Intranet Branding

One of the most important ways an agency can bear influence in the development of their client's intranet is by focusing on how the intranet will brand and position the company to their employees. Some companies assume that their employees have a good grasp of what's going on within the company. In fact it's often the employees that lack the big picture of their company's goals. This can cause confusion over why the company might make certain decisions or take the direction that is does. In the same way that many agencies get involved with creating corporate newsletters, the same strategic thinking that goes into a newsletter needs to be included in an intranet. Putting forth the corporate vision, communicating the brand, and positioning the company needs to be done in the mind of the employees as well as in the marketplace. The intranet is a great place to do this work.

Keeping the message and brand image consistent throughout a company's intranet will help to keep personnel focused and employee morale up. Simply posting marketing pieces and press releases to the intranet will help to provide a clear message to the entire organization. Allowing employees to ask questions and communicate across departments will also help motivate and educate the staff. Intranet based polls that illicit input from the staff can demonstrate that management values the ideas and perspectives of the entire company. An employee highlight area can provide a broader view of what's happening in the company as well as show how individual achievement is recognized and rewarded. These kinds of ideas are often not considered when an intranet is designed. The perspective of the agency can help craft a greater vision for how the intranet will impact the entire company.

There is much to be gained by having the agency involved in the development of an intranet. This involvement may be limited to giving advice or providing layouts for the look and feel, or it may be as extensive as leading the project.

When you begin to take a role in developing your client's intranet, there are some political and technological issues you need to be aware of. The following section describes some of these concerns so that you will have a level of comfort navigating the waters of intranet development.