Looking for a solution that will not only help with knowledge sharing, but also help build engagement among your workforce? An intranet content management system (CMS) is the answer you’re looking for. According to Deloitte, 24% of small-to medium-businesses use an intranet – though not all of them use it as effectively as they could.

That’s why we’re going to show you what an intranet CMS platform is, plus the features and benefits you should look for. We’ve also rounded up the six best modern intranet CMS platforms so that you can see how their various features stack up.

What is an intranet CMS platform?

To understand what an intranet CMS platform is, let’s start with the ‘CMS’ part. Content management systems are designed to make it easier for people to manage digital content. For example, WordPress is a content management system.

Thus, an intranet CMS platform is both an employee intranet – a web portal or network designed for internal employee use only – and a content management system. On an intranet CMS platform, employees can easily format, publish, search, and retrieve content.

Enhanced communication and information sharing

An intranet CMS provides a convenient platform for communication and information sharing. It offers tools that enable employees to share files, collaborate on projects, access resources like training documents, and more. 

This makes information sharing much easier, improving organizational transparency and communication.

Increased productivity and efficiency

Making productivity happen means finding ways to make everyone’s job easier by creating an organized digital workplace. Intranet CMS platforms do this by centralizing everything employees need to do their jobs.

These platforms put communications, important information, necessary files, and more all in one easily accessible spot – which means no more switching apps to find what you need. An intranet CMS system can also boost productivity and efficiency by automating routine tasks like onboarding and expense reporting.

Boosted employee engagement and satisfaction

An intranet platform provides employees a space to engage with their coworkers as well as company leadership. It allows them to view personalized content and access social features like polls, surveys, and community forums. You can also use an intranet CMS to facilitate peer recognition programs and feedback mechanisms so employees feel heard and appreciated.

All of this can add up to a big boost in employee engagement and satisfaction – especially for remote workers who may otherwise find it difficult to connect with their teammates.

More centralized and accessible

On a traditional corporate intranet, it’s not always easy to organize content – which leads to challenges when finding the content you need. An intranet CMS system provides the tools to publish it easily and the tools you need to organize it according to different content types, publicize it, and make it easily searchable.
 

Benefits of an intranet CMS

Intranet CMS software comes with a lot of advantages – especially over regular intranets. We’ll explore some of these benefits in detail below.

Greater productivity

Making productivity happen means finding ways to make everyone’s job easier by creating an organized digital workplace. Intranet CMS platforms do this by centralizing everything employees need to do their jobs. These platforms put communications, important information, necessary files, and more all in one easily accessible spot – no more switching apps to find what you need.

Better team collaboration

Intranet CMS platforms are all about bringing together team members and even employees from all over the company. They’re a centralized digital space that lets you communicate and share up-to-date content, important information, files, and more. As such, intranet CMS platforms improve team collaboration by giving teams the tools they need to share and communicate.

More employee engagement and connection

Intranet CMS platforms improve employee engagement by promoting connections to create a better employee experience. The idea is to facilitate content sharing and two-way communication among peers so they can easily share information and knowledge.

More centralized and accessible

On a traditional corporate intranet, it’s not always easy to organize content – which leads to challenges when finding the content you need. An intranet CMS system provides not only the tools to publish it easily, but also the tools you need to organize it according to different content types, publicize it, and make it easily searchable.

How to choose the best intranet CMS for your organization: Features to look for

If you choose the right intranet CMS, it’ll prove an incredibly valuable asset for your organization. Let’s dive into the essential features you should look for.

User-friendly interface

Software that isn’t user-friendly can create more problems than it solves. If ease of use is a problem, then instead of building engagement, it’ll just frustrate people who have to use it. Look for a CMS with intuitive menus, drag-and-drop design features, a clean user interface, and helpful content creation tools.

Two-way communication

CMS solutions should fill as many use cases as possible – and communication is one of those needs. At the very least, people should be able to like and comment on the content their peers share. Boards, forums, and messaging features are also helpful.

Secure and accessible file management

Company intranet should also be the go-to place to share files – and it needs to be secure. Cyber attacks are a growing threat; Cisco finds that up to 62% of organizations have experienced major security incidents. As you search for intranet CMS platforms, be sure to look into the security that each offers so that you can safeguard company data.

Functionality on multiple devices

Workers rely on their laptops and desktops – but also their smartphones and tablets. Your intranet CMS of choice should be easy to browse, even on a phone. Look for options that offer apps, and make sure that, at the very least, users can interact with content from their mobile devices. If they can add content while mobile, that’s even better.

Social interaction and communication opportunities

One of the big reasons to choose an intranet CMS over internal file sharing and communication systems is that it should promote social interaction on top of communication. 

Employees should be able to like and interact with what their peers are sharing – and it’s great if they can give each other shoutouts or recognize each other for achievements and milestones! This is what’s known as a social intranet, and it can boost engagement in a big way. 

Intranet CMS uses

An intranet content management system can provide measurable value in several key ways. Some of the top use cases for an intranet CMS include:
 

Centralized hub for company news and announcements

Intranet systems are like the modern town square – they’re the place where everyone goes to hear important news and announcements.

By acting as a centralized hub for these updates, an intranet CMS allows you to easily broadcast important messages to the entire organization. It also ensures that employees know where to look for company news and announcements and makes it easy for them to find.

Employee self-service and HR capabilities

Intranet platforms make many tasks much easier for HR teams and the employees they work with. They provide convenient access to all the files and employee information that HR departments need, and they can allow employees to easily submit forms, fill out requests, and view their information (on their own, without having to reach out to HR for help).

Some intranet solutions also offer integrations or built-in features that can allow you to automate HR workflows(like new employee onboarding, performance management, and more).

Just a few other ways that an intranet CMS can empower employee self-service and HR capabilities include:

• Serves as a platform for HR processes like onboarding, leave requests, and expense claims
• Provides secure access to personal information and payroll details
• Benefits enrollment and management
• Facilitates employee feedback and provides suggestion channels.

Knowledge management and training

An intranet CMS is a great tool for facilitating training programs and helping employees continually grow their knowledge and skills. A few ways that a modern intranet can support knowledge management and training include:

• Online training courses, videos, and tutorials
• Knowledge-sharing communities and forums
• Tracking of training progress and certifications
• Wikis and collaboration spaces for knowledge sharing.

Corporate communication and brand building

An intranet CMS offers various tools and features for powering internal communications. They are also a great platform for establishing and reinforcing your organization’s internal branding and company culture.

Here are some of the ways that intranet CMS software helps with corporate communication and brand building:

• Share company updates with a news and events portal
• Showcase company culture, values, and mission
• Highlight employee achievements and support peer-to-peer recognition programs
• Manage internal campaigns and initiatives.

6 intranet CMS platforms to promote employee engagement and collaboration

Now that you’ve learned what an intranet CMS can do and what benefits to look for, let’s take a look at six of the best options available today so you can compare.

1) Workvivo

Workvivo is the top-rated employee app globally – and with good reason. It’s an intranet CMS platform that offers a massive suite of features. That includes activity feeds, live streaming, tools for critical communications, and features that help you build engagement.

It’s a social intranet, which means that unlike traditional intranets, which are often used as a dumping ground for content, Workvivo works actively to build engagement and encourage communication. Team members can use it much like social media to link up with everyone else on their team, and on the broader scale, Workvivo can facilitate cross-departmental communications, too.

With that, Workvivo integrates with many of today’s top productivity apps – like Slack, MS Teams, Salesforce, and more. Between robust features and available integrations, this is a solution that works for businesses of all sizes, from small all the way to the enterprise level. 

Standout features

• Analytics to measure content reach
• Surveys collect feedback and gauge sentiment
• Activity feeds keep everyone informed and engaged
• Community spaces encourage collaboration
• Podcasts and livestreaming offer new ways to communicate
• Social intranet features build a better company culture
• Mobile app ensures every employee is included
• Centralized hub keeps documents, communication, and more organized

2) Simpplr

Simpplr offers a few interesting tools that can help employees connect and engage. It’s an app that offers a few social features like news feeds and individual pages. Feedback and analytics are available to help you track and improve engagement. It’s a good option for companies that need a simple solution – and it can handle organizations of all sizes, from small to enterprise.

Standout features

• Post announcements or create a company newsfeed
• Gauge sentiment on pieces of content via surveys
• Use analytics to track who is and isn’t logging in to help you boost engagement.

3) Happeo

Happeo is billed as a solution to information chaos. As such, it connects teams through news feeds, company information, and shared files. It also has a social element in that it helps people facilitate conversations. Happeo features analytics to help teams understand who is accessing information on the intranet and measure the ROI of internal communications through the platform. 

This app works more like a traditional intranet with some social elements, and as such, it can scale up from mid-sized businesses to enterprises.

Standout features

• Lifecycle management with archiving reminders for outdated content
• Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 integrations
• Federated search for finding content across all company tools and databases

4) Blink

Blink is a platform geared toward frontline workforces. It can consolidate a lot of information in one place, like schedules, paystubs, and important documentation. Employees can also use it to chat or to fill out digital forms. Management can use analytics and surveys to understand how employees interact with content. 

While it is a workable solution for companies that don’t need a platform with a robust social element, it doesn’t have a lot of features to build two-way communication or community engagement. It’s targeted toward healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and other frontline industries, which means it works best for mid-size businesses to larger enterprises.

Standout features

• Organize and share digital forms and mandatory documents
• Share news and announcements through a content hub
• Secure chat helps employees connect on the job.

5) Bloomfire

Bloomfire is designed to eliminate knowledge silos. To do this, it offers features that make it easy to create, share, and find information at the company-wide level. 

This app differs from others in that you can use it purely internally or invite stakeholders to share the information you provide on this platform. This app is good for organizations of any size – but it’s less an intranet and more of a sophisticated platform for a company wiki.

Standout features

• Create, share, and search essential company or project information
• Collaborate with stakeholders to complete projects or do market research
• Boost customer support with on-demand information agents can use.

6) SharePoint

SharePoint is Microsoft’s take on an intranet platform – and that means that like most Microsoft products, this platform integrates with other MS tools, like Teams. This platform is part project management software and part company wiki page.

On the project management side of things, you can share files and track tasks. In terms of creating a company wiki, Sharepoint gives you the tools to build an organized, searchable hub for announcements, training, essential documents, and more.

The biggest issue with this app is that it lacks the social elements that make a platform like Workvivo so engaging. However, it is a big platform – one that scales up well for midsize to enterprise organizations.

Standout features

• Integrates well with other Microsoft tools and apps
• Project management features for file-sharing and task-tracking tools
• Content sharing hub organizes news, announcements, and essential information.

Manage content and engage employees with Workvivo’s social intranet

If you’re looking for an intranet CMS platform that can provide you with all the advantages of a social network, team collaboration platform, and file-sharing system in one space, Workvivo is the answer. No other app provides a comprehensive set of tools that addresses project management, two-way communications, and social elements that help build engagement.

Ready to give it a try? Request a demo here to learn about Workvivo’s features and how it can be tailored to suit your organization’s unique needs.