What Is an HR Intranet and How Can You Create One for Your Company?

Ever wish you could make your human resources department run a little smoother?

Enter the HR Intranet — the digital nerve center of your company that links everyone together. An HR intranet can help human resource personnel to streamline their work and improve employee relations and collaboration.

So, if you're a human resources leader, you're in the right place. Stay with us and let's delve into how this technology helps companies function more smoothly — and how you can launch one for your own organization.

What Is an HR Intranet?

An HR intranet is essentially a private, online network designed for a specific audience — in this case, a company's employees. Think of it as the digital information desk for your entire company — a central hub where all your HR-related content, resources, and tools are stored and easily accessible. It’s where communication, collaboration, and productivity happens.

Its main purpose is to serve as a one-stop hub, or employee portal, where team members can interact, share resources, communicate, undergo training, exchange feedback, and collaborate on various tasks. This centralized platform is exclusive to your company, and provides a secure space for internal operations. It also helps foster a more efficient and cohesive workplace. 

Why Use an HR Intranet?

Intranets help HR leaders and departments improve efficiency in ways that serve both the company and its employees. Its features and benefits vary depending on what system you use and how you customize it. 

HR Intranet can also:

• Provide employee self-service: Employees enjoy quick access to critical information such as employee handbooks, benefits information, and leave policies. They can also submit time-off requests.
• Foster collaboration: Employees can access shared filing systems and chat rooms.
• Enhance communications: Share news, announcements, and training materials with your employees.
• Generate reports: Human resource departments can generate reports on metrics such as employee turnover and job satisfaction.
• Improve internal hiring processes: Managers can track information that helps with internal recruitment and promotions, such as employee resumes, completed training courses, milestones, and performance reviews.

At the heart of any successful company is a human resource leader or department with more responsibilities than most people can imagine. An HR intranet can help improve their processes for more efficient, and personalized, company-wide service.

What Should Be Included in an HR Intranet?

Before you begin building an intranet, you’ll want to define your goals and determine what features and benefits are most important to you. Understanding what the system is capable of will help you with that

Depending on your industry and the size of your company, the features that matter most may be very different from other companies. But this list will help you jump-start the design of your intranet, so you’re clear on the features and goals that matter most.

Employee Features

1. Employee handbook: A central library of information about company policies and procedures. It should be easy to find and navigate.
2. Benefits information: Full details about benefits like health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.
3. Leave policies: Guidelines on leave policies, such as sick leave, vacation leave, and parental leave.
4. Onboarding materials: Employee welcome kits and training resources.
5. Standard forms and templates: Expense reports, timesheets, performance reviews, and other forms related to their job.
6. Communication tools: Company forum or chat room, to stay connected with each other and with HR.
7. Training materials: Any online courses and tutorials the company provides.

HR Features

On the company end, an HR intranet can generate a variety of internal reports, such as:

• Employee productivity reports
• Attendance and time reports
• Employee engagement reports
• Training and development reports
• Recruitment and retention reports
• Compliance reports
• Employee benefits usage

Bonus Features

You might want to add a few extra features to help boost employee engagement, such as:

• Employee profiles: Employees can create and maintain their own profiles, which can include information about their skills, interests, and availability.
• Employee directory: A directory of other employees, including their contact information and job titles.
• Company culture: You can offer ways to promote your company culture and values through articles, videos, and other content.

By considering the features listed above, you’re on the way to creating an HR intranet that improves your efficiency, employee engagement, and communication.

How Do You Create an HR Intranet?

Once you’ve clearly defined your goals for the intranet and made a list of features that are a priority to you, you’re ready to begin building your HR intranet.

Step 1: Choose a Platform

There are many platforms available for creating HR intranets. Some of the best, according to G2 customer ratings, are:

• Workvivo
• Simpplr
• Staffbase
• Jostle
• Empuls

However, you might also want to consider a platform that’s designed specifically for your industry, with features and tools that cater to your type of company.

When choosing a platform, look for a user-friendly UI, and outstanding training and customer support resources. Also, check out whether it includes (or will include) the latest AI technology.

Step 2: Build Your Intranet

How you approach building your intranet depends on the platform you choose and how you want to approach it. Being crystal clear on your goals and top features can often help you make the best decisions about how to build out your system.

You may take a DIY approach, pass it off to the IT department, hire a contractor, or work closely with the platform’s support team to build it.

Step 3: Populate Your Intranet

Once you’re done building, you’re ready to populate it with content. This includes employee handbooks, benefits information, leave policies, and other HR-related documents.

Step 4: Promote Your Intranet

Now that the heavy lifting is done, on to the fun part — promoting it to your employees. 

You can encourage employees to use the HR intranet by sending out emails, creating announcements, and providing training on how to use it.

Creating an HR intranet can be a complex process, but the results are worth it. By following the steps above, you can create an intranet that meets your needs and helps you achieve your goals.

Supporting Employee Wellbeing Through HR Intranet

A human resources intranet is more than just a tool for increased efficiency. It’s a way to support employee wellbeing by helping them feel more informed, connected, and in control of their work-life wellness. By giving employees easy access to important information and resources, you help them feel more connected to the company — and enable them to take control over their wellbeing.

For instance, with self-serve access, team members can easily submit time off requests to balance work with rest and avoid burnout. They can also view key benefits information, including info about your corporate wellness program, to understand the resources available to support their health and wellness.

Wellness programs often include a suite of services that are meant to support all areas of an employees’ health — physical, emotional, mental, even financial. Whether they’re looking for counseling services, fitness classes or challenges, or health and nutrition education, your employees can find exactly what they need listed in your HR intranet and get signed up. 

Find out more about how to tailor your wellness program to your team’s needs by speaking to a Wellhub wellbeing specialist today!

References

• Best Employee Intranet Software. G2. Retrieved July 18, 2023 from https://www.g2.com/categories/employee-intranet 
• Blum, Sam. (April 10, 2023.) Generative AI is coming for HR: Watch out for these impact areas in the near term. HR Brew. Retrieved July 18, 2023 from https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2023/04/10/generative-ai-is-coming-for-hr-watch-out-for-these-impact-areas-in-the-near-term