A good intranet in construction and infrastructure can be quite challenging. Employees work across different projects and locations, don’t sit at a desk every day and often need quick access to practical information. At the same time, as an organization you want to keep employees engaged, share important updates and make sure information is easy to find.
Fresh Intranet is therefore a good choice for an intranet in construction and infrastructure. Not only because it works completely within Microsoft 365, but also because it offers opportunities for target group-oriented communication, better findability of information, mobile use at project sites and easier content management for communications departments.
In this blog, we share practical best practices for making a SharePoint intranet better suited to construction and infrastructure organizations.
Within construction and infrastructure, not every employee needs the same information. An on-site contractor often looks for practical information such as safety protocols, project documentation or work instructions on the construction site. Employees in HR or Communications, on the other hand, are more often looking for information such as personnel regulations, internal updates or organization-wide communication. Yet information is often still offered in a rather general way, which means that employees see a lot of content that is less relevant to their daily work. This quickly creates an overload of content, especially for employees at construction sites or project locations who need practical and relevant information quickly.
Fresh example
Fresh Intranet allows you to display content in a targeted manner to specific audiences. For example, you can make safety updates visible only to field staff, show project information to employees of a specific project and share internal HR updates only with office staff. Notifications and news items can also be targeted to the right audience.
Why is this useful?
Targeted communication makes the intranet more user-friendly and allows employees to find what is important to them faster. In addition, it increases engagement, as employees have to go through less irrelevant information and the intranet is better aligned with their daily work.
You can read more about this in the blog “How does audience-focused content work within a SharePoint intranet?.
Within construction and infrastructure, information often needs to be readily available. Think of procedures, manuals, contacts, project information or safety documents. Employees on site usually do not have time to spend a long time searching for the right information.
Fresh example
With Fresh Intranet, you can offer information in a smarter and more organized way. Think of clear navigation, fast search functionalities, personalized content and AI support that allows employees to find documents, pages or answers faster. Frequently used information, such as forms or safety documents, can also easily be made extra visible within the intranet.
Why is this useful?
The faster employees can find information, the more likely the intranet will actually be used on a day-to-day basis. It also prevents frustration, saves time and ensures that employees have faster access to current and important information.
Within construction and infrastructure, many employees mainly work from their phones or tablets. Yet mobile use of an intranet is still regularly underestimated, while on-site employees need quick access to practical information, such as safety updates, forms, contact information or project documentation.
Fresh Intranet deliberately did not develop a separate intranet app. Instead, Fresh builds entirely on the existing capabilities of Microsoft 365 and mobile access through SharePoint and Teams. As a result, the intranet continues to operate within the same secure Microsoft environment, including existing permissions, security and governance.
Fresh example
Employees can easily access the intranet through the Microsoft Teams app and the SharePoint app. This keeps important information quickly accessible even on the road and at project locations. Think of news items, project information, documents or contact information that employees can access directly within the Microsoft 365 environment they already use daily.
Why is this useful?
By using the existing Microsoft environment, employees do not have to use an additional platform or separate login. This lowers the threshold for use and makes management more manageable for IT. At the same time, important information remains securely accessible to employees, even outside the office or at project sites.
You can read more about it in this blog ‘Does Fresh Intranet have a mobile app?’.
An intranet works well only when content stays current. Especially within construction and infrastructure, information changes quickly. Think of project updates, safety notifications, internal communication or practical information for employees on site. Yet we regularly see communication departments remain dependent on IT to modify pages, post content or manage sections within the intranet. This takes time and makes it more difficult to communicate quickly.
Fres example
With Fresh Intranet, communications departments gain more capabilities to manage content independently. Consider easily building pages with additional webparts, scheduling content, managing news releases and adjusting branding without relying on customization or complex technical setup.
Why is this useful?
The simpler content management can be, the more likely the intranet will remain current and actively used within the organization. In addition, simpler management allows communications to respond more quickly to developments within projects, locations or the organization itself.
Implementing an intranet is one thing, but how do you know if employees are actually using it? This is especially important within construction and infrastructure, because employees work across various locations and projects. Many organizations post news and information on the intranet, but have little insight into what employees are actually reading, using or searching for. This makes it difficult to further improve communication or to connect it better to the practice within the organization.
Fresh example
With Fresh Intranet, you get more comprehensive analytics on how content is being used. Think of insights into read news items, popular pages, search behavior and employee engagement. This makes it clear more quickly which information works well and where there are still opportunities.
Why is this useful?
By gaining insight into intranet usage, you can better tailor content to employees and improve communication in a more targeted way. In addition, it helps to see more quickly which information is important to employees and which parts of the intranet are used less.
AI is playing an increasing role within intranet environments. Especially within construction and infrastructure, AI can help employees access relevant information faster, without having to spend a long time searching between documents, pages or project information.
Fresh example
With AI functionalities within Fresh Intranet, employees can search, ask questions and find relevant content faster within the intranet. Instead of manually searching through documents, pages or project information, AI helps make the right information visible faster. Especially within construction and infrastructure, where a lot of information is scattered across different projects and departments, this saves employees a lot of time. Additionally, AI supports communications departments in writing, improving and managing content, making it easier to keep the intranet current and relevant.
Why is this useful?
AI makes the intranet more user-friendly and saves employees time in their daily work. Especially within organizations with a lot of information, projects and documentation, AI helps make the right information available to the right employees faster.
A successful intranet in construction and infrastructure is primarily about ease of use, accessibility and relevant communication. The better the intranet connects to employees’ daily practices, the more likely employees will actually use it.
With Fresh Intranet you build on the power of Microsoft SharePoint and create an intranet that better suits employees within construction and infrastructure. Think of target group-oriented communication, mobile accessibility, AI support, better findability and easier content management.
We can help you with strategy, design, implementation and further development of an intranet that really suits your organization.
