Intranet governance: How to manage your digital workplace effectively

An intranet can be a powerful business tool. It can become the backbone of your digital workplace. But a backbone needs a framework to do its job effectively.

Without structure, oversight and rules, an intranet becomes unwieldy. It can soon turn into an unmanageable Wild West! And that’s hard for people to use and IT teams to look after.

That’s where intranet governance comes in. It’s the strategy, structure and discipline that keeps your intranet running smoothly, scaling efficiently and serving your team as it should.

Here, we’ll share the important factors to think about and put in place when introducing and managing an intranet in your organisation.

What is intranet governance?

You may choose an intranet, like SharePoint, for its functionality, ease of use and in-built security. But managing SharePoint effectively requires more than just turning it on – it needs governance to stay structured and useful. If you set it up and forget about it, you run the risk of losing all those key benefits. An intranet needs to be managed and looked after to remain effective.

Intranet governance is the framework that defines how your intranet’s managed, maintained and optimised. It defines roles, responsibilities, policies, standards and guidelines. Governance ensures your intranet remains organised, relevant and useful. Importantly, these rules and guidelines aren’t set in stone. It needs to be a dynamic framework that adapts to your organisation’s ever-changing needs.

Think of it as the rulebook that helps you get the most from your intranet. Without it, even the best intranet management efforts can spiral into a mess of outdated documents, broken links and confusing navigation.

Why is intranet governance important?

A free-spirited, carefree approach can sound like fun. In reality, you can end up with anarchy that renders your intranet unusable. If everyone uploads content haphazardly and without boundaries, it’ll result in myriad styles, multiple duplicates, inaccuracies and a sprawling mess that’s impossible to navigate. Doesn’t sound so fun now, does it?

Guidelines and frameworks are helpful. They mitigate risks and ensure compliance. They support people to work more effectively and productively. You’ll have:

• Consistency: Branding, tone and navigation remain consistent across pages.
• Clarity: Every piece of content has a clear owner and purpose.
• Efficiency: Decision-making’s streamlined and duplication is less likely.
• Scalability: It’s easier to grow your intranet as your business expands.
• User trust: A well-governed intranet feels reliable and professional. That means your teams are more likely to actually use it.

We’re great advocates of SharePoint. Yet we recognise that strong intranet governance is especially critical in platforms like it. Managing SharePoint sites and content at scale demands clear rules, roles and workflows.

Barriers to intranet governance

Whilst a great intranet can boost productivity and contribute to business success, it requires resources. There are the technological systems, and also the people who need to manage, monitor and update its content. Without dedicated resources, intranet management and governance will fall flat.

Ownership is critical for intranet governance. You need to define clear roles and responsibilities. Who’s looking after content areas, moderation and intranet development, for example? A lack of ownership adversely affects intranet governance.

Clarity also applies to the policies. They can’t be too complex or hard to understand. They need to evolve and be updated regularly (and somebody needs to own that). If they remain static, they’ll go out of date and lose relevance.

Without leadership support and advocacy, you won’t get buy-in from others in the business. Poor communication will prevent people from adhering to the guidelines.

Active involvement from stakeholders and senior leaders is essential for intranet adoption and governance.

How to plan for intranet governance

We’re fans of a plan. Fail to plan and you plan to fail, as they say. So, before you roll out your intranet, it’s essential to make plans. Plans for implementing and integrating the intranet, maintaining it and importantly, managing and governing it.

1. Create a governance team

You need to bring together a cross-functional team of people from across the business – communications, IT, HR and business units. Everyone has a part to play in intranet management. They’ll inform the guidelines and champion them amongst their teams.

2. Create a governance plan

This is the who, what and how part of the plan. Assign suitable individuals to specific tasks, including content manager, development manager and site owner.

Document how decisions are made, who’s responsible for what and how the intranet will be managed over time. What’s your approval workflow? Can people self-publish, or does it need to get the ok from a content manager? How long does content stay online?

Communication, training and support are critical. Encourage teams to use the intranet and to follow the governance guidelines.

3. Define content guidelines

Decide which types of content are acceptable and appropriate. Clarify the desired tone and style, as well as technical specifications for images and videos. Think about what content is useful, relevant and on-brand.

Content management is fundamental. Ensure it remains relevant and accurate. Keep the intranet current and well-structured. Decide whether outdated content gets updated or removed.

Set the rules that will help content creators and users stay on track.

4. Control user access and permissions

Security is of paramount importance for every business. Restrict access to limit risks. Review and update user permissions regularly. Educate team members in safety protocols (such as password security).

In addition, security measures need to be implemented and kept up to date to reduce the risk of cyber incidents.

For those using SharePoint, it’s worth exploring SharePoint governance tools to help manage permissions, maintain security and ensure consistency across sites.

How to measure good governance

Governance isn’t a one-time-only activity. It needs to evolve as your business does. That means you need to review how the process is working on a regular basis.

Platforms like Fresh and SharePoint make it easier to track and evaluate intranet governance with built-in analytics and tools.

Check engagement metrics to see what people are using. Are they finding what they need? Feedback will highlight issues or suggest improvements.

Compliance is key. Ensure teams are following your established policies. Is outdated content being archived? Are regular reviews happening and actions being taken?

If people are assigned responsibilities, set measurable KPIs to track their progress and performance. Review these regularly with your employee.

Make intranet governance the backbone of your digital workplace

Good governance is what turns an intranet from a nice-to-have to a powerful platform for your business. It brings order, clarity and purpose to your digital workplace.

And the best part? You can make it your own. Set up a governance framework that grows with you, so your intranet stays fresh, focused and future-ready. A clear governance plan is your foundation for long-term success.