No one likes a bad first impression.
If you have an intranet homepage that’s so cluttered that users are trying to close the window before they’ve even started work, it’s time to reassess the design.
Here at Attollo, our team can help you design a homepage that is perfect for your workforce and provides them quick access to what they need the most. This could be something they use frequently like a calendar, news centre or a star performance chart. Basically, any app or tool that staff need daily should be instantly obvious.
Read on to discover what you should (and shouldn’t) be including on your homepage in 2022.
What puts users off an intranet design?
Attention spans are shorter than ever so it’s time for a fresh approach if you want to make sure your employees’ voices are heard.
Here are a few pointers to avoid:
- Bad navigation: If it’s too hard to find content, it won’t be found, and this can result in poor productivity
- Poor layout: If you can’t see the woods for the trees, that’s a sure sign that employees will be disengaged. If there is too much to look at and the layout is a mess, that’s a definite no-go.
- Inability to search: If content can’t be found easily, staff can turn off and choose not to use the intranet at all.
- Colour clashes: People want to be able to read text easily. While you sometimes want text to stand out, perhaps on coloured backgrounds, you don’t want a headache.
The key is to make sure your intranet is fresh, relevant, and kept up to date. You can then rest assured that workers are engaged and want to come back for more.
So, what exactly should you be aiming for when it comes to modern-day intranethomepage design?
Design for a good user experience
Pretty obvious, right? But the best way to begin a design Is to ask your team what is working well for them, what they like and dislike, as well as what would make their lives easier. This is easy to find out with quick polls or intranet analytics.
It’s all about creating the ultimate user experience–that is great communication, improved productivity and engaged employees. When you know what makes your staff tick, you’ll be able to create the content they want to read, that is relevant to them. You could create a bespoke homepage for each user or one that is targeted towards certain teams, making sure the tools or apps they need to do their job are readily accessible, from whatever device they choose to use. For example, they could save their frequently visited links.
Content is king
Content should always be a priority for the homepage with your latest information near the top. We do live in a world of scrolling and so your work is far less likely to be discovered if it’s placed low down on your homepage.
You may well be able to boast about the amazing functionality of Attollo but with that, the content needs to be owned and updated regularly. If a Spotlight is going to be the way that new recruits are introduced to your business, this needs to be done for everyone who joins thereafter.
It’s a good idea to pick someone or a small group to oversee content priority as there may be clashes when it comes to whose links are placed on the homepage and for how long.
Put ownership on users
Once the intranet is up and running it needs to be kept up to date. No one wants to read about job promotion opportunities from 2019. Staff should be aware that they should always be tweaking content to make it relevant for users. They can find out what users want to see by using quick polls, in a forum or steering group.
A way to communicate
If you want to encourage great collaboration and a sense that your workplace is a community, you need to make sure that a means of instant communication is implemented on your homepage.
Social networking is a good feature to include on your homepage – a place to connect with other staff that is immediately obvious as soon as they log in. Giving staff the chance to like, tag or comment in threads, comment on articles in the news centre or answer a quick survey gives staff the chance to have their say, making sure all voices are heard, whatever their position in your company.
A people directory is very handy to include. It makes staff easy to find to collaborate on future projects. This is a particularly effective tool when teams are in different offices or countries.
Good navigation
Minimalist yet modern designs are the way forward when it comes to intranets. The ability for a user to easily search a site is crucial as nothing is more off-putting than clutter. Your main aim should be to make the experience intuitive and responsive because staff will be used to the modern media and gadgets that they have at home and will expect their workplace tech to compare. Remember the easier you make your site to navigate, the more productive your staff will be. No one wants to search for a simple form for25 minutes that could be easily found in a click.
Your branding
Make staff feel like they are ‘at home’ by creating intranet branding to match your company and show your identity. A cohesive brand experience gives employees a strong sense of belonging. Create a feeling of company culture, as well as a sense of vision and mission by ensuring a consistent colour scheme is incorporated within your intranet design. A user-friendly visual design will help with direction in giving users clues to how certain functions should be used to provide context to other objects.
Want to know more?
Attollo can create a customised homepage to suit your company whatever its size, making it accessible, efficient, intuitive, and personalised.
If you’d like to speak to one of our experts about the ultimate intranet design, contact us today.