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Glossary Terms
Glossary of Human Resources Management and Employee Benefit Terms
Table of contents

Social Intranet Tool

A social intranet tool is an internal platform that integrates traditional intranet capabilities with social networking features.

It allows employees to share information, collaborate on projects, communicate in real-time, and build a sense of community within the organization.

These tools typically include features like news feeds, forums, blogs, social profiles, and collaborative workspaces.

What is a social intranet tool?

A social intranet tool is a modern digital workplace hub that merges internal communications with social media-like interactions.

It helps employees stay informed, connected, and engaged across the organization.

Key highlights:

  • Centralizes communication, updates, and company information.
  • Facilitates real-time conversations, collaboration, and peer connections.
  • Enables transparent information sharing and alignment.
  • Supports interactive formats like posts, polls, quizzes, and videos.
  • Integrates with recognition, surveys, wellness, and feedback modules.

What are examples of the best social intranet tools for employees?

Here are some of the best social intranet tools for employees:

  • Empuls: Empuls is an employee engagement platform, which enables companies to connect with their employees, align them with their values, and ensure positive behaviors to create an engaged workplace.
  • Staffbase: Focuses on enhancing employee communication and engagement with a user-friendly interface and robust features.
  • ThoughtFarmer: Offers a comprehensive social intranet solution with customizable options to fit different organizational needs.
  • Guru: Known for its knowledge management capabilities, Guru integrates well with existing tools and enhances information sharing.
  • Slack: While primarily a communication tool, Slack’s integrations and channels make it a powerful intranet alternative for small businesses.

When should companies implement a social intranet tool?

The right time to deploy a social intranet tool is when you observe:

  • Growing remote, hybrid, or geographically dispersed teams.
  • Fragmented or inconsistent internal communication.
  • Reduced visibility into employee engagement or wellbeing.
  • The need for better peer recognition and feedback loops.
  • Organizational growth, mergers, or cultural shifts.
  • Desire to consolidate multiple engagement tools into one unified platform.

Why is social intranet software important?

Social intranet software is crucial in the following ways:

  • Centralized communication: Social intranet software provides a single platform for all internal communications, reducing the fragmentation caused by using multiple tools and ensuring transparent communication across the organization, keeping everyone informed and aligned.
  • Enhanced collaboration: Social intranet software facilitates seamless collaboration among teams, enhancing synergy and productivity. It encourages interaction between different departments, fostering innovation and problem-solving.
  • Employee engagement: Social intranet software engages employees with interactive features such as social feeds, forums, and recognition programs, promoting a sense of community. It provides platforms for employees to share feedback, ensuring their voices are heard and valued.
  • Knowledge management: Social intranet software acts as a central repository for all company knowledge, making it easy to store, access, and share information. It supports continuous learning and development through shared resources and collaborative tools.
  • Efficiency and productivity: Social intranet software streamlines processes and automates routine tasks, improving overall efficiency and productivity. It reduces the time spent on administrative tasks, allowing employees to focus on core activities.

Which features make Empuls stand out as a social intranet tool?

Empuls offers a holistic, AI-powered experience that elevates employee engagement:

  • Combines recognition, rewards, surveys, wellness, and communication in one platform.
  • Uses AI nudges to close recognition gaps and boost participation.
  • Supports digital wishboards and social celebrations for all milestones.
  • Enables content moderation to maintain a respectful workplace.
  • Offers enterprise-grade data security, compliance, and multi-region deployment.
  • Provides global scalability with support for multiple currencies and languages.
  • Integrates effortlessly with HRMS, LMS, ATS, PMS, and health apps.
  • Delivers rich analytics, predictive insights, and actionable HR dashboards.

How to choose the best intranet solutions?

The ways to choose the best social intranet software are as follows:

  • Identify your needs: Determine the specific functionalities your organization needs, such as communication tools, document management, and social features, and consider the number of users and their technical proficiency to choose a user-friendly platform that meets their needs.
  • Evaluate user experience: Select software with an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface to ensure widespread adoption and minimize training requirements. Ensure the platform is accessible on mobile devices, allowing employees to stay connected and productive on the go.
  • Integration capabilities: Verify that the intranet software integrates seamlessly with your existing tools and systems, such as email, CRM, and project management software. Look for platforms that offer APIs and plugins for easy integration and customization.
  • Customization options: Choose software that allows customization to align with your company’s branding and culture. Ensure the platform can be tailored to fit your specific needs and workflows.
  • Security and compliance: Prioritize platforms with robust security features, including encryption, access controls, and regular security updates. Ensure the software complies with industry regulations and standards, protecting sensitive company data.
  • Scalability: Select a solution that can scale with your business, accommodating an increasing number of users and additional features as needed. Look for platforms offering flexible pricing and plans that can be adjusted as your organization grows.
  • Support and training: Choose software with reliable customer support, including live chat, email, and phone support. Ensure the availability of training materials, such as tutorials, webinars, and user guides, to facilitate smooth implementation and ongoing use.

Employee pulse surveys:

These are short surveys that can be sent frequently to check what your employees think about an issue quickly. The survey comprises fewer questions (not more than 10) to get the information quickly. These can be administered at regular intervals (monthly/weekly/quarterly).

One-on-one meetings:

Having periodic, hour-long meetings for an informal chat with every team member is an excellent way to get a true sense of what’s happening with them. Since it is a safe and private conversation, it helps you get better details about an issue.

eNPS:

eNPS (employee Net Promoter score) is one of the simplest yet effective ways to assess your employee's opinion of your company. It includes one intriguing question that gauges loyalty. An example of eNPS questions include: How likely are you to recommend our company to others? Employees respond to the eNPS survey on a scale of 1-10, where 10 denotes they are ‘highly likely’ to recommend the company and 1 signifies they are ‘highly unlikely’ to recommend it.

Based on the responses, employees can be placed in three different categories:

  • Promoters
    Employees who have responded positively or agreed.
  • Detractors
    Employees who have reacted negatively or disagreed.
  • Passives
    Employees who have stayed neutral with their responses.

How does a social intranet tool work?

A social intranet tool functions as a digital ecosystem for engagement, combining multiple features in one platform:

  • Internal communications with news, updates, AMAs, and announcements.
  • Interactive social feeds with posts, comments, GIFs, and reactions.
  • Community groups for teams, interests, onboarding, and projects.
  • Digital wishboards for birthdays, anniversaries, and service milestones.
  • AI-powered recognition and rewards programs.
  • Pulse surveys, eNPS, lifecycle surveys, and sentiment analysis.
  • Organizational charts and employee directories for easy networking.
  • Seamless integrations with collaboration tools like Slack, Teams, and HRIS.
  • Robust content moderation to ensure respectful communication.
  • Wellness programs, fringe benefits, and tax-saving allowances.
Explore how Empuls can help your organization