How Intranets Help Reduce the Workload of IT Teams
The average IT team-to-employee ratio is 1:33, according to the Saratoga Workforce Index. As companies grow, the gap between IT staff and employees can widen too, leaving IT professionals to juggle multiple support requests.
A SharePoint-based modern intranet empowers employees to solve simple IT issues on their own. This frees up IT staff to focus on other, more strategic initiatives.
1. Decentralized Content Publishing
Traditionally, IT teams have been responsible for managing SharePoint updates, page creation, and custom development, which can slow down content delivery and create extra workload. With a SharePoint-based intranet, organizations can create a decentralized content model, giving each department the ability to publish and manage their own content, all within controlled permissions. This empowers departments to post news, update pages, and share resources directly, without needing IT involvement for each request.
By granting content creation capabilities to internal communications or corporate communication department leads or designated “content champions,” organizations can ensure that company or department updates are shared faster.
2. Centralized Knowledge Hub
A centralized knowledge hub gives IT teams a single place to store, organize, and access key documents like past incidents, fixes, and updates. It helps preserve organizational knowledge even as the IT team grows, or experienced staff transition.
With all documentation in one place, past insights are easy to access, speeding up troubleshooting for similar issues. The hub also helps IT teams stay compliant with regulatory requirements. When considering an intranet solution, opting for a SharePoint-based platform that can be hosted on your organization’s own tenant offers the added benefit of keeping your data within a secure, trusted network. The setup ensures sensitive data is protected while still empowering employees.
3. Self-Service Portals
IT teams often face a high volume of repetitive requests, such as “How do I reset the password?” or “How do I connect to VPN?”. With an intranet, IT teams can establish a self-service portal for employees. IT teams can publish FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and step-by-step instructions for common issues, allowing employees to quickly find answers without waiting for support. Additionally, when there are changes to IT infrastructure, such as new software or updated processes, the IT staff can communicate these changes via the intranet, keeping everyone informed instantly. This proactive approach not only streamlines everyday support but also allows IT teams to focus on more strategic initiatives, improving overall efficiency and reducing workload.
According to SHRM, 68% of employees say they would stay longer with their employer if offered training opportunities. An intranet can host a variety of materials, including video tutorials, guides, allowing employees to access training at their own pace and convenience. Intranets also support interactive learning, such as quizzes and discussion forums, which can engage employees and encourage deeper understanding.
4. Automation of Routine Tasks
Automated workflows in an intranet help IT teams streamline the onboarding process, handling tasks like account setups effortlessly. A SharePoint-based intranet goes beyond this by automating key aspects of document management, such as organizing files, managing approval processes, and controlling access—all from a centralized platform. This minimizes the manual effort involved, ensuring documents are not only secure but also compliant with company policies. Its integration with Microsoft 365 further enhances collaboration, allowing teams to share, edit, and access documents seamlessly, improving efficiency.
5. Streamlined Communication
Studies show that poor communication at work can lead to significant issues like increased costs (45%), missed deadlines or increased time to resolution (39%). A SharePoint-based intranet that is available on Microsoft Teams, allows IT teams to centralize announcements and send maintenance notifications directly to the relevant departments. These notifications can be delivered through Microsoft Teams or the intranet app on employees’ mobile devices, ensuring timely communication.
For example, during a system outage or when a planned maintenance is coming up, IT can quickly broadcast the information through the intranet. This will allow employees to easily receive updates and understand any impacts to their work, avoid flooding IT with repetitive queries. By streamlining communication, intranets reduce the volume of routine inquiries and support requests. A better communication framework leads to a more informed and collaborative workforce, boosting productivity across the organization.
6. Efficient Onboarding
Onboarding new hires can be overwhelming for IT teams, taking up a lot of time and resources. An intranet makes the process easier by offering self-service tools and allowing them to share documents to make the onboarding experience smoother.
A well-organized intranet lets new employees access key info and resources from day one. Intranets can store checklists, training materials, and company policies, helping new hires learn about the organization’s systems and culture on their own. By simplifying onboarding, intranets help create a strong first impression, boosting engagement and retention from the start. This lets IT teams work more efficiently while encouraging a culture of independence and self-sufficiency among new hires.
Conclusion
A SharePoint-based intranet is a powerful way to reduce IT workload by automating routine tasks like onboarding, document management, and approval processes. With PeopleOne, our modern, SharePoint-based intranet, IT teams can streamline these tasks, improve collaboration, and enhance efficiency. It consolidates all communications across the organization, reaching users via Microsoft Teams, the native PeopleOne app, or the web. Ready to streamline your IT processes? Contact us today to learn more about PeopleOne.
