For some businesses, the summer months are a little bit slower and employees take more vacations. During this time, your intranet may lack participation and updates. But keeping your intranet *hot* during the summer helps keep those employees engaged instead of daydreaming staring out the window wishing they were still on that cruise. We are going to look at a few ideas for your intranet that can keep things fun and fresh. Also we will provide some tips on how to clean up your intranet to prepare for the busier months ahead.
Share Summer Vacation Stories and Photos
People love to share their vacation photos and talk about their experiences. Allow them to do so in a blog. They can write about their experiences and adventures and allow others to comment. You can also create a Summer Media Album to allow them to easily share photos and videos of their time-off.
You can also share daily pictures and vacation tidbits in your status feed. They could also update their profile picture with their summer photo as well. Their profile can also be used to add these blogs and Photo Albums
Summer Clean Up
While not as much content may be added during the summer, you can use this time to clean up content on your site. We have previously shared tips on how to keep a clutter-free intranet, and suggest you go back and read it for more helpful tips.
Removing outdated documents, cleaning up your blogs or discussion posts, and archiving other old information are great things to do during this time.
Are your other intranet admins, or content creators away during this time? Then use this opportunity to train someone new on how to manage the content on the site and allow them to assist in finding and removing outdated content. Not only will you have a helper, they will learn new skills and be able to assist in the future.
Fresh Redesign
You can also use this time to get creative with your site and give it a nice fresh coat of paint. Change up your colors, add new logos, try different backgrounds. If you are a developer, or know your way around CSS, try changing some CSS code to style your page in a completely different way.
When employees return to a new look, it will generate excitement and they will be interested in looking around at everything that’s new.
Fun Events
Have some fun during the summer with your employees. Hold special events (BBQs, Piicnic games, Bike to Work days etc.) and advertise them on your intranet calendar. Share photos and news from the events. Schedule some themed Dress Down days and potluck lunches during this time to keep morale up. Have employees decorate their summer cubicles and vote on the best one.
Hold intranet contests, such as a scavenger hunt (looking for items on the intranet) or have employees vote on the best Profile picture. Check out more ideas on Wacky Content ideas for your intranet.
Gather Feedback from Team
While you are using this time to remove clutter from your intranet, also use it as a time to gather feedback and suggestions from your employees on how you may improve the intranet. Hold a focus group where you can have an open discussion with members from different teams and departments. This will help you plan your strategy for the next half of the year, and gear up for the busy months.
Employee Recognition
Hold an awards night during the summer to recognize employee achievements. Give out awards (either in person or on the intranet) and highlight their victory on your intranet. Allow co-workers to share kudos to the winners and show them that their hard work is appreciated by the organization.