6 Cost-Effective Tips for Launching an Employee Intranet
Businesses with employees know that the costs can mount up over time when it comes to overhead and other expenses. Needless to say, the idea of an employee intranet doesn’t come cheap. Yet, there are ways to find cost-effective solutions to launch one whenever the time comes. We will be taking a look at the following six tips that will allow you to save money while implementing an employee intranet that will work for you and your organization.
Ready to see what can be done? Don’t skip out on any of these tips we’re about to share. So let’s get started.
Decide What Your Objectives and Needs Are
Before deciding on making critical purchases for your business, it is important to make sure you have objectives and needs that are set. Without clear goals and objectives, you’re basically throwing money into a bottomless pit.
When it comes to creating an intranet, having the right objectives and needs will be ideal so you can decide on which intranet solutions will be best suited for your budget moving forward. Be sure to learn about the features and functionalities of your intranet options so you can decide on which ones address your critical needs without having to spend an unnecessary amount of money.
Find A Budget-Friendly Option
As mentioned, a budget-friendly option will be best so long as they address your critical needs. Which means there won’t be a need for the additional features that some intranet packages offer.
Nonetheless, you want to find one that will be a good fit for your budget but not at the expense of sacrificing key features that could underserve your needs in particular. Therefore, finding an intranet solution that is the cheapest option won’t be the recommended tip.
Instead, find the best solution you can afford budget wise. Because the cheapest option just might not be enough to address what you actually need.
Use Open-Source Solutions if Necessary
Of course, open-source intranet software can be a great option for those who want to keep things cost-effective. At the same time, you can get the best functionalities that will address your most critical and basic needs.
As such, WordPress could be your most unconventional but best option since they have intranet plugins that may apply to your organization. Alternatively, Nextcloud could be an excellent option if you’re not inclined to spend a lot on licensing fees.
Other costs that could come into play when looking for open-sources may apply. They include but are not limited to hosting services or hiring technical support for any issues that could arise during the setup or usage phase.
Repurpose Existing Tools
If push comes to shove, repurposing might end up being your best option here. Especially if money is extremely tight to the point where investing in an intranet service might be a little far off (but not too far).
So it may be a good idea to make the best out of a not so great, but temporary, situation for the time being. Repurposing tools Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace might be great options for you since they both have intranet-like elements such as collaborative documents, shared drives, and communication.
A SharePoint site that is one of the best intranet features on Microsoft 365 can be great for putting everything together including documents, project updates, and more. Use this until you are ready to make the move into something better so long as you have the sustainable budget to do it. While repurposing is a good solution, it can be temporary until something better comes along.
Know The Must-Have Features For Your Needs
We cannot hammer home this point hard enough. The must-have features for an intranet solution should be enough to address the critical needs. Indeed, there are plenty of functionalities that will make us go “oooh” and “aaah”. However, it may be wise to stay focused on the features that actually matter most including:
- Document management systems (sharing and storage)
- Internal communication channels
- Navigation and search functions
- Employee directories
These features are some of the must-haves that you’ll need for your organization. Keep in mind that communication will be important between you and your employees, so you cannot skimp out on such features. Of course, document sharing and storage is a must to ensure collaboration and to have a place for documents in case they are needed for whatever reason.
Expand With Mobile Access
Intranet solutions don’t have to be strictly confined to just the office and their designated computers. Instead, why not go mobile? After all, even the existing tools that you could repurpose are also mobile-friendly. So it’s a win-win for you and your entire organization.
Most intranet solutions will likely have a designated mobile app that you and the organization can access. So long as you have your own login credentials, you can be able to access everything on your mobile device - any time, and any place. Further proof that there is no need to always meet at the office whenever something arises or if it’s the regular day of work.
We live in an age where we have the technological infrastructure to work just about anywhere. If the office environment and having everyone there is better for you, that’s fine. But don’t think for a moment that you’re not going to need to use the major features of your intranet solution on a mobile device.
Final Thoughts
These six cost-effective tips for launching an employee intranet will serve you well in the long run. Even if you don’t have enough money to purchase an intranet service just yet, leveraging existing tools will be an excellent idea to start out without having to break too much of the bank. After all, you have time and money to invest in other priorities that keep your organization going.
However, there are some non-negotiables when it comes to finding an employee intranet. That includes finding the features that will be best fit for your critical needs. From there, you will be able to get to work and your organization will handle the necessary tasks using intranet tools and more.
