Building a Modern Intranet for Non-profits

We’ve been having some fantastic conversations with leaders all over North America about what their intranets and knowledge-base systems do well and what they do, ahem, not so well. Unfortunately, more times than not, companies and nonprofits suffer from out-dated technology and a lack of resources and effort spent on nurturing strong internal communications. Here are some lessons we’ve learned about building a modern intranet for nonprofits.

With our Social Streams product release date around the corner, we’ve already integrated it as a module inside intranets and websites. People want to share what they are up to and connect with their work-mates, but they’re unlikely to load yet another app just to do so. That’s why, with Social Streams integration, teams can share photos, video or text updates via the channels they already publish to like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and others. Teams can share moments simply by using a hashtag which can be moderated or published immediately

Great design and user-experience is key to engaging and retaining users on your intranet. There is no reason why your intranet shouldn’t be every bit as visually stunning as your website. You should think of it as a website – only it’s for your most important customers and brand evangelists – your staff.

To keep up in today’s marketplace, your team needs access to information and resources online, wherever they are. With the mainstreaming of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), we’re seeing work forces on all different kinds of devices and operating systems. While you can’t accommodate everyone, the most consistent way to reach most is a web-based application that is mobile-first in its design thinking.  Paradigms are shifting: mobile design is beginning to dictate web design (as opposed to the opposite in years past).

Building on the previous points, the millennial workforce is a major focus of our thinking and products. Millennials grew up in a different era and expect a radically different experience than their predecessors. Millennials expect instant access to information, with little or no training needed. There is a design and interface language that they understand intrinsically that none of the traditional intranets speak. Beyond design, millennials are restless and expect instant access to information and opportunities to learn at their own pace. E-Learning offers the ability for millennials to learn on their own and  accelerate their careers.