If you are a communications professional, you likely understand the anguish of trying to get critical corporate messages out.

First there is the crafting of the message to ensure that it’s relevant. Then there is finding the right medium and hoping that it reaches your target audience. And finally, there is the acknowledgment and measurement that all went according to plan. In other words, you need some proof that everyone actually read your message. Corporate communications is no easy task. Complicating matters is the fact that most employees often feel completely out of the loop, with no idea about what's happening elsewhere in the company.

Is it any wonder that corporate communicators are constantly searching for better ways to communicate?

Sure email helps. But declining opening rates coupled with too many messages can prevent critical communication from getting through. What you really need is a portal that all your employees can access, and most importantly, want to access. For lucky communication professionals, this portal is a corporate intranet. Here’s why:

Improving Employee Morale

Improving employee morale might not seem like a job for a corporate communications professional. However a lot of communication professionals usually take on this role instinctively. Why? Because they’re often the creators of the communication in the first place, and they know also that happy organizations outperform miserable ones. The more employees know, the more effective they are at their jobs.

Increase Productivity

People don’t often realize that low productivity is usually a result of poor communication. Improve your communication, and you'll also improve productivity. This is especially helpful in companies where departments are siloed, and one department might not always be aware of what others are working on. Again, communications professionals may not actively be trying to increase productivity, but the better able they are to foster company-wide communication, the more productive the company will be overall.

Discovery of Ideas and Solutions

Ideas that emerge from employees are the magic of any business. But how can those ideas be leveraged if they aren’t shared? Your intranet can provide a way for employees to contribute ideas, possibly leading to innovative products and services. Many high performing companies hold contests and polls on their intranet for this exact purpose.

Crisis Communications

Nothing creates more panic and confusion than trying to avoid or bury a crisis. Your employees may not need to know every detail, but they do deserve to be updated and kept in the loop as much as possible. An intranet provides an effective portal for communicating important messages from your company and leadership. And because it can be updated in real time, employees get the inside scoop instantaneously.

Simplified Contact Information

Do you know how to get hold of everyone in your organization in a pinch? What if there were an emergency? Modern intranets contain a wide range of employee contact information including email, direct and cell phone numbers, social media accounts and more, giving you multiple ways to get in touch quickly if the need arises..

CEO Engagement

How do your employees engage with your executive? Savvy comms and HR professionals leverage intranets to transmit important information from leadership. For example, consider the communication power your CEO could have if there was a specific “Ask the CEO” section on your intranet? And imagine how empowered employees would feel if they could not only provide feedback directly to your leader but interact with him/her as well? Intranets take “open door” to a whole new level.

Metrics

Communications professional depend on metrics to understand and measure the strength of their messaging. The best part of a corporate intranet is the immediate validation that it’s making an impact! Popular KPIs including log-ins, page views, likes and form downloads, all provide insight into what content is hitting the mark with your teams.