, a tailor-made intranet provides space for more complex applications, such as analytical tools for the banking and finance industries. Your knowledge of internal needs should serve as the final arbiter of the intranet type you select.

Stick to your budget

When it comes to new businesses, finances take center stage. Startups often rely on venture capital funding and other external sources to help them reach their yearly budgets. Therefore, a small business should zero in on certain details, such as whether it prefers an annual subscription-based model or a fully owned intranet with all the associated maintenance and redesign costs.

Choosing the appropriate intranet category depends on your company's financial standing as a whole. Pay-as-you-go intranet models are popular among startups and small businesses because they reduce financial risk. 

Make the user experience your top priority

What do you think is the single greatest benefit of having an intranet for your staff? 

The only acceptable response is to have positive feelings toward the company. A user may be working under a project manager, but his overall allegiance lies with a brand that his organization wields; from the employee's point of view, the intranet is all about associating with a visible organic unity called the company, and they have a broad range of interactions. Therefore, the tone of conversations may be both friendly and businesslike.

Additionally, a customized intranet enables the employer and management team to design attractive and engaging intranet portals that offer the feel of the company's general view and how they become an essential part of it.

Finally, the intranet is a very effective and safe means of cultivating a creative workplace. It may serve as an impetus for Sharepoint-like platforms in establishing the foundation for tomorrow's offices.

Best intranet for startups

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 Wrapping up

You should consider an intranet as an investment in your small business, just like any other tool. It's a wager on your staff, which is your most valuable asset. 

By emphasizing the importance of corporate culture, employee engagement, and open lines of communication from the outset, you can show your staff that they are valued and that the business is committed to their success.