An intranet (from the Latin intra – internal – and English net – network) is a local corporate network resource that is available only to employees.
The network works within the company "for its own people" on the principle of the Internet. In this article, we will tell you more about the functions of an intranet portal, explain how to create your own, and share an example of how to use it.
Why does a company need an intranet portal?
The corporate portal gives employees quick access to various information, such as company policies, manuals, and training materials. With all the right documents and information at their fingertips, employees spend less time on tasks and are less likely to make mistakes.

In addition, the corportal is not only a "mini-Internet", but also an internal social network. The atmosphere in the team is more important than a high salary, according to research. An intranet can be a great tool for team building. It helps employees not only feel a sense of belonging to the life of the organization, but also to build deeper relationships with colleagues.

Examples of tasks that the intranet solves
Here are the five main functions of an intranet. Choose the ones you need or use them as inspiration to come up with something that's right for your team and business.

A collaborative space. Instead of time-consuming meetings, colleagues can discuss an issue in a chat in a few minutes. This will save you time that can be usefully spent on other tasks. And distributed teams will benefit from the implementation of the corportal even more than combined ones. After all, employees working in different geographical locations and time zones especially need the right space for communication. And sometimes not only on work topics.

Teaching. Create a course or video tour of the office for beginners, collect answers to frequently asked questions, and the adaptation of the employee will be easier. Courses, training videos, and tests for professional development can also be hosted directly on the platform.
Development of employee loyalty. In the internal blog, the company's top management will be able to directly report on the decisions made and explain the reasons for them. This, by the way, is a great substitute for mailing lists. Openness will add loyalty and reduce gossip. And employees' comments on the news can become a source of ideas and the basis for reforms. It is also possible to make ratings of the best employees, introduce incentives and thus stimulate healthy competition.
Organization of work with files and document flow. The intranet has everything you need to set up an internal document flow. Employees will be able to write memos and leave requests from the comfort of their desks. The portal can also be made a single window of access to external documents, especially if you work through electronic document management (EDM).

Personal profiles. Let everyone not only indicate their position and contacts, but also write about themselves. In this way, colleagues will be able to get to know each other better, and they will have new topics to talk about.

How to Implement an Intranet
The process consists of four steps.

Step 1: Define a specific goal. For example, reduce bureaucracy so that a service letter or a letter does not have to be signed in five offices.

Step 2: Choose a tool. 

Step 3: Tailor your Intranet. You can do it yourself or delegate it to a certified integrator. At the same stage, add the features you need to the intranet.

While the implementation team prepares the portal, prepare the content that you will fill it with. Welcome texts and templates for documents will be needed first.

Step 4: Develop a program and provide training for employees. That way, you can be sure they know how to use the new tool.

Advantages and disadvantages of an internal social network
One of the main advantages of an internal social network is simplified communication between employees. A successfully implemented intranet has every chance of becoming a platform where colleagues will exchange experiences, joke and come up with local memes. On New Year's Eve, you can start a vote on the location of a corporate party, and on a normal day, you can write an open post of gratitude to a colleague who picked up an urgent task from an important client the day before and thereby saved the project. Employees will feel that they are important.

In addition, the intranet will help to establish connections between departments.If previously designers and managers communicated only through managers, now they will get to know each other directly, and many issues will be resolved much faster.

The disadvantage of the system stems from its advantages: a team that has become friends can be distracted from work by posts on the intranet. To avoid potential problems, make it clear to employees at launch that this is primarily a work tool created for convenience, not entertainment.