In the fast-paced world of business communication, intranets are turning from boring information pages into dynamic platforms for collaboration and interaction. One social intranet has the potential to improve communication and collaboration, leading to increased productivity and employee satisfaction. But for that, the intranet must suit your employees. In this blog, we tell you exactly how to do that.
Research by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) (2012) shows that by using a social intranet, employees spend 25 to 30 percent less time communicating and collaborating. Time is also saved in other parts of the work. For example, employees spend 30 to 35 percent less time looking up information. In total, this results in an improvement in productivity of 20 to 25 percent. In addition to gains in productivity, Akkirman and Harris (2005) come to the conclusion that employee satisfaction also increases thanks to the use of a social intranet.
A good social intranet focuses on the needs of employees
To get the most out of your social intranet, it is important that the platform is actually used by employees. Because each employee has different needs, ideas and ways of working, the social intranet must connect with the end users. You can achieve this by using personas, giving you a good idea of the needs of employees and how to set up an intranet that makes their work life easier, more fun and noticeably improves them.
Create personas to map your users
If you don't map your users beforehand, you'll miss support. We help our customers to ensure that the technology of your social intranet best meets the needs of the employees. That is why we recommend making a clear outline of different end users by means of personas.
What is a persona?
A persona is a characterization of a particular type of user. Based on input from the organization, you can set up different profiles that each represent a certain type of user: the persona. This makes personas a good tool to always focus on the end user during the development process in the project group.
What kind of personas do you have?
By setting up personas, you can clearly indicate who a typical user of the social intranet is. By developing personas that accurately reflect the diversity within the organization, organizations can gain insight into the needs, motivations and challenges of their employees. This makes it clear who the users are and what the crucial success factors in using the intranet are for them.
7 steps to effectively use personas
The following are a few steps to effectively use personas in understanding the target group for a social intranet:
1. Gather Information: Start collecting data about employees and their work context. This can be done through interviews, surveys, observations, and analysis of existing data.
2. Identify Target Groups: Segment the employee population into different target groups based on demographics, job titles, departments, work locations, etc. Focus on all the different target groups you have, such as ages, responsibilities, departments, the digital fan and the digital person. Each target group has unique needs and priorities.
3. Create Personas: For each target group, you develop a persona that represents the most important characteristics, goals, behaviors and needs of that group. Give the persona a name and face to increase empathy and engagement.
4. Answer Important Questions: Use the personas to answer crucial questions about using the social intranet, such as:
- What does a typical workday look like for this persona?
- What goals do they want to achieve with the intranet?
- What online activities do they carry out while they work?
- What information do they need to do their job well?
- What are the most important pain points they may experience with current intranet use?
- What would make the intranet successful for this persona?
5. Create Empathy: Use stories, scenarios, or fictional “day in the life” descriptions to bring the personas to life and show the challenges and needs they face.
6. Adjust Strategies: Use the insights from the personas to adapt the strategies for developing and implementing the social intranet. Make sure that features, content, and user experience are tailored to the needs of the different personas.
7. Continuous Evaluation: Keep evaluating and updating the personas and their needs on a regular basis based on user feedback and changing business conditions.
By using personas as a guide to understanding the target group, you as an organization can respond even better to the needs of your employees and create a social intranet that actually adds value to the work environment. With a deeper insight into the user experience, you as a company increase engagement, stimulate adoption and improve the overall efficiency of your internal communication platform. Isn't that exactly what you want?
Do you have questions or want to know more about personas and the possibilities of Embrace's social intranet? Feel free to contact our experts, we are always there for you!
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