Simplify Intranet Implementation with Departmental Templates

Implementing or replacing an intranet is no easy task. There are many challenges to overcome including identifying best practices for designing departmental pages. Many departments will have a wide variety of information to publish and a vision for what they want their page to look like. Other departments will not have as much use for the intranet, however still need to have a basic presence to communicate information.

In order to simplify your implementation, you will want to consider creating departmental templates. For those departments with lots of content, templates will help to keep them organized and consistent with other departmental pages. This consistency will help your end users locate information they are looking for easily and give your intranet a professional look and feel. For those departments with little content, this will give them a starting point and a “fill in the blanks” type page so they don’t struggle to come up with content.

So what should that departmental template contain? This can vary from one hospital to the next. Your intranet governance team should come up with basic information to be included for each department as well as the layout for the page. Here are some common content ideas for your departmental home pages:

1. Welcome message including a mission statement and/or basic information about the department and services provided.
2. Photos of staff
3. Contact information including phone numbers and email addresses
4. Hours of operation and location
5. Departmental calendar for upcoming events, meetings, etc.
6. Documents such as forms or policies and procedures
7. Links to frequently accessed websites and resources

Here is a sample screenshot of a department using the template:

Templates aren’t limited to departmental pages. Using templates for other common pages will only increase usability and consistency on your intranet. Want to learn more about intranet best practices and implementation? Download our ebook by clicking the link below.