How a Manufacturing Organisation Improved Employee Engagement and Productivity with a SharePoint Intranet
A manufacturing organisation wanted a SharePoint intranet employees would actively use, not another information repository. WebVine implemented an SharePoint Online Injio intranet, combining internal communications, employee engagement and enterprise search. Within the first week, approximately 70% of employees had accessed the new intranet.
At a Glance
- Client: Australian manufacturing organisation
- Industry: Manufacturing
- Operating context: Approximately 100 employees using Microsoft 365 and an existing Electronic Document and Records Management System
- Challenge: Create one destination for intranet communication, employee participation and trusted business information
- Solution: SharePoint Online intranet using Injio, with employee engagement features and a central Document Hub
- Technologies: SharePoint Online, Microsoft 365, Injio, Microsoft Power Automate, SharePoint Search, Microsoft Entra ID and EDRMS integration
- Headline result: Approximately 70% of employees accessed the intranet within the first week of launch
The Challenge: Making Communication and Trusted Information Easier to Access
The organisation wanted to modernise its digital workplace by creating an employee intranet that people would enjoy using. The project was not simply about replacing an ageing information portal. It was intended to improve internal communications, strengthen employee engagement and importantly, make trusted business information easier to find.
The organisation already used Microsoft 365 and maintained controlled documents within an Electronic Document and Records Management System. Both environments contained valuable information, but employees often needed to know where a document was stored before they could find it. This made policies, procedures and operational documents harder to discover through a single search experience.
Internal communications were also largely transactional. Opportunities to celebrate achievements, recognise colleagues and encourage employee participation were limited. The organisation wanted to support a more connected workplace, building on its thriving culture.
The Solution
WebVine designed and implemented a modern SharePoint Online intranet using Injio. The approach brought together the important pillars of intranet communication, employee engagement and knowledge management in one Microsoft 365 intranet experience.
Rather than treating the employee intranet as a noticeboard, the intranet design focused on everyday employee needs. The homepage combined business updates, employee recognition, workplace celebrations, internal opportunities and access to business systems.
Some employee engagement features of the new intranet included:
- Employee Spotlights highlighting birthdays, work anniversaries and promotions,
- Peer recognition with likes and comments
- A community image gallery for employee-contributed photographs from projects, site activities and company events
- An Internal Opportunities section promoting vacant positions
- Employee-submitted announcements supported by an automated approval workflow
- A key component of the new intranet is the Document Hub. The new hub enables employees to interact with one search interface to access content held in both SharePoint and the EDRMS.
Business Impact
The employee intranet created a central destination for business information, internal communications and participation. It also gave employees reasons to return between formal communications through recognition posts, announcements and employee-contributed content.
The central Document Hub simplified the search experience across SharePoint Online and the EDRMS saving employees confusion and time. Employees no longer needed to know which system held a document before starting their search. The organisation could direct employees to one search experience for approved policies, procedures, forms and business guides.
The intranet communication model also supported broader participation. Employees could contribute announcements while an automated approval process retained review before publication.
Key Outcomes
- Within the first week of launch, approximately 70% of employees had already accessed the new intranet, demonstrating rapid organisation-wide adoption.
- The intranet generated 4,879 hub interactions, demonstrating strong repeat usage across approximately 60 employees.
- The new Document Hub recorded 311 visits, highlighting rapid adoption of the new enterprise search experience.
- Operational content including purchasing resources, policies, procedures, staff directories and business documentation quickly became some of the most frequently accessed content across the platform.
- Employees actively engaged with recognition posts, workplace announcements and operational resources, demonstrating that the intranet had become part of the organisation’s everyday work rather than simply another communications channel.
Measurement note: These usage and adoption figures are based on project records and should be treated as project-reported outcomes rather than independently audited metrics.
The Outcome
The organisation now has a modern SharePoint intranet that brings together communication, employee recognition, internal opportunities and business information. Employees can use one destination to stay informed, recognise colleagues, contribute announcements, search for trusted documents and get work done.
The project delivered strong early intranet adoption, repeat usage and active engagement with content beyond the homepage. It also established a Microsoft 365 intranet foundation that connects SharePoint Online with the organisation’s existing records management environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a SharePoint intranet?
A SharePoint intranet is an internal website built on Microsoft SharePoint. It can bring together organisational news, employee resources, business information and links to workplace systems within Microsoft 365.
How can an employee intranet support engagement?
An employee intranet can give people practical reasons to participate through recognition, announcements, employee spotlights and contributed content. In this case, employees engaged with recognition posts, workplace announcements and operational resources.
How can a SharePoint intranet improve internal communication?
A SharePoint intranet can provide a central publishing location and structured contribution process. In this project, employees could submit announcements through the intranet, with a Power Automate workflow used to review content before publication.
Can SharePoint Search include content from another document management system?
In this project, a central Document Hub used SharePoint Search to surface content from SharePoint Online and the organisation’s existing EDRMS. Search results linked back to the authoritative source documents.
What helps drive intranet adoption after launch?
A reliable, useful intranet continue to drive adoption after launch. This can include open contribution, trusted enterprise search and visible employee recognition, which gave employees reasons to use the intranet regularly.
Related Digital Workplace Resources
- Explore SharePoint intranet solutions
- Plan your SharePoint intranet design
- Improve intranet adoption
- Strengthen intranet communication
Is Your Intranet Being Used as Part of Everyday Work?
If employees still rely on email, chat or colleagues to locate business information, or if internal communications remain largely one-way, the underlying issue may be the intranet experience rather than the amount of content. WebVine can help assess how communication, search, participation and governance fit together in a practical SharePoint intranet.
Talk to WebVine about creating a SharePoint intranet employees choose to use.
Discuss Your Intranet
