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People have tried for years to relegate intranets to the dustbin, calling them irrelevant, poorly executed or more recently, an anachronism in these heady days of AI.
And while there are multiple reasons for intranets’ image problems, one of the main reasons is this: there are a lot of bad intranets out there.
Lack of investment and effective stewardship, the gradual disintegration of governance and good intentions after launch, out of date content, hard to find items due to too much noise, outdated interfaces — all of these cause employees to lose trust in the intranet. Stakeholders turn to other solutions such as SharePoint sites and channels like email.
These bad intranets have company in the form of average or adequate intranets, intranets that perform some tasks and deliver some value, but don’t exactly set the world on fire.
What appears to be missing is a shortage of truly great intranets.
What Distinguishes a Good Intranet From a Great Intranet?
Make no mistake: in spite of their bad reputation, intranets remain a staple of the enterprise technology landscape after three decades. Over the years they have grown increasingly sophisticated, absorbed multiple new features and have continued to evolve.
All to say, a great intranet is possible.
The distinction between a good intranet and a great intranet is clear to intranet veteran Beth Gleba, senior director of digital workplace at BCD Travel.
“A good intranet is functional. It gets the job done … but it does not propel the organization forward,” she said. “A great intranet operates on an entirely different level. It is built to last and designed to adapt. It doesn’t just hold information — it drives engagement, alignment and action. It moves the needle in ways that are measurable and meaningful.”
Step Two founder and author James Robertson believes the distinction lies in the difference it makes to the working day.
“Good intranets are easy to use and well managed — the ones you wouldn’t turn off. Great intranets are a key part of day-to-day work and directly support business goals — the ones you can’t live without,” he said.
A great intranet is also firmly focused on solving real world business problems, where the positive impact of the intranet can be directly connected to business outcomes, continued Gleba.
Setting the Right Foundations
If a great intranet’s features and content focus on solving the kind of everyday problems that employees face, how do teams ensure their intranet has this focus? Having the right foundations in place, including effective governance and close relationships with other business stakeholders are key.
“Over the years, what we at Step Two have consistently seen is that great intranets are delivered by successful teams, who first and foremost are effective at working with all the key business stakeholders. These teams also put in place strong governance that enables their intranets to steadily improve over time, rather than being launch-and-forget sites,” Robertson said.
Robertson also stressed the continual improvement needed for an intranet transformation. This isn't a single project. “While the intranet might need to be rebuilt or migrated to a new platform, it’s the month-by-month improvements that are delivered post-launch that are the mark of high-performing intranets.”
Gleba said four key foundations need to be in place to establish a great intranet:
- A clear user-centered purpose that focusses on solving problems and making work easier.
- A method to regularly capture user input and use feedback loops to keep the intranet relevant and valuable.
- A clear definition of the intranet’s role in the broader digital ecosystem that supports connected user journeys and seamless work.
- A layered governance model that covers strategy, operations and content involving the right people at the right levels.
How Do You Move Forward With Intranet Governance?
Intranet governance isn’t exactly a topic that people get excited about. ‘Governance’ has a whiff of bureaucracy and the need to enforce rules about it. Intranet professionals tend to be people that like to say yes rather than no, which means at times they may be reluctant to introduce, and then enforce, governance.
However, governance is essential to move an intranet from good to great.
Governance is effectively the entire operating model for an intranet. It’s necessary to have the specific policies, processes, roles, structures, guidance and support at different levels to:
- Ensure strategic alignment between the intranet and business strategy, with high-level representation from multiple stakeholders who can unlock budget, so the intranet remains a strategic asset.
- Underpin the operational processes that drive day-to-day management and continuous improvement. This way the intranet remains efficient, secure and user-focused, with a roadmap that adds new features and content.
- Support relevant, up-to-date, accurate, findable and engaging content, to help maintain trust and value in the intranet and its content as well as reduce noise to support a better search.
Governance can involve a lot of work. You will need to define detailed processes, change the way content owners work, win back support from stakeholders, prepare support resources and more.
However, Robertson stresses that intranet governance isn’t something that needs to be established overnight. Governance can be introduced gradually, and align with approaches for continual improvement.
“Governance is a means to an end, so it’s vital to have a clear vision, strategy and roadmap. Governance can then be ‘built out’ from there, piece by piece as the opportunities arise,” Robertson said.
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Gleba also recommends a gradual and pragmatic approach to introducing governance, but acknowledges that even this isn't always straightforward.
“Establishing governance can feel overwhelming, but the key is to start where you are. Recognize that governance is a long-term game. It’s not about achieving perfection right away, but about making steady, incremental improvements,” she said.
The process of continual improvement for governance keeps the intranet focused on successful changes that align with wider organizational goals, as well as establishes when elements aren’t delivering value.
“Be willing to let go of what’s not working. This can be difficult, especially when certain features or content areas have passionate supporters,” Gleba said.
Creating a Great Intranet When You Have Limited Resources
One of the real challenges of taking an intranet from good to great is the limited resources available for intranet managers and teams. The technology might be clunky or outdated and intranet teams often consist of a team of one full-time employee or a few people who only devote part of their role to the intranet.
Even with limited resources, there are ways to move the needle.
“Even when resources are tight, and tools are limited, in my 30 years of working in this space I’ve never encountered a situation where real improvements are impossible. But the tighter the constraints, the better your planning and scoping needs to be,” Robertson said.
There are always intranet improvements to make, despite limited resources, agreed Gleba.
“There’s no doubt that resources — whether budget, people or technology — play a big role in improving an intranet. But they’re not the only path to success. The key is to make the most of what you have and build from there.”
Limited resources inevitably means intranet improvements will be delivered gradually or in a phased way, which again supports the importance of continuous intranet improvement.
The wide range of features and content and modular structures of intranets means they lend themselves to smaller, iterative changes. And with many intranet projects initially delivered as minimum viable products (MVPs), iterations are planned from day one.
The Additional Secret Sauce to Transform the Intranet
The combination of highly effective teams, solid strategic foundations, a clear approach to intranet governance, strong relationships with stakeholders and ongoing continual improvement means even resource-strapped intranet teams have every chance to move their intranet from good to great over time. The change might not be overnight, but it will come.
There is one additional ingredient that could just be the “special sauce” that makes all the difference: a positive mindset that’s rooted in passion, patience and persistence for what you do.
“If you want to take your intranet from average to exceptional, you need to love it and the potential it has. Then spread that belief — because transformation starts with optimism,” Gleba concluded.
Editor's Note: Read more about intranet challenges and questions below:
- Why You Need an Intranet Content Strategy — The time to revisit — or create — your intranet strategy is before you introduce generative AI to the intranet.
- So You Want to Build a SharePoint Intranet. Here's What to Know — SharePoint intranets hold potentials and pitfalls. A look at the hidden costs, challenges and implications for communications professionals.
- Will Generative AI Spell the End of the Intranet as We Know It? — AI chatbots have the potential to shift our entire approach to intranet functionality.
