Company intranets have evolved from static sources of information to dynamic portals into the HR department
Vacation. Illness. Promotions. There are a lot of roads that lead to the human resources department. But with the evolution of technology, more and more those roads are leading employees to an HR portal.
Every organization needs to manage employee information effectively to make the most of its diverse talents, services and information. Originally designed to quickly disseminate information, the employee intranet has become a common feature of many workplaces.
Over time, this type of intranet has evolved from a static repository of company information to a collaborative meeting place where employees can ask HR-related questions and find the appropriate, up-to-date answers, fill in and file administrative forms and further develop their skills.
Through a dynamic HR portal, employees can find and communicate with key contacts and experts, by e-mail and with instant messaging. Site content can be easily searched, and employees can receive alerts to tell them about changes or new information and documents on the portal.
An easy-to-use, customizable portal gives information workers the power to access information when and how they need it — making the HR portal an obvious destination for employees who may be juggling too many tasks during the work day to schedule an appointment with HR. The online portal also allows for anonymity, which can be helpful to employees searching for sensitive information.
HR departments can take advantage of the new interactive nature of portal technology by moving existing services online and creating communities of interest among the employees, a practice which fosters knowledge and resource sharing within the organization.
Through a portal, employees can quickly and easily contribute to discussions, share their ideas and contribute to projects, accessing the sites through the office intranet or outside work through a Web browser.
Labatt Breweries of Canada, one of Canada’s oldest and most successful companies, set up an intranet called “The Pub.” Its goals were to improve overall communication with employees located in eight breweries from coast to coast, and eliminate silos of information between business units. Using the portal, Labatt was able to significantly improve employee communications and now 70 per cent of its employees frequently visit The Pub.
The Pub has also turned into a home for more than 30 team workspaces, where employees share information and collaborate on documents. With the new workspaces, various business units have a common point of access for project or departmental information, including documents, contacts, tasks and discussions.
“Employee response to The Pub has been extremely positive,” said Jonathan Starkey, data architecture centre of excellence manager, Labatt. “Through our intranet, we’ve been able to deliver immense value to our employees by providing tools that enable them to make better informed decisions and increase their productivity. The business value of bringing employees closer together is apparent when you look at the individual contributions and recommendations for greater innovation that come in through The Pub.”
Team building through virtual communities of interest created through the HR portal can also translate directly into improvements in the day-to-day functioning of a company. Work teams which may have members too busy to meet with the rest of the team, or perhaps even working from a different location, can meet online. This allows teams to be efficient and productive and ensures every individual on the team can meaningfully contribute to a project, increasing overall employee satisfaction.
The trend among IT departments is to integrate back- and front-office applications. Companies that apply this to their HR portal and tie HR self service applications to the employee portal can take the benefits of this online forum even further.
Web-based applications built on Web services can automate tasks like looking up the amount of vacation time an employee has left, or route expense forms to the appropriate supervisor or manager. This not only reduces the workload for the HR department but also reduces the amount of time spent by employees searching for HR information and improves overall employee satisfaction with HR services.
HR professionals spend their days ensuring company information gets to the people who need it. Technology such as Web-based portals can be used to simplify HR processes, speed up service delivery and increase service levels throughout the HR department, making it a powerful ally and a worthy investment. By better connecting HR professionals with the employees who depend on them — and connecting the employees to each other — the portal can help to increase productivity, decrease administrative costs, improve employee satisfaction, and attract and retain the right people.
Michael Bulmer is product manager for Microsoft Office System, Microsoft Canada Co. For more information, visit www.microsoft.com/sharepoint.
Every organization needs to manage employee information effectively to make the most of its diverse talents, services and information. Originally designed to quickly disseminate information, the employee intranet has become a common feature of many workplaces.
Over time, this type of intranet has evolved from a static repository of company information to a collaborative meeting place where employees can ask HR-related questions and find the appropriate, up-to-date answers, fill in and file administrative forms and further develop their skills.
Through a dynamic HR portal, employees can find and communicate with key contacts and experts, by e-mail and with instant messaging. Site content can be easily searched, and employees can receive alerts to tell them about changes or new information and documents on the portal.
An easy-to-use, customizable portal gives information workers the power to access information when and how they need it — making the HR portal an obvious destination for employees who may be juggling too many tasks during the work day to schedule an appointment with HR. The online portal also allows for anonymity, which can be helpful to employees searching for sensitive information.
HR departments can take advantage of the new interactive nature of portal technology by moving existing services online and creating communities of interest among the employees, a practice which fosters knowledge and resource sharing within the organization.
Through a portal, employees can quickly and easily contribute to discussions, share their ideas and contribute to projects, accessing the sites through the office intranet or outside work through a Web browser.
Labatt Breweries of Canada, one of Canada’s oldest and most successful companies, set up an intranet called “The Pub.” Its goals were to improve overall communication with employees located in eight breweries from coast to coast, and eliminate silos of information between business units. Using the portal, Labatt was able to significantly improve employee communications and now 70 per cent of its employees frequently visit The Pub.
The Pub has also turned into a home for more than 30 team workspaces, where employees share information and collaborate on documents. With the new workspaces, various business units have a common point of access for project or departmental information, including documents, contacts, tasks and discussions.
“Employee response to The Pub has been extremely positive,” said Jonathan Starkey, data architecture centre of excellence manager, Labatt. “Through our intranet, we’ve been able to deliver immense value to our employees by providing tools that enable them to make better informed decisions and increase their productivity. The business value of bringing employees closer together is apparent when you look at the individual contributions and recommendations for greater innovation that come in through The Pub.”
Team building through virtual communities of interest created through the HR portal can also translate directly into improvements in the day-to-day functioning of a company. Work teams which may have members too busy to meet with the rest of the team, or perhaps even working from a different location, can meet online. This allows teams to be efficient and productive and ensures every individual on the team can meaningfully contribute to a project, increasing overall employee satisfaction.
The trend among IT departments is to integrate back- and front-office applications. Companies that apply this to their HR portal and tie HR self service applications to the employee portal can take the benefits of this online forum even further.
Web-based applications built on Web services can automate tasks like looking up the amount of vacation time an employee has left, or route expense forms to the appropriate supervisor or manager. This not only reduces the workload for the HR department but also reduces the amount of time spent by employees searching for HR information and improves overall employee satisfaction with HR services.
HR professionals spend their days ensuring company information gets to the people who need it. Technology such as Web-based portals can be used to simplify HR processes, speed up service delivery and increase service levels throughout the HR department, making it a powerful ally and a worthy investment. By better connecting HR professionals with the employees who depend on them — and connecting the employees to each other — the portal can help to increase productivity, decrease administrative costs, improve employee satisfaction, and attract and retain the right people.
Michael Bulmer is product manager for Microsoft Office System, Microsoft Canada Co. For more information, visit www.microsoft.com/sharepoint.
