Setting up an intranet to handle routine HR inquiries and tasks can save you time while providing employees with access to important policies and procedures. First, though, you have to make sure employees actually use the option.
“HR” and “intranet” have become linked more and more closely as companies go electronic to communicate benefits and other crucial employee information.
The question about an HR intranet: If you build it, will they use it?
Experienced Web builder Jakob Nielsen says you can build an engaging, useful HR intranet if you remember the “The Three S’s” for communicating via Web pages. Here they are:
Breaking up is easy to do
1. Scannable. Tests show that readers are far more likely to scan information on Web pages than on printed pages. Keep that in mind when you’re providing information on your intranet. Break it up and keep it “scannable” –
• Put the most important information first
• Use headlines, bullet points and numbered lists, and
• Make frequent use of the question/answer format.
2. Short. To readers on the Web, more is less, so give them what they want: less.
Besides trimming every loose word, that also means giving the appearance of brevity by –
• using short sentences, about 20 words, and
• limiting the number of sentences per paragraph to no more than three.
3. Segmented. Break your information into short chunks that can be taken in quickly and easily. To accomplish that, make use of –
• headlines
• checklists
• short quizzes, and
• charts, graphs and tables.
