What’s different about a university intranet? 44’s Partner – Digital, Alan Coates, explores some of the nuances that make this kind of challenge so unique to the internal comms industry.

When you hear the word “intranet”, it’s natural that you think of something that looks like a webpage. It’s got text, images, and maybe even videos. You might also think about technology, data, contact directories, and lots and lots of policy documents.

While this might be what an intranet is in its tangible form, the more intranets we support on, the more I realise what makes intranets really work well are people. The people that make it. The people that use it. And the people that maintain it.

For a university intranet, this creates a few interesting nuances, that – if properly understood and controlled – can actually turn potential issues into real benefits.

University intranet audiences

Off the top of my head I can’t think of a more disparate audience for an intranet than a university. On one side, you have the transitory student body: a largely younger demographic, inexperienced, present only for a few years, who need essential information quickly.

On the other side of the spectrum you have the staffbody: largely older, highly experienced (in their own fields), present for long periods of time, and who will need the essential information, but will also be compelled (required, even) to produce new content and material as part of their role.

So, what works well for this audience?

Because the student and staff experience is so disparate, it makes sense to have two intranets, to cater overtly to each audience type. However, there are lots of opportunities for efficiencies across the two if they’re managed under a single umbrella. One example is content creation – writing for both audiences at once. However, writing for (or on behalf) of experts and students means it’s best to write for lay audiences in the first instance.

The other opportunities include clear governance processes to keep data clean, as well as technical maintenance and improvements. If both sides of the coin are discussed each time these topics are raised, then both sides benefit from the other and reduce the silo-mentality.

Speaking of university intranet silos…

Anybody who has worked in or around higher education knows how disparate different colleges and departments can be. There can be separate values, histories, budgets, governing bodies – all under one university name, but very different in their ambitions and modus operandi.

From an intranet perspective, this can result in what’s been described as ‘the wild west’, where any consistency goes out of the window and each college or department takes it upon themselves to fashion the intranet in their own image.

So, what works well in this structure?

There are two parts to this answer. The first is technological, the second is about how people work together.

From a technical perspective, platforms like SharePoint Online or Haiilo give admins the ability to create user roles that can write, edit and prepare content – but then require permission to publish that material. While I’m not saying that all colleges would submit content back to a central comms team for approval –within that college there would definitely be a comms lead or champion tasked with governing that particular area on behalf of the whole university.

This leads on to the people-side. There has to be buy-in for what your university intranet is trying to achieve in the main. Not just as a top-down informational hub for colleges or departments back to their own people – but holistically, cross-departmentally, and as a way for students and staff to engage with and feedback on the material and information.

There are lots of ways this has been described, such as pools, hubs, communities, and champions, but fundamentally it’s a group of people who are responsible for owning the intranet on behalf of their department and the central team.

It’s easier said than done – but if university intranets were to have their own motto, it should be: sic parvis magna. Or rather, greatness from small beginnings.

How to get started

If you’d like to discuss any of these topics further – as employee engagement experts, we’re here to help.

Drop me a line directly at alan.coates@44communications.co.uk to find out how we’ve helped other organisations audit, develop, and improve their intranets.