When businesses think of ways that the Internet can serve their interests, they most commonly think of an external, customer-focused Web site. For some, it's just a marketing site. For others, e-commerce applications make sense. And that kind of work is surely the largest part of IMA's practice.
But it would be a mistake to ignore the impact that an Intranet – a web site designed and developed primarily for employees – can have on a business. Once the domain of only the largest companies, Intranets or, using the trendier name, Corporate Portals, are increasingly being built by and for large to mid-size companies. And they, too, are seeing ROI (return on investment) in productivity gains and customer satisfaction.
A survey conducted last year by Harris Interactive for agency.com sought to quantify the value that a robust Intranet site of corporate information and intelligence. Harris interviewed employees of large global companies primarily in the banking, telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries. The results indicated a company of 5,000 employees could save nearly $20 million annually through effective use of an Intranet. (The figure is based on employees' self-reported savings of 2.8 hours per week -- or 7.1% of their time – at a loaded annual cost of $55,000 per employee.)
How can an Intranet rack up those kinds of productivity gains, you may ask yourself? Well, just think of all of the convenient applications of your favorite e-commerce site being turned inside out – and targeted at the information and routines of your company – and you will begin to understand how.
Need detailed information about a product or process? Don’t go to the file cabinet in the hallway. Just go to the Intranet search engine and commence a document lookup. Trying to match an available technician against the requirements of a project? Don’t dial the department head. Do a database match on the Intranet and identify the most appropriate candidates in an instant.
With the cost of technology dropping and sophistication of applications rising, the same high-end features that make e-commerce sites such as amazon.com and eBay so fast, vast, and easy-to-use can now be available to help employees do their jobs. And both job satisfaction and productivity can only benefit.
The kicker is that the well-designed Intranet can also have a positive impact on customer satisfaction. Customer service reps have always had the best information services in a company at their disposal. But the Intranet can give them even more than the customer and product information they generally have at their fingertips. And departments such as Human Resources, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications are the greatest beneficiaries of the outward-looking Intranet – with a new command over information and its dissemination.
There was a time when corporate Intranets were thought of as little more than the digital delivery of benefits information and the company newsletter. But those days have long past. So call it what you will: an Intranet or a Corporate Portal. Just don’t ignore the opportunity.
