Managing an intranet is a team effort. For many, the idea of governing your intranet can seem a bit overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! Effective intranet governance provides clarity on project goals and aims, creates an avenue for learning and reviewing, and overall, keeps employees on the same page.
Here are 4 steps to improve your intranet governance:
1. Start with a clear strategy & mandate
The simplest way to create a strong, streamlined intranet governance policy is to divide everything into clear departments. Think about the objectives for your intranet. What is it for, and for whom?
You should also get clear on your mandate. This may include your organization’s values and ethos, informed by its mission statement and overall vision. You should also be clear on the role of internal communications. What is its purpose within your organization? Knowing these principles will guide any decision-making on intranet-related matters down the road.
Related reading: Building a strong internal comms mandate
2. Designate someone to be responsible for the intranet
Effective governance requires a framework that fuels the decision-making and planning processes for your company intranet. It provides support for the intranet team and ensures everything runs seamlessly.
Knowing who has the authority to make decisions and approvals is key to this whole policy. We like to call this a “super admin”, or intranet head honcho. This person will be the one your employees turn to when they are faced with an intranet problem. This user has the ability to make software updates or upgrades and to tackle any troubleshooting issues.
Related reading: Learn the best practices of effective intranet governance
3. Outline everyone’s responsibilities
There are many functions involved in running an intranet, from producing content to creating site structure. There is no one-size-fits-all approach here. For some organizations, one function will be handled by one or more people or vice versa. Regardless of the number or distribution of these roles, they should be clearly defined and communicated across the company.
Make sure to document accountabilities so that there is no confusion about who is responsible for what.
4. Gather feedback about your intranet governance regularly
We talk a lot about the importance of gathering data and analyzing metrics, and it absolutely applies here, too! Your intranet governance should include tools to gather feedback and the systems to act on any changes.
As with other aspects of your internal communications, user feedback is key to improving your intranet by tackling any issues as they arise. Additionally, you might set up formal groups of users, content owners, and super users who can give more structured controlled feedback on a regular basis.
Improve your intranet governance with our free template
There you have it! Remember, your intranet governance framework shouldn’t be overly complicated or rigid. It’s simply there to keep things running smoothly.
Managing an intranet usually involves people from multiple departments who are responsible for their own pages and sites. Our team created a clear, easy-to-use template that can help you keep track of who those people are and what they are responsible for. As your intranet starts to naturally evolve you will likely start to use additional functionality, responsibilities will change, so it’s worth updating this document to keep track. Download the template here.
If you’re in the market for a new intranet software, we can also help you out there. Our solution is easy-to-use, packed with the features you need to do your job efficiently, and we’ll provide you with more best practices along the way, too. Book your free demo today to see our intranet in action!
