A recent report has found that underperforming intranets could be costing companies £2.7bn in wasted staff time. The report, from user experience experts Mando Group, claims that in a quarter of large UK companies, and in nearly half of all medium-sized companies, intranets are underperforming.

The ‘Internal Engagement’ report suggests that although the corporate intranet is commonplace, it is not being used to its full potential and is often neglected in favour of the customer-facing website.

Jonathan Seal, strategy director, Mando Group says, “These figures make for stark reading and the impact to businesses is very clear – certainly in terms of ROI. But an underperforming intranet – where information is hard to find and utilise – also has wider implications affecting employee engagement and collaborative development.”

Mando Group argue that intranets could be used more effectively to supplement workflow, collaboration, decision-making and, ultimately, business growth, by including intranet users in the design and testing stages. The report says, “Usability analysis is critical to intranet efficiency and longevity”. The report also suggests that intranets could be a vital tool for employee engagement by increasing productivity and employee well-being.

The study was commissioned by independent organisation MindMetre. For the full report click here.