How to Get Buy-in For a SharePoint Intranet in Your Organization?

Implementing a new piece of technology like a SharePoint intranet solutions requires buy-in from both leadership and employees to be successful.

Without their support, your intranet runs the risk of low adoption rates or abandonment.

Gaining buy-in across your organization starts with highlighting the many benefits of an intranet, like:

●      Facilitating collaboration

●      Enabling knowledge sharing

●      Streamlining workflows

●      Improving employee communication and engagement

This article will explore strategies for securing executive and user buy-in to ensure your SharePoint intranet realizes its full potential.

Getting Leadership Buy-In

The first step to intranet adoption is getting your leadership team on board. Though the benefits are abundant, some executives need extra convincing.

Here are 5 effective tactics for winning over leadership support:

1. Connect benefits to business objectives
   Leadership cares primarily about the bottom line. Tie intranet benefits to tangible business outcomes like:

○      Increased productivity

○      Improved knowledge sharing

○      Reduced operational costs
Back up claims with data and case studies from competitors or firms in adjacent industries.

2. Get an executive sponsor
   An engaged executive sponsor helps communicate the vision and lend credibility. Identify a respected leader passionate about the problem you’re trying to solve.
3. Highlight security and governance capabilities
   Assuage any data privacy, compliance, or security concerns by showcasing SharePoint’s enterprise-grade capabilities.
4. Propose a pilot
   Suggest rolling out a limited pilot intranet to prove value before larger investment. Set clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to benchmark.
5. Plan for change management
   SharePoint represents a major change. Define a concrete change management strategy and set aside resources to get leaders aligned.

Benefit	Business Impact
Improved collaboration	↑ productivity
Smooth workflows	↓ operations costs
Better knowledge sharing	↑ innovation

"With strong leadership alignment and executive sponsorship, SharePoint intranet adoption moves from an ‘if’ to a ‘when’."

Getting Employee Buy-In

Leadership approval is just the first hurdle. Your employees actually have to want to use the intranet.

To spur end user excitement and adoption, focus on:

1. Proactive communication

Early, frequent, and honest communication reduces confusion and anxiety come launch day. Share intranet previews and provide transparent FAQs.

2. Digital literacy education

Don’t assume every employee has the baseline digital skills required. Host optional education sessions to upskill teams on intranet navigation, workflows, etc.

3. Killer content

Quality trumps quantity when populating your intranet. Ensure there is helpful, engaging content for employees from day one.

4. Ongoing support

New systems often warrant a helping hand. Keep floor support staff on hand to aid employees struggling to adjust.

5. Recognition

Reward intranet activity with prizes, badges, etc. Friendly competition motivates engagement.

No two organizations implement SharePoint the same way. Centering human concerns through change management best practices drastically improves user adoption. Spend less time figuring out the technology and more time getting people onboard.

Hopefully this gives you a blueprint for securing buy-in at both the leadership and employee level.