The Christmas holiday season is just around the corner and most of us are looking forward to some time away from the office relaxing with family and friends. Spare a thought though for those that need to work over the holiday season. Service technicians, essential operating staff, retail businesses or managers that still need to approve salary runs or perform other critical functions often are required to work the holidays. In addition, for many others the yuletide is anticipated with dread rather than excitement. And I’m not referring to the prospect of spending time with the in-laws! No, for many people the shine is taken off the holidays by the thought of the mountain of work that will greet them upon their return to the office. A cloud-based mobile-responsive intranet, however, means that staff and managers can stay connected and remain productive even when away from the office. Carry on reading to discover just how a mobile cloud intranet can support remote working this Christmas.
Mobile-Responsive Intranets
A mobile-friendly intranet is a must for every business at any time of the year and not just at Christmas.
Mobile-responsive intranets:
- quickly and easily connect remote workers with head office
- ensure that employees have access to the same digital tools as staff back in the workplace
- are convenient and easy to use
- mean that employees can complete tasks and remain productive anytime and anywhere.
Your existing company intranet, however, isn’t necessarily optimized for the smaller screens, more difficult navigation and reduced functionality of a smartphone or tablet. If your company intranet isn’t yet mobile optimized, then don’t despair. It’s a relatively easy fix.
Here are the top three features that a mobile intranet should have.
1. Easy Navigation
The mobile intranet is not the place to include every piece of company information and a whole lot of links – the loading times would just be too long making it counterproductive. Instead, keep the menu simple and uncluttered with just seven or eight frequently used or most popular apps. That way the user can quickly and easily locate the key information they are looking for.
2. Optimize Touchscreen Functionality
Mobile users will primarily be navigating the mobile intranet site through touchscreen functionality. It’s hard to achieve the same precision with a finger that you can with a mouse. Rather than using drop-down menus or text buttons, try including large-sized graphic buttons, which are much more finger-friendly and lend themselves to touchscreens.
3. Make It Easy To Read
Mobile users shouldn’t have to squint or zoom in to read the content of a mobile intranet. Fonts such as Helvetica or Arial naturally include a bit of extra space which makes them a good choice to use for your mobile intranets. In addition, avoid having lots of bright colors in your design – reds, greens and yellows can be very hard on the eye in the context of mobile devices. Muted, neutral tones will work much better.
Cloud Intranets
An intranet where data and information is stored in the cloud rather than a company server, means that staff can access all work-related tools and features 24/7, regardless of their location.
And so the manager that is sunning herself on the beaches of Hawaii over the Christmas period can still logon to the mobile-friendly cloud intranet and check up on the latest sales data which is automatically updated on the Google Sheet and stored in the cloud. It may be that the same manager is responsible for approving the weekly salary run. A simple online approval form is all that’s required to complete this business-critical function via the mobile intranet.
Similarly, the service technician who is servicing a client’s air-conditioning unit can access the CRM database via the mobile cloud intranet and check up on all the latest contact with that client and the service history. And if they need to order a new part, then it’s no problem. All the service technician needs to do is complete an online form which the cloud intranet automatically routes to the correct member of staff or even directly to the supplier for action.
The best part is that this can all be achieved from any location and at any time regardless of whether head office is open or not. All that’s needed is a Wi-Fi or mobile connection and a mobile device. Staff members and managers alike now have more freedom and flexibility to get the job done if they are on-call or are required to work over the festive season even if they are away from the workplace. They no longer need to be physically located in the office to get the job done.
What’s more, cloud intranets come with a whole host of other benefits that will be important at any time of year not just during the holiday season.
The advantages of a cloud intranet include the following:
high availability and uptime – typically 99.9 percent- automatic backups and updates
- advanced security features including SSL encryption and role-based access to the site, pages and files
- easy setup with a five-step site builder process and pre-built intranet templates
- simple ongoing management with a set of intuitive admin tools.
high availability and uptime – typically 99.9 percentCloud intranets come with a number of in-built features and apps that will have a positive impact on all-round operations and the company’s bottom dollar:
- News blogs and feeds to enhance internal communications.
- Surveys and polls to engage with staff members.
- Project and team workspaces to promote collaboration and joint working.
- Corporate calendars for better coordination.
- Social intranet features such as follow-me functionality, team and individual activity walls as well as staff biographies to promote a positive company culture.
Intranets Are Not Just For Christmas
There’s no doubt that a cloud-hosted, mobile-friendly intranet is a must over the holiday period. It means that those staff that have to work during Christmas can do so without necessarily being physically in the office. And it also means that those employees that like to keep in touch to avoid a huge in-tray on their return can dip in and out as they please.
However, an intranet isn’t just essential at Christmastime. The truth is the benefits on offer will be important at any time of year.
Interested in finding out more? Contact the knowledgeable team at MyHub today. Better still, why not try out our intranet software with a free demo or a no-obligation 14-day trial and discover what a difference an intranet can make to your business this Christmas and every day.
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