Does a small business need an intranet?
From our experience – definitely.
At DataRiseLab, we’re a team of nearly 40 people. We work on data projects. And although we use modern technologies every day, we lacked a single place where information would be organized and easily accessible.
This isn’t about rocket science. It’s about answers to simple, everyday questions:
- How do I complete my Time Sheet?
- How do I report vacation time?
- Where can I find marketing materials?
- What are our employee/project referral policies?
- Who is responsible for a given area in the organization?
- What’s new at the company?
and so it began.
An idea born out of necessity – maturing for a long time
The idea of creating an intranet didn’t just come out of nowhere – it had been floating around the company for some time. Several people had already indicated that a common, organized place where they could quickly find all the key information would be useful. The impetus came from the onboarding of our colleague Aneta – who, having entered the organization with a fresh perspective, noticed the lack of a single, coherent source of knowledge. Instead of leaving it as a thought, she took the initiative and took action.
“I missed a place where the rules and policies applicable at DRL are summarized. Things like invoicing, time logging, and vacation reporting are all part of the onboarding process, but with the amount of information at the beginning, it’s hard to remember it all.”
Aneta
She asked our CEO, Kamil, directly if we could do anything about it.
As it turned out, we could. And we should.
Translated text from the image above:
“great, I really support it”
Translated text from the image above:
“Hey everyone,
I have an idea (nothing revolutionary 😉) to create our internal SP intranet, where we’ll have a knowledge base of various categories. From administrative information to domain-specific articles. I thought of this while browsing through the great materials Paweł prepared. 😊 Kamil mentioned that this idea has already been tossed around, so I think we can slowly move forward. (We have the green light from Kamil).
I think it will also be a good place for the processes that will need to be documented when implementing the ISO that Łukasz mentioned.It’s not about dropping everything and doing it; we can create a framework first and then work as time allows. We have the PM part basically ready ❤
Below, I’ve outlined a rough outline of what could be included.”
Because much of the content already existed—it just needed to be gathered, organized, and given the right form. Aneta took over coordination, and the project quickly gained momentum.
Intranet – or… what exactly?
From the outset, we knew we weren’t doing this “just for the sake of it.” The goal was to create a living knowledge base—accessible to everyone and useful in everyday life. That’s why we decided to base our intranet on SharePoint integrated with Microsoft Teams.
Who did this?
It was a project… that didn’t have a formal project team. But it did have people who wanted to.
💡 Paweł proposed integrating the intranet with Teams and participated in the initial conceptual discussions, helping to establish the overall logic for the system.
🧩 Aneta coordinated the entire project and compiled everything into Planner, breaking down tasks into smaller steps.
🔧 Marcin was responsible for the technical aspects, setting up the intranet on SharePoint, integrating with Teams, and managing access.
🎨 Aga oversaw the layout and visual structure to ensure a clear and cohesive overall experience.
🧠 Department heads created content within their areas.
Importantly, none of us had built an intranet before. We learned as we went. We took it one step at a time, in the meantime. There was no grand kickoff, no deadline. But week after week, the structure was established, content appeared, and value grew.
“I suggested integrating with Teams because that’s our natural work environment. It was all about simplicity and easy access for everyone.”
Paweł
“The hardest part was getting started—because, you know, everyone has their own projects, topics, and tasks. But as soon as the first framework appeared, everyone contributed something. It was a really cool collaboration. And the satisfaction was immense when it started working!”
Aneta
“Technically, we based everything on SharePoint, having it included in the Microsoft 365 package, and integration with Teams was key for us. We wanted easy access – no need to log in anywhere else. It was also important to me that it wasn’t a hard-coded system – it was something that could be developed, edited, and added content without the involvement of the IT department. So we ensured a simple permissions structure and the ability for different team members to co-create content.”
Marcin
“I wanted the intranet to be not only practical, but also intuitive and visually light. SharePoint offers a lot of possibilities. We focused on a simple layout, colors consistent with the brand’s visual identity, repeatable elements on subpages, and a logical menu. For me, the most important thing was that everyone – regardless of technical level – could find their way around. This isn’t meant to be an intranet ‘for insiders,’ but a place you want to come back to.”
Agnieszka
It’s really simple!
While the term “intranet” may sound daunting, creating one doesn’t have to be complicated – especially when using SharePoint. This tool, available as part of the Microsoft 365 suite, offers enormous possibilities.
You can use pre-made templates or create your own page layouts – it all depends on your needs. SharePoint has a user-friendly, intuitive content editor – it works a bit like PowerPoint. Adding text, graphics, documents, links, and buttons is done using drag-and-drop, without any coding or technical knowledge.
Importantly, this isn’t a closed system. Anyone with the appropriate permissions can independently edit the content of the pages: add a new document, change the section description, upload current materials, or create a new subpage. This allows our intranet to truly come alive – it grows with the company and requires no “external technical support.”
What’s on our intranet?
Our intranet is divided into logical, thematic sections, ensuring everyone can quickly find what they need. Each subpage addresses the real needs of employees and was developed by people who work in a given area daily.
It’s clear at a glance what we’re dealing with – each section begins with a short welcome text that explains what’s on the site and what each resource is for. This makes it easy for even new users to find their way around.
Here you will find, among others:
- company news – important events, information about new projects, team successes,
- access to key documents and templates,
- practical instructions and procedures prepared by departments such as Administration, Project, Analytics, Data & BI, etc.
- a place to submit ideas and grassroots initiatives,
- forms for reporting technical issues or requests,
- organized onboarding and training materials.
and much, much more.
Home Page
“Administration and HR” tab
What’s next?
This is not a closed project. The intranet lives and will evolve with the company. Each area has an “owner.” Content is created by the people who work in those departments every day. This isn’t “copy-and-paste” from the internet; it’s based on our knowledge, experience, and processes.
What follows from this?
If you’re in a small company and think “intranets are only for big companies” – think again.
You don’t need a dedicated IT team. You don’t need UX or information architecture specialists. All you need is:
- someone who sees a need,
- a few people who will join,
- a little time each week,
- and a common goal.
W naszym przypadku ten pomysł narodził się z onboardingu. A teraz… pomaga każdemu onboarding przejść łatwiej. To chyba najlepsze podsumowanie.