The HR intranet serves as an online single source of truth where employees can access employee-related documents and HR information.
A successful HR intranet is one where employees come back to stay on top of everything they are working on and more. The problem is, intranets are not always ingrained in a company’s processes or culture. Either employees do not know their intranet exists, do not know how to use it, or don’t have any reason to.
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The Benefits of an HR Intranet for HR
The People & Culture /HR department has a major stake in the success of an intranet by making information, FAQs and forms accessible via the intranet.
Implementing an HR intranet offers numerous benefits beyond time-saving for HR professionals. It streamlines access to important HR documents and information for employees, reducing the need for manual inquiries and administrative tasks.
This allows HR teams to allocate their time more efficiently, focusing on strategic initiatives that drive business growth and enhance employee satisfaction.
Additionally, an HR intranet promotes transparency and self-service, empowering employees to find answers to their HR-related queries independently, thereby fostering a culture of autonomy and accountability within the organisation.
What Information to Include in the HR Employee Portal
The content on the HR portal should at least include:
- Company policies: Code of Conduct, Health & Safety, Diversity & Inclusion and more.
- HR forms: travel & expense declaration and/or mileage allowance forms.
- Calendar: public holidays, salary pay date and training events.
- Find your colleagues: contact details of colleagues and managers.
- FAQ: overview of frequently asked questions, including HR process guidelines.
How to Create an HR Intranet
1. Impact of a Publication including Policy
As well as informing employees about new policies, content should include details on the implications of new policies for the way employees work, claim benefits, or advance in their careers. Make sure to have also quick links to relevant tools or systems, such as Workday, Concur, benefits software and other HR Information Systems.
2. Interactive Content
Make sure to have less manuals and incorporate also annotated slideshow or a quiz with FAQs.
3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Frequently Asked Questions will support employees in finding the answers first on the intranet before contacting HR. The FAQs could be collated on a separate page and/or included on the page per HR topic. Another great functionality is to install a searchable portal option, as a list of pages will appear per search key word.
4. Video Tutorials of Common Processes
The usage of the portal will be stimulated by varying the use of tutorials about forms and steps. There should be still process description in a PowerPoint, but video tutorials will support employees also to navigating HR transactions and reduce the number of “help” emails to HR.
5. Frequently Made Mistakes (FMMs)
Just as employees have FAQs, they also have Frequently Made Mistakes (FMMs). Find a way to include these by pointing out to employees, for example, mistakes they usually make when filling forms or common mistakes that delay certain requests.
6. Career Development Opportunities
Makes sure to include the tools and links for training and development to enhance the careers of employees. Provide clear instruction on how to apply for an open position, including the internal application and interview process.
7. HR Intranet Metrics and data
Design the HR portal/intranet in such a way employee can vote in polls, discuss topics in a forum and/or like the blogs and internal communication. Ensure the back-end data is gathered on the amount of users visiting a page and/or downloading documentation.
8. Relevant Links to Government Regulations and Laws
Companies are subject not only to company policies, but also to government laws on, for example privacy (GDPR) and leaves of absence regulations. The single source of this information is the government, therefore, and instead of copying the content of these site on to the intranet, make sure to include the links to these sites as single source / owners of the content.
9. Health & Wellness
Incorporate small reminders, engaging cartoons, informative articles, and helpful videos on topics such as health, fitness, diet, and stress management. These resources will all contribute in maintaining the well-being of employees and fostering a healthy work environment.
More Information
Implementing an HR intranet has led to improvements in communication, efficiency, collaboration and productivity. It displays the role of the HR function and creates the opportunity to share with employees and managers standard business practices and corporate guidelines in a constructive way.
If you want to learn more about how we have implemented successful HR intranets in organisations for multiple countries, just contact us.
