Five Mistakes to avoid while Customizing Intranet

You have to keep a lot of factors in mind while customizing Microsoft Intranet for your corporate. However, it's not that difficult either, provided you can avoid the five following mistakes.

Five intranet customization mistakes to avoid

Not taking feedback and talking to the users.

The first mistake to avoid while customizing the Intranet has to be not listening to the users. While the responsibility of customization of the Intranet rests on the administrator, the users can also use the feature of Microsoft intranet to customize it from themselves. The designer or administrator should always keep the feedback of the users in consideration. Not only are the users sharing their feedback, but they would also be able to highlight the problem they face or even help with the scope of improvement. User input helps the administrators to clearly understand how well the users can interact with the customization. Some administrators may also choose to involve some users in the usability testing. Usability testing, again, puts the designers and the administrators in a position to understand the productivity the customization can generate and improve efficiency.

Not doing proper planning or implementation of plans.

One of the major reasons for errors in the customization of Microsoft Intranet is the improper implementation of plans. While most of companies pay proper attention to the planning of customization, they often make the error of trying to incorporate everything at once. It is always advisable to try and incorporate the strategies over a period of time. For instance, most companies tend to implement a strategy over 6-8 months. By implementing everything at once and expecting results immediately, the companies take the big risk of losing out on capital and misuse of resources. The companies should always avoid making the mistake of not taking the customization in phases. Companies are investing their time and money heavily on customizing Intranet step by step for maximum results and efficiency. Thus, the strategy of proper planning and careful implementation of the plans should always be adopted.

The absence of proper training

The companies should provide regular training to the users for better understanding and optimum use of Microsoft Intranet. Even though some companies tend to overlook the importance of training, it should be noted that training becomes altogether more important with regular advancements in Microsoft Intranet. Many may argue that since the users regularly use particular software, they don't need training. While this might be partially true, users can't fully exploit the software until they understand what it's made for and in what ways they can use it to their advantage. Also, the administrators should take the responsibility of customizing the Intranet so that it is user-friendly. For instance, many companies believe that if a user cannot operate something effectively, it's the fault of the design. Hence, the training of the users along with creating user-friendly customization should be given priority.

Missing out on relevant content strategies

After working effectively on customizing the designs, most companies tend to lose on the content front. It's important to have proper content strategies in place while customizing Microsoft Intranet. The users expect relevant information from the companies in a presentable manner. Both irrelevant information in a proper manner and relevant information in an improper manner can be bad for the companies. The companies should focus on providing content which the users want and can add value to their lives. It's also important to make the content presentable and easily accessible. If an employee has to navigate to different places for a small piece of information, it causes time loss and tends to decrease productivity. Since content is read differently on the web and when it's printed. The companies must write content that is suitable to be read on the web rather than on paper.

Not establishing a proper channel of responsibility.

While different team members can help with new ideas, more people than required tend to cause more damage than profit. The top management should clearly outline the number of people required before distributing the responsibilities. By properly distributing the responsibilities and outlining the authority hierarchy, the companies can reduce the complexity and confusion to a great extent. By eradicating confusion, the companies can focus on making the customization more efficient. Not establishing a proper channel of responsibility is undoubtedly one of the biggest mistakes companies make while optimizing Microsoft Intranet.

End Thoughts

That's being said; it is time to look for an ideal intranet SharePoint service provider who can meet your specific requirement with ease. In this regard, Hello Intranet would be your ideal bet for sure.