11 Headache Curing Benefits of Intranet Portal Software

intranet portal software

There are countless tools out there that can make getting through the workday just a little bit easier, most of which result from technological advancements made over the course of just the past decade or so.

From software that makes it possible to communicate with employees and colleagues on the other side of the world in real time … to apps specifically designed to ensure that you don’t miss any important tasks or events throughout a day, the amount of options one has to choose from can be head-spinning.

It should come as no surprise that trying to combine a number of different business tools can lead to organizational breakdown.

The headaches associated with trying to juggle multiple applications and pieces of software can be enough to cause a significant amount of disruption to your workflow and should be avoided whenever possible.

Intranet portal software features built-in solutions to this all too common issue, compiling a number of tools into one simple package and thus improving organization right out of the gate.

There are a number of benefits that come along with using an intranet portal. It serves as a catalyst for productivity, and many people find it to be the most effective tool available at the moment for small, medium and large-sized businesses.

Take the following, for example, all of which can help to push your business in a forward direction.

1. You Can Streamline Conversations.

Many people view email as being the ultimate tool for communication for modern professionals. Email certainly has its time and place, but it can be cumbersome when used as a vehicle for business conversations inside your business.

If you’re leading a team of four of five people, it’s going to be a challenge for everyone to keep up with an email thread. The constant need to check/refresh for new messages makes it quite likely that something of importance will be overlooked.

You can replace email with an intranet portal. Disorganized conversations become a thing of the past. The right platform will allow everyone in the scenario described above to subscribe to a single conversation where updates will be published and notifications will be sent out to participating members in real time.

Conversations can be archived once a task or project has been completed and easily relocated if you need to go back to retrieve information. It’s everything you might love about email, except all of the hassle has been removed from the process.

2. You Can Search and Find for Qualified Employees Within Your Organization.

For medium and large-sized businesses, finding an expert among a pool of employees can be easier said than done. After all, it’s common for managers and CEOs to not be on a first-name basis with everyone who works for them, in which case … knowing who is an expert in what is not always in the cards.

When you’re looking for the right person to handle a specific project or task, the search process can take quite a bit of time. And you may not end up choosing the best candidate for the job.

Intranet software makes finding employees with specific expertise easier than ever. Employees can list specific traits, skills, and levels of expertise in their employee profiles, which can then be used as search terms that managers and CEOs can utilize to help narrow things down when they’re looking for qualified candidates.

The end result is not only a great deal of saved time, but better chances that the person you choose to handle a specific job will end up delivering.

3. Less Software and Different Logins to Manage.

When you’re using a number of different tools that don’t communicate with one another, managing them can become a full-time job in and of itself. Many people are faced with this unfortunate reality when attempting to use different software for email, project management, and document sharing, among other tasks.

Over time, the lack of organization associated with managing a number of different applications can lead to overlooking events, missing important deadlines or other problems.

One of the biggest perks associated with an intranet portal is that it pulls everything together into a single suite of business tools.

Your calendar, messaging system, and content creation platform not only live in the same place as one another, but can actually talk to each other as well, allowing you a great deal of flexibility.

Since you have less to manage, you’ll end up saving a good amount of time each day and will reduce the chances of suffering mistakes associated with a lack of organization.

4. Company Knowledge Gets Consolidated.

As your business grows, so too does tits knowledge. This can come in the form of internal content used to guide employees in the right direction, details surrounding customers and clients, well-described procedures, and more.

When you don’t have a platform to manage all this knowledge, it can be easy for things to get lost in the mix.

Hunting down information is time-consuming, especially when it’s buried deep down in a digital pile. Intranet postal software consolidates this and other pieces of information in a single space, making it easy to retrieve knowledge and data fast.

This is useful when it comes to Wikis and internal content, as you can tag content that you create with keywords to make going back and looking for it a simple, straightforward process that any employee can handle without the need for assistance. Many people don’t realize just how disorganized they’ve been until they start working with an intranet portal.

5. Improved Relationships with Customers.

While portal software is most typically used internally between employees and colleagues, it actually opens its functionality up to a larger degree when used for external purposes.

You can use your intranet portal to communicate with clients and customers in a more direct, intimate manner. This not only cuts down on frustration for both parties, but it puts you in a better light regarding how you’re viewed by your customer base.

Portal software can be used in a variety of ways to foster better customer support. You can allow customers to post reports of bugs and other issues, submit questions, and browse a knowledge base.

In the end, it’s a more modern approach to customer service.

6. You Will Save Money.

Many businesses try to get away with using a variety of different pieces of free software in an attempt to build their very own suite of business tools. While this may be effective at first, any successful business will inevitably outgrow free software and eventually start looking towards paid options.

Paying for a number of different proprietary tools can get expensive very quickly, often causing businesses to go over budget without even realizing it.

When you implement an intranet portal, you’re getting practically everything you need in a single suite. While the organizational benefits of this have already been explained, it’s important to also take into consideration just how much money you can save when you only have to pay for a single piece of software instead of a number of different applications.

Add to this the hassle-free task of having to pay just a single vendor for software services, and switching to an intranet portal becomes a no-brainer.

7. Better Employee Collaboration.

As technology advances, the importance of having a central physical office is dwindling more and more each year.

With the help of today’s business tools, employees can work on projects together, communicate in real time, and solve problems quickly and easily, even if they’re located on the other side of the world from one another.

Some of the tools used to facilitate working remotely leave a lot to be desired, and can even make working from home more difficult than easy. It’s an unfortunate reality, and one that causes many managers who give hiring remote workers a shot to change their mind and stick with a more traditional office model.

Portal software gets its name for a reason — it’s built to help employees work with each other in as efficient a manner as possible. Employees can communicate freely with one another, share documents, participate in discussions and more, all within a single space.

Intranet portal software makes it easer to collaborate. T takes all of the benefits of working remotely and does its best to remove the majority of the hassles associated with doing so.

8. Easy File Sharing.

Whether you’re working with another employee or simply going back and forth with a client or customer, you need to have the ability to share files with one another as easily as possible.

Despite where technology stands at the moment, file sharing is often made more difficult than it has to be, especially when it comes to files and documents that are large in size. The problems that can result from inefficient file sharing can get in the way of a project rather quickly, sometimes causing missed deadlines and other repercussions.

Business collaboration software makes document management as easy as it could possibly be. You can share files with the community, small groups or individuals with just a few clicks, and you won’t have to worry about running into space or bandwidth issues the way you might if you were to use a popular file sharing service. Once uploaded to the system files can easily be managed and organized in whatever fashion you choose.

9. More Effective Solutions and Idea Generation.

For most businesses, the task of the day is for employees to put their heads together and come up with solutions to problems and issues that might exist. This can be anything from developing a marketing campaign for a new product to finding ways to cut costs in the approaching quarter.

Stumbling upon solutions doesn’t just “happen” … it’s often earned through hours of brainstorming and critical thinking. When you don’t have the right tools on your side, this process can take even longer.

One reason why businesses should embrace portal software is that it can facilitate the creation of more effective solutions and ideas. Employees can debate and crowdstorm on a topic  all within a centralized space, just as if they were sitting next to each other at a conference table. It’s a much smoother process than going back and forth via email and teleconferencing. Achieving the results you’re looking for will typically come quicker than if you were to utilize a different platform for communication.

10. Simplified Content Management. 

If you’re looking to expand your business’s web presence, chances are you’re already aware of just how necessary it is to create great content and share it with the public, all the while linking via keywords and hotlinks to your website and business focus.

Portal software makes content management a simple, intuitive process that just about any employee can embrace without having to step outside of their comfort zone. You can publish Wiki articles right within the software itself, then push them out to clients, customers and the general public.

It’s an excellent way to get started with blogging as well, which can further increase your organization’s presence on the Internet.

11. Improved Team Management.

Managing a team requires you to have the right resources at your fingertips. Using email and basic project management software usually doesn’t get the job done. You need software that combines everything in one place, allowing you to manage a virtual team without issue.

When you use intranet portal software to manage a team of employees, everything is laid out right in front of you. You can communicate with everyone (or just certain individuals) in real time, upload important documents to the space, outline tasks that need to be completed, schedule meetings, and more. The more adept you become at using portal software, the more in control you’ll be when attempting to lead a team to victory.

In Conclusion.

Implementing intranet software is a big step forward, and one that can have a major impact in a short period of time. Once things get moving you’ll be amazed at how powerful it can be.

 

How to Know if Your Company Needs an Intranet


 

Author
Written by

Tim Eisenhauer is a co-founder of Axero Solutions, a leading intranet software vendor. He's also a bestselling author of Who the Hell Wants to Work for You? Mastering Employee Engagement. Tim’s been featured in Fortune, Forbes, TIME, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur, CNBC, Today, and other leading publications.

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