6 clever add-ons you need for your intranet

Whether you are a seasoned intranet manager, or are just now embarking on the journey to purchasing intranet software, you probably have realized that not all intranet platforms are the same. 

Out of the box, ThoughtFarmer provides all the key features that you need to build a great intranet without requiring loads of customization like what SharePoint requires. While there are many factors that contribute to the ideal intranet, it’s safe to say you probably want some flexibility. 

However, unlike some platforms that are heavily locked down and support only limited branding, ThoughtFarmer supports the ability to further customize the behaviour with intranet add-ons. These can be built by your own development team, or you can use pre-built enhancements to extend your existing intranet functionality. 

We’ve built a collection of intranet add-ons to enhance your intranet that are available for a small fee. Here are six of our most requested add-ons: 

Required Reading 

If you are an internal communications professional you know how frustrating it can be to get employees to read important news and information. It’s even more painful when these same employees claim they never received this information. This is where the Required Reading add-on comes in. 

One of our most popular enhancements, Required Reading is a set of three widget-like cards that allows administrators to ensure important documents and policies are read by employees. Any page can display the required reading widget, and you can place it anywhere you desire on the page.

If body copy is long, you can place two versions of the same widget on the same page. One before the body, and one afterwards. Clicking in one will affect the other, which prevents users from scrolling all the way to the top to confirm they have read the page. Users will continue to see the message “Confirm that you have read and understood this page” every time they return to the page until they click the “Yes I confirm” button.

This add-on is an excellent way to ensure and verify that employees have read essential content and announcements. 

Gamification

There are numerous ways to engage employees, but finding one that truly works can be challenging. This is why many organizations are turning to gamification; it’s a clever competitive strategy that actually works. 

On ThoughtFarmer, Gamification is a widget-like card added to a user’s profile. It works by gamifying actions (editing your profile, commenting on a news post) and activities (following, commenting, and searching for pages) and allots medals, badges, and points to the user. 

With this exciting extension, employees can collect points and earn badges that will appear on their profile! Gamification is an awesome way to get your users engaged on the intranet platform. 

You can learn more by reading our case study: How MedData Created a Winning Gamification Strategy.

Employee Handbook

Getting employees to read intranet content is challenging enough, but it’s particularly a problem when the content is extensive and spans several pages.

The Employee Handbook add-on on ThoughtFarmer allows you to view multiple pages at once, from sources anywhere across your intranet. It is ideally suited for linear content, like an employee handbook (hence the name), or any comprehensive content intended for continuous read

This enhancement works by assembling all pages into a reader type format. Users can navigate easily from page to page, or download the whole handbook as a ZIP collection of PDF or Word documents. This extension also remembers the exact location on the document where the user left off—which is perfect for those of us who frequently get interrupted while reading.  

Teammate Spotlight

If your workforce operates remotely you probably empathize with just how challenging it can be for colleagues to truly understand those they interact with. But this problem isn’t limited to just remote workers; even those of us who work in an office can still find it difficult to learn about the people we collaborate with every day. 

This is where the TeamMate Spotlight add-on comes in. It works by randomly selecting a new user (employee) to display on every page load. Admins can customize specific profile details to display in the configuration, so if you want to provide a more personal slant, you can choose to highlight things like hobbies or interests. Similarly, if you want to focus on areas of expertise, you can highlight specific skill sets. 

This add-on is a great way for all of us to learn more about our colleagues.  

Stale Content Tools

Even the most up-to-date intranets can fall victim to content sprawl. Also known as content clutter, it is an extremely common problem—particularly if your intranet is over two years old. 

Thankfully there is a cure. Our Stale Content Tool add-on automatically generates reports for out of date content. Administrations can then take action by archiving, deleting, or setting a new review date or notifying the content owners. There is an additional option to send email reports to content owners that includes a summary of, and link to, all stale content. 

For Intranet admins this is a must-have extension that greatly helps in delegating the ongoing tasks associated with keeping intranet content fresh and relevant. 

Reporting Card

This add-on pulls data straight from the database on your intranet to generate statistical reports filtered to your specification. Since all data is recorded from the launch of your intranet, you can generate reports all the way from the very first day. It helps answer usage questions like, “Which users viewed the HR News posts during the first quarter?”

Filters allow you to generate reports for a specific time frame, to certain groups of users, and only for specific sections, pages, or content types.

This is one of the best intranet add-ons to gain valuable data on user actions and page activity on your intranet. It also is the best way to get very specific reports within specific time frames based on certain groups of users or sections of pages. And really, who doesn’t want/need more data about their intranet? 

Contact us today to learn more on how these and other ThoughtFarmer intranet add-ons can benefit your organization.