Tell me, what is the first word that arise in your head when thinking of your company’s intranet? I’m really curious to hear your answer, but I guess the word “modern” isn’t what comes to your mind, is it?

There’s a lot of things going on in the internal communications and intranet area, but still, many companies communicate like it’s 1999. Perhaps it’s time for a change in your company’s way of handling internal communications? Why not let your intranet take a leap into the future?!

And yes, don’t worry: I will tell you what the future holds for you so you know where to navigate. I have scanned the internet for information and now I’m proud to say that I can quote five experts on what they see as the major future trends affecting the intranet field.

Commenting on News – an Easy Way to Introduce Social Media

James Robertson is the Managing Director of Step Two Designs, the global thought leaders on intranets, and headquartered in Sydney, Australia. James is the author of What every intranet team should know and Designing intranets: creating sites that work.

“Two major trends are affecting how intranets are used to communicate to, and connect with, staff.

The first is the move by internal communications teams away from just top-down corporate communications to two-way communication and dialogue.

The second is the rise of collaborative and social tools, which promise to transform how staff find each other, connect, and work together.

Both of these trends have driven the adoption of increasingly sophisticated collaboration tools, including team sites, blogs, wikis, microblogging and rich staff profiles.

There is, however, a ‘low-hanging fruit’ that has been overlooked on many intranets: commenting on news.

Simple to implement and easy to use, commenting on news delivers many of the desired cultural benefits with less effort than more complex tools.

Commenting on news also lays the foundation for a more open culture, and the further adoption of social and collaborative tools.”

Internal Radio Station Combines Business with Pleasure

Gregg Scholz, director of HR operations at TripAdvisor, located in Boston, USA, plans for a new feature on their intranet: a radio station.

“The station will play music throughout the day, but in the place of commercials, employees will get company announcements and interviews with leaders.

We think that’s going to be something that has people coming back. Employees can get in on the act, too. For example, if an employee is in a band, the station may play some of that band’s songs.”

Social Tools Enable a New Form of Information Stream

John Stepper, managing director of collaboration and social media at Deutsche Bank and located in New York, USA, think many companies still communicate like it’s 1999, relying on internal communications to broadcast messages to staff.

“Many intranets at big companies are stuck in a “pre-Google, pre-Facebook” era, in which managers distribute information packets to people. Younger workers don’t take information in like that. They park themselves in front of their Twitter and Facebook feeds, and they expect the important stuff to come to them. Your intranet should facilitate that, using social tools.

Companies are beginning to use social platforms and more authentic voices to “get the message across.” We’re learning that people want to hear from other people – not institutions – and that they’ll rely on their network to discover what’s important enough to read or comment on.

The way to get employees talking is to eschew an overly formal, professional tone. People want to talk to people. They want to hear stories.”

Employees Expect the Intranet to be Pretty

Sharon O’Dea, is a senior manager of online communication at Standard Charter Bank in London, UK and contributor to the blog Intranetizen. She says:

“Making an intranet pretty makes sense. After all, if people don’t want to work in ugly offices, why would they want ugly online spaces in which to work?”

Reshape the Role of the Intranet Manager

Luke Mepham, User Experience Architect as well as blogger for Intranetizen and from Norwich, UK, shares his insights:

“Improve intranet governance and reshape the role of the intranet manager.

The last 3 years we have seen an evolution in intranets, changing from simple internal communication publishing spaces into business-critical collaboration, social, transactional platforms. Your intranet manager is really the Director of Business Enablement.”

Has your intranet entered the new century, or is it still a place where management distributes top-down information? Please do tell in the comment box below!

Sources:

• Enable commenting on intranet news
• 11 mantras for intranet managers
• “If the news is that important, it will find me.”

About the author

Anna Rydne is a communications specialist, a mother and a small business owner. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, she's determined to uncover the secrets of how successful people and companies communicate. Anna has a special interest in social media marketing and personal branding and she believes the road to success is trying. She tweets about all things comms, social media and marketing @CoSkills and writes for SteamFeed.com twice a month. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology. Contact her at anna@communicateskills.com.

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