Dive Brief:
- Workwell, a French-made mobile intranet, was designed to make company's internal websites more appealing to employees, says Tech Crunch.
- Major criticisms of most intranets are that they're not designed for mobile use, take too long finding information and are not integrated with digital tools employees commonly use, according to Tech Crunch. The mobile app integrates with third-party services and has social media capability.
- For example, Workwell has a component called Never Eat Alone, which allows employees to find co-workers and set up lunch dates. Tech Crunch says this function makes discovering new people easy and promotes collaboration between workers. American Express and Sephora plan to use Workwell in their French offices.
Dive Insight:
Intranets are an interesting example of where old HR-focused tech may be failing in the new, mobile age. Beyond more typical procedural work done through intranets, many companies use them for important benefits education programs or social engagement initiatives. An app that integrates with digital tools and social media capabilities could help drive employees to actually use the intranet to its full functionality.
But as always happens, the old must face down the new — and in this case, the new may be work-integrated chat apps. While full integration of instant messaging hasn't reached its peak, many smaller companies that rely on employee mobility use such programs regularly. Email and intranet remain in high use, but alternatives are certainly on the rise.
Employers should ensure, especially as younger workers enter the workforce, that their technology is user-friendly. Tech-savvy millennials and Gen Z largely expect workplace tech to be as usable as the fun social apps they use on a daily basis.
