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Snap – Internal Communications Solutions.
Hot Tips for Internal Communicators
Make it easy to use
Keep your Intranet simple and as intuitive as possible
A simple Intranet is much easier to manage and much easier to keep current. ‘Must have’ elements
include: good employee directories; a single home page; one search engine across the whole site; good
navigation; and company news.
However, even simple Intranets are often not done well and some common problems involve difficulties
with navigation and the ability to find information. Also, in many cases, the Intranet is ‘out of sight, out
of mind’ for busy staff. Another serious problem is that often out-of-date content is not removed and this
may cause staff to lose confidence in information they locate on the Intranet and stop visiting. Different
departments may even resort to sending out the latest information via email for people to store locally.
This practice, of course, has serious implications for data storage and management of version control.
However, there are other ways to drive staff to the right information. Pro-active tools are available that
promote and signpost new and relevant information available on the Intranet and assist navigation to the
correct pages on the site.
RSS enabling the Intranet is one option, however, there are some issues with this if it not implemented
correctly (read more).
Sharepoint allows users to customize their own portal; however, this can be an expensive, resource
intensive solution.
Try these Snap tools
All of the Snap tools are dynamic messaging formats that can be pushed to targeted employees computer
screens. Click through facilities enable them to act as ‘signposts’ to specific pages on the Intranet.
For example:
Snap Shots screensavers, Snap Ticker and Snap Alert can promote new resources and information
available on the Intranet with click-through links facilitating easy navigation.
Snap Mag is an innovative E-Mag format that is pushed directly onto employees’ computer screen. It
acts as a ‘one stop’ summary of news and updates from around the business. Short article
summaries act as ‘teasers’ for further information on the Intranet available via click through links.
Snap Mag can also act as an alternative to certain parts of the Intranet that require constant
updating. Any member of staff can quickly and easily submit content or updates to Snap Mag. The
resulting magazine is pushed directly to employee’s computer screens and/or can appear as the
computer goes through its start up process. Current, as well as previous, Snap Mag ‘articles’ are
searchable by the reader.
Snap Quiz permits administrators to push ‘pop quizzes’ onto staff’s computer screens. Quizzes can
contain links to the Intranet allowing users to research each question before answering.
Snap Helpdesk / Snap Q&A allow people who are unable to find the answers they need on the
Intranet to ask a question in an appropriate online ‘helpdesk’. ‘Moderators’ who are specific to each
helpdesk can receive notifications that new questions have been posted. Moderators can answer
questions directly or point the person to the correct part of the Intranet where the answer can be
found. Each specific question is tagged and searchable, meaning that past questions and answers
can be easily located.