How to Spark Intranet Engagement Through Senior Leaders

Building a thriving intranet takes dedication, but keeping it vibrant? That's an ongoing process. Here's the good news: senior leaders hold the key to unlocking your intranet's full potential. Research shows their active engagement is the secret weapon for driving user adoption and building a truly connected online community within your organization.

Let’s dive into the data and unveil actionable strategies to turn senior leaders from silent supporters into vocal champions for your intranet. We'll explore why their voice matters, how to make engagement effortless for them, and ways to leverage their influence for maximum impact. So, buckle up and get ready to reignite the spark in your intranet – with the help of some of your most valuable team members.

Reenergizing Senior Leaders

The good work of building and maintaining a healthy and vibrant intranet doesn't have an expiration date. It requires owners to keep thinking about their intranet as a thriving project that will only grow and improve in the days ahead. With the schedule and time of an intranet site owner being stretched, it’s important to have a high impact with the activities you choose to invest in for your site. Research points to spending some time nurturing your senior leader sponsors as a leading factor in making your intranet "project" a success.

Prosci, a global leader in change management, has done deep research that consistently shows that sponsor effectiveness is critical to project success. Participants in the latest research reported that sponsor effectiveness directly impacted whether the project met objectives. In fact, those projects with an extremely effective sponsor met or exceeded objectives more than twice as often as those with a very ineffective sponsor. 79% of projects met or exceeded objectives when you had “extremely effective sponsors,” dropping to 50% for “somewhat effective sponsors,” and it just gets riskier from there.

Leveraging Senior Leadership for Change Management Comms

We have the data to know that senior leadership support and engagement are critical to your intranet's success. So, how do you get truly visible, engaged support from these critical teammates?

• For organization-wide changes, research shows that users want to hear supportive messaging from the very top of the organization. Yes, there can be good messaging from direct leaders as well, but the research shows that your best shot at catching users’ “listening ears” will be the voice of senior leaders backing truly noteworthy news. Showcase this research with the senior leaders you are targeting to help build your case for why their voice as the "messenger of change" matters.
• When your senior leader understands why the business is seeking their participation, it’s time to activate them. One step is to provide senior leader sponsors with an easy way to begin their engagement with the intranet. Consider inviting them to send select communications relating to "milestone moments" in the intranet.
• When you are updating the site to add a new channel, or you've refreshed data on a popular page - invite one of the senior leaders in the organization to announce the change. Your audience craves hearing from senior leadership about why this change occurred. This can also be an ideal moment for them to remind your audience of your intranet's top goals and encourage the reader to support those goals by engaging with the site in specific ways that support your goals.
• Once a leader has made their first post in the intranet, continue looking for other organizational changes that they can support with their voice to keep that initial momentum going. 
  
  

How to Get Started Engaging Senior Leaders

Inspire leaders with a high-level plan.

Explain to your leadership why their intranet presence is important to internal communications. Emphasize the impact the leadership comms can create for your organization. Make sure to define and suggest goals, initiatives, topics, channels, and posting frequency.

Focus on the content.

Specifically, focus on the type of content and target audience. Have leaders ask themselves these questions: Would I have the greatest impact if I shared updates, celebrated achievements, provided strategic information, or engaged with employees on a specific brand value? What kind of post would resonate with this leader’s goals and passions? Whom do I want to reach with their posts?

Encourage employee interaction.

Prompt employees to engage by asking questions, encouraging comments, or creating polls. This fosters a sense of community and participation. Add calls-to-action (CTA) whenever relevant to drive engagement. For example, the CTAs could be:

• “Drop your questions in the comments”
• “Let us know what you think in the comments”
• “Check out this [blog post] to learn more”
• “Join me in celebrating this moment and share your thoughts below”
  
  

Choose the right format and timing.

Decide on the content details, including:

• Which channel is ideal for the post?

• Is the post best suited to be an article post or an announcement?
• Would video or written format be ideal for this leader?
• When is the best time to make posts for each leader? (e.g. think of the timezones to get maximum engagement and reach)
  
  

Be consistent.

Your intranet audience craves transparency. Encourage your organization’s leaders to develop a regular posting schedule to ensure consistency and reliability in communication.

Tips for Posting on an Intranet as a Senior Leader

Empowering senior leaders and providing them with the education they need to post effectively and consistently is important. Here are some recommendations for senior leaders who plan on posting to your company’s intranet to maximize their communications' impact.

Be authentic.

Write in a conversational tone that reflects your personality and the company’s culture. Authenticity helps build trust.

Keep it short.

Given the preference for concise content, aim to keep your posts short and to the point. Use bullet points and subheadings to enhance readability.

Provide clear CTAs.

If you want employees to take specific actions, make sure to provide clear instructions. If you ask a question to the audience within the post, be sure to monitor the comments to react and reply.

Senior Leaders: Unleash the Power of Your Intranet

Senior leaders hold the key to unlocking your intranet's full potential. Their active participation isn't just a bonus, it's the key to driving user adoption and fostering a vibrant online community. Senior leaders, the power to ignite your intranet lies within you. By amplifying your voice, you'll inspire collaboration, knowledge sharing, and ultimately, a stronger, more connected organization.

If you are looking for a platform to bring all knowledge of your organization together with its people and effective internal comms, you’ll want to take a quick tour of Happeo.