Return on investment can be difficult to quantify when measuring ROI for a tool that serves the internal customer.  We know that intranets can centralize and organize data.  It is a platform for employees to communicate and collaborate.  The demand is growing for social media and employee networking via the intranet.  Employee productivity lends credibility to ROI, but what is the true value of an intranet?

Before we go there, let’s first look at where companies lose money.  How much would it cost to replace just one experienced, trained systems engineer?  The recruiting, training and downtime when they are being replaced takes a large amount of capital and potential productivity.  Retaining just one employee is a very important investment. This is where the intranet comes in.

One measurable ROI of an intranet is employee retention. An intranet can help an organization keep good employees by offering them a voice on the intranet, keeping them in the loop, closing the gap between employee and management, creating opportunities for growth and promotion.  An intranet can help them to feel they are making a difference for the company.

Training
Advertise training opportunities
Allow employees to register online for courses & give feedback
Online records of the employee’s training history

Job Postings / Employee Resumes
Post new postitions on the intranet
Encourage users to create their resumes on the intranet
Employees can apply for openings online
Help HR to track job vs. applicant history
Create a system for HR to rate and comment on resumes

Blogs
Encourage key people to post regular blog entries
Ask the CEO to share insights, goals, visions
Share new product lines, revenue streams, new clients
Highlight employees accomplishments
Allow comments by everyone

Design
Build upon corporate culture with your intranet design
Elicit ideas and thoughts on new intranet designs
Set up content feeds to the home page
Advertise new and relevant information
Encourage employees to bookmark favorite areas

Content Authors
Allow everyone the chance to contribute
Enable approval and workflow only on sensitive areas
Build a community = everyone is an author

Investing in your employees can only build a better business, and it also helps in attracting, and keeping, good people which does affect the corporate bottom line.