With so many different touchpoints to choose from, it can be tricky for organisations to decide where to invest their attention and resources when it comes to enhancing employee experience.

Businesses often prioritise recruitment or onboarding, but the experience of existing employees can sometimes fall by the wayside and lead to disengagement or a lack of connection.

When it comes to the digital employee experience, there’s an entire ecosystem to explore; digital collaboration tools, online onboarding platforms, project and time management systems the list goes on. But many of our clients start by investing in a thriving, engaging internal intranet.

A central hub where employees can connect and collaborate can be transformational in supercharging an organisation’s ambitious growth plans, boosting productivity, and strengthening culture. ‍

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A space to collaborate‍

Today, almost every large organisation has a distributed workforce. Whether its employees are in different cities or continents, an online space where people can connect has never been more important.

Where this doesn’t exist, organisations risk missing out on the many benefits of employees collaborating, sharing information, and exchanging and developing new ideas. A virtual space where employees can communicate and collaborate openly also minimises the risk of duplication and allows resources to be allocated in the most efficient way, maximising overall organisational productivity.

Inspiring this level of global connection and collaboration was one of our primary goals when we set about transforming the digital employee experience for Entain, one of the largest sports betting and gaming companies in the world.

The award winning Entain.me platform we helped to launch has revolutionised the way Entain's global workforce connects, shares, and interacts. Employees now have a space for problem solving and collaboration that is equally accessible wherever they are in the world.

The reimagined platform allows Entain to communicate with its employees in ground-breaking new ways and closes the gap between the internal and external experience of the organisation. The investment the company has made in its digital employee experience enables its people to innovate at speed and deliver for their customers every day.

Employee engagement

‍High levels ofemployee engagement have a positive impact on financial performance, shareholder return, innovation, productivity and more. So, a powerful digital workplace that acts as the foundation for strong engagement is critical.  

A central hub where employees can access information, seek inspiration from colleagues, engage with leadership teams, understand business performance, and immerse themselves in the story of an organisation is at the very heart of employee engagement and can be the foundation for business growth.  

Organisations that invest in their intranet as a central repository for internal communications can reap the benefits of consistent, aligned understanding amongst the employee body and the building of trust and loyalty that comes with predictable and transparent communication.

Utilising an internal intranet in this way also provides a unique opportunity for two-way dialogue and allows organisations to track sentiment, surface the employee voice and collect meaningful data.

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Organisational purpose‍

A key finding from our Work Remastered research was the importance of a clear organisational purpose, and the alignment of values between business and individual. This is another area in which strategic investment in an internal intranet and an improved digital employee experience can pay dividends.

Consistent and engaging representation of an organisation’s strategy, purpose, and values can significantly contribute to the feeling of connection between employee and organisation. When this information has an easily accessible place to ‘live’ and employees know it’s up to date and accurate, personal connection to an organisation’s mission and trust in its direction is accelerated.

When we were challenged with supercharging the company culture and improving global collaboration and visibility at Jupiter Asset Management, improving the digital employee experience was key.

A full audit of the company’s existing platform, coupled with focus groups and cocreation with a wide range of employees meant that the reimagined intranet that we delivered was meaningful and relevant.

We radically simplified the presentation of the company’s strategy, vision, and values, enhancing both the accessibility of the language and the visual appeal of the content.  This information sits front and centre of Jupiter’s intranet and makes it easy for employees to connect their work with the organisation’s direction and see the reflection of their own values. Rather than appearing in a slide deck once a quarter, the company’s ambition has a constant, integrated presence in the day to day lives of its employees, energising them to strive to deliver the business’s strategy and drive its performance and growth.

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One-stop shop‍

We all know that today’s employees face many competing demands on their time. We often hear about heavy workloads and organisations being increasingly strident in their productivity ambitions.

So, a one stop shop where employees can easily access the information and systems, they need to operate efficiently can be transformational. Not only does easy access to information empower employees to take responsibility for their own experience, but it can also take the pressure off often in demand teams such as HR or employee relations. When employees can easily self-serve, the attention of scarce resources can be prioritised more efficiently, driving overall organisational productivity.

Removing points of frustration that often come with poorly implemented or off the shelf intranet solutions can also contribute to an employee’s experience of work and overall engagement level.

A hard-working intranet that’s abundant in easily accessible information is a simple way for organisations to avoid the ‘it’s really difficult to get things done here’ feedback that can be so prevalent in large, matrixed businesses.

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Worth it‍

So, if you’re thinking about where to invest this year, why not give some thought to enhancing your digital employee experience? Does your online space enable employees to meaningfully connect and collaborate? Can people easily access the systems and information they need to do their jobs? Is your intranet working as hard it could be? Are your digital systems cohesive and fully integrated?

An organisation’s internal intranet is one of the few touchpoints that almost every single one of its employees has in common. Strategic investment can reap rewards that go far beyond the enhancement of employee experience to supercharging business growth.

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Thinking of investing in your digital employee experience? We can help. Drop us a line at hello@unitedcultureco.com to chat with us about how we’ve revolutionised the digital experience at multiple global organisations, and how we can support you to do the same.