When it comes to intranets vs. employee experience platforms, what’s the real difference?
It’s getting harder and harder to tell. Here’s why.
There’s been a revolution in the type of tech tools we use in the modern workplace. For a long time now, we’ve been moving away from static communication tools — like the traditional employee intranet — toward dynamic, engagement-centric platforms.
Intranet software is still the backbone of internal communication and collaboration in many organizations. But employee experience platforms (EXPs) play an ever-expanding role in the workplace ecosystem.
These user-friendly platforms are changing our expectations of what the employee intranet should be. They’re bringing together various digital workspace tools — for communication, collaboration, learning, wellbeing, and performance management.
Ultimately, they’re providing HR teams with an easy way to perform employee experience management — and much more besides. They’re having a big impact on company culture, employee engagement, and employee retention.
So is the intranet still relevant in a world of integrated EXPs? Let’s look at how the lines between these two types of workplace tech have blurred — and what this means for your organization.
The showdown: Intranets vs. employee experience platforms
Intranets 101: The old guard of workplace tech
An intranet is a private network that facilitates the sharing of information across an organization. It’s a hub for workplace resources, news, and tools.
Traditionally, the employee intranet has supported limited interactivity. It’s a tool for top-down employee communications — where leaders speak and employees listen.
Intranet platforms are often designed for office-based employees. Workers without a desktop computer or a company email address may struggle to access the tools and resources housed on the intranet.
EXPs explained: The future of employee engagement
An employee experience platform is a dynamic ecosystem. It integrates employee communication, engagement, and collaboration tools.
EXPs place a firm focus on employees and their experience in the workplace. They provide tools for recognition and co-worker connection. They support two-way internal communication, with essential features like employee surveys — and a news feed where employees can share user-generated, relevant content.
EXPs are often available via desktop and smartphone apps. So they allow HR and comms leaders to promote company culture and share vital information across the whole organization. Everyone — including your company’s frontline workers — can access EXP resources.
Blurred lines: When intranets meet EXPs
With the advent of EXPs, modern intranet software tends to go beyond the static experience of old. Intranet providers are incorporating more and more EXP features into their offering.
So why is this change taking place? Why are the lines between the employee intranet and employee experience platforms blurring? We put this shift down to three key factors.
#1. Tech trends that are changing the game
Technology has moved on drastically since the days of the traditional employee intranet. And modern intranet solutions are taking inspiration from EXPs.
Some now come with real-time communication tools that support fast and effective teamwork. Some have user-friendly interfaces that mimic the experience employees get on their favorite social media apps.
AI integration is another popular trend. It’s helping communications teams to create compelling messages. It’s also helping comms and HR teams make sense of the employee landscape, by turning complex employee data into actionable insights.
#2. Employees are demanding better tech
Using tech tools in their personal lives, employees enjoy seamless experience. They get personalized recommendations. They can access tools from their smartphones. It’s quick and convenient for users to find the information and tools they need.
As a result, their expectations of workplace tech have become more exacting.
Old and clunky workplace tech creates a poor digital employee experience (DEX). It creates friction and frustration in the work day. This impacts employee productivity, satisfaction, and retention.
With this in mind, intranet software is evolving to meet the needs of today’s employees. Increasingly, you’ll find solutions that offer mobile-first, real-time, and personalized experiences.
#3. Building a business case for better tools
1 in 3 workers says workplace technologies are not being used effectively — and employers are wasting money on unused licenses. Employees would prefer fewer but more effective tools to help them do their jobs.
Unified platforms reduce tool fatigue. The right platform also improves ROI because you pay for a single software solution, designed to help you meet a range of business objectives.
According to Gartner research, top business priorities for 2025 include:
- Change management
- Strategic workplace planning
- Building a strong organizational culture
- Leader and manager development
A comprehensive platform can help with all the above. You can use it to drive productivity, efficiency, employee engagement, wellbeing, and retention.
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Intranets vs. EXPs: What still sets them apart?
Intranet software providers are adopting many EXP features in a bid to improve their offering. But there remain some key differences between most intranets and employee experience platforms. These are:
- Content vs. experience: Intranet software prioritizes static content. It’s focused on providing employees with the resources they need to do their jobs. EXPs focus on experience and engagement, powered by interactive social features. They have a positive impact on the employee experience and company culture.
- One-way vs. two-way communication: Intranet solutions allow leaders to share information with employees. EXPs facilitate a dialogue. They give employees the tools they need to speak up and leave feedback — and for leaders to respond, showing they value the input of their workforce.
- User experience: Traditional intranet platforms are often legacy systems that have been updated, bit by bit, to meet modern workforce needs. EXPs, however, have been built with today’s workforce (and their expectations) in mind. They are consumer-grade, intuitive solutions that employees enjoy using.
These differences pose a problem. In platforms where these differences are more pronounced, you’ll struggle to meet diverse organizational needs with just one tool.
You may be able to share and store company resources but struggle to promote two-way interaction. You may be able to launch beautiful employee surveys while sharing company feedback remains a challenge. Document sharing may be easy, but knowledge sharing or facilitating collaboration with project management tools may be nearly impossible.
As we’ve already seen, using more than one platform causes frustration for employees and increases your software costs. So there’s a strong case for finding workplace tech that ticks all the boxes.
Why integrated platforms are the future
We may be a bit biased — but we believe that unified platforms are the future. Powered by seamless integration, they provide employees with the corporate communication, tools, and resources they need to thrive in their roles.
For example, an integrated platform can provide key features such as:
- An integrated social feed where employees can get relevant, engaging, and up-to-the-minute company news
- Task management features that bring all tasks together in one easy-to-understand dashboard
- Personalized employee journeys, with the platform delivering resources to workers as and when they need them
- An exceptional digital experience across all devices, so you can roll the platform out to your entire workforce
- Robust analytics, that help you gauge what content is getting good engagement — and where there’s room for improvement
Of course, when bringing all of your workplace tools into one super platform, there are considerations you need to bear in mind.
You need to balance rich features with simplicity to avoid overwhelming users. You also need to personalize the platform experience to each employee to prevent information overload. Platform usage will drop if employees find your solution too complicated or irrelevant.
A good intranet software provider will help you overcome these challenges and maximize the benefits of a unified platform. Key benefits include:
- Streamlined workflows. Employees don’t waste time switching between different workplace software. From Google Workspace and ServiceNow, to Workday and ADP, and everything in between, any tool they need is easily and quickly at their fingertips. This means better efficiency and productivity across your workforce.
- Improved engagement. An integrated platform takes the best bits of the intranet and places them all in one intuitive interface. It then builds in other engagement features — like recognition, learning, and instant messaging with coworkers — to create a thoroughly engaging platform and digital workplace.
- Data-driven insights. With everything in one place, it’s easier to make sense of platform data. Your team can track employee experience and engagement metrics, viewing them alongside key business data relating to retention and productivity. With enhanced reporting tools, you can get a better sense of organizational performance and have the insight you need to make targeted improvements.
Why choose? Get the best of both worlds
The distinctions between an intranet and an EXP are getting harder to spot. The lines between the two platforms are increasingly blurred and these software solutions often provide many of the same features.
So, when deciding on the right tech for your organization, it’s best to take a holistic view. It’s about creating the right ecosystem for your workforce that offers a single source of truth for internal comms and links to the tools and features you need to ensure productivity, engagement, and employee satisfaction.
You may choose to use an EXP to fill the employee engagement gaps left by your intranet software solution. You can also find EXPs that fulfill both roles — that of an employee intranet and an employee experience platform.
Either way, the right EXP will integrate with the other workplace software you use — including HRIS, learning and development, and wellbeing tools — to give employees everything they need in a single application.
