Intranet, or…? Give your Intranet an Identity and Personality

When implementing an intranet for the first time or re-launching an existing intranet, I’m often asked whether it’s a good idea to give the intranet a name.

The answer is simple – yes it’s a fantastic idea!

The intranet is part of your business and the last thing you want is people saying “it’s on the intranet” because this sounds too staid, boring and impersonal and makes it much harder to engage employees.

By naming your intranet it can develop an identity and even have a distinct personality. This can be further enhanced if an intranet character is created. It seems a simple idea and it is, but you’ll be amazed at the results as interest and enthusiasm will follow. The intranet will quickly become a vital business tool as it makes it a lot more friendly and approachable to your employees.

Let Your Employees Choose

A great way to name your intranet is to let the employees choose it. If you’re looking for a fun way to encourage staff participation then run a naming contest. Management can get take advantage of the contest to build excitement among staff before the intranet is launched. Employee engagement is critical when it comes to user adoption of the intranet, what better time to get them involved than at the very beginning.

By the way, you can name an existing intranet if it doesn’t have one. But if it has a name already that people are familiar with then it’s wise to leave that name in place. On the other hand, you can use a re-naming contest as a way to create enthusiasm among staff for a re-launch or to highlight a significant upgrade.

Introduce & Promote the Brand

Management should be sure to publicize the launch of the intranet in newsletters, press releases and on the website. Letting the public know the company encourages knowledge sharing and information innovation can build a quality brand image that has a benefit beyond the firewall.

These are some of the names our clients have given to their “intranet”.