It may be common knowledge but let us throw this out there anyway: Communication is the framework for a successful business. And now it is especially important with a work-at-home workforce.

Think about that for a moment. To recruit and maintain skilled employees, leadership within an organization must have open communication. Employees want to feel connected with the internal strategies of their business. They want to be informed and have their voices heard when it comes to working as a team.

Have you thought about introducing your employees to a company intranet? Intranets are private, secure networks that allow employers to share information with their employees, and vice versa. The goal of an intranet is to create a healthy working community, foster communication and encourage collaboration.

Your intranet can empower your employees by providing tools that make your work day more efficient and resources for internal changes, challenges and updates. This will enable your employees to become more connected, educated and validated.

Here are 15 things to consider when shoppping an intranet software:

1.    Easy to use for finding and posting information

2.    Customizeable visual design and user experience to meet brand expectations

3.    Mobile-friendly and responsive

4.    Personalization capability for each user

5.    Built-in search

6.    Efficient indexing

7.    Blogging capabilities

8.    Newsfeeds

9.    Robust social features such as sharing, rating, feedback, video and photo posting

10. Document repository

11. Ability to create custom work groups

12. Built-in staff and employee directories

13. Permission-based content management system

14. Built-in analytics

15. Third party integration options

An intranet can have all of those built in, but there is apiece that we feel should be reiterated -- the importance of design. At Feisty Brown, we believe that design brings you closer to your audience. Our fundamental working principle is that design and language work together to connect people and establish meaning. We create engaging communications that are tailored to your audience, fit comfortably in their surroundings, and start conversations.