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Employee experience vendor and intranet vendor support are central to long‑term EX success. This post – the fifth in our Steps to EX platform success series – explains the support you can (and should) expect from employee experience and intranet vendors, how partnering works in practice, and how to get the most value from that relationship. 

When evaluating employee experience (EX) platforms and intranets, features are only part of the story. Sustained support is what turns software into results. A solid support model smooths the launch process, ensures high adoption rates, and helps you keep pace with new goals, teams, and ways of working as your business evolves.

In this post, we have answers to the most common questions about working with employee experience vendors, including: What type of support do employee experience vendors and intranet vendors provide? What should you expect when partnering with a new vendor? What does that partnership look like day‑to‑day? Read on to find the definition of EX vendor support, the must‑have elements of support you shouldn’t compromise on, and tips to maximize your vendor partnership. 

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What is employee experience vendor support?

Employee experience vendor support is the end‑to‑end set of services your provider uses to keep your EX platform healthy, helpful, and improving over time. Intranet vendor support works the same (the only difference is the type of platform being used).

The type of support a vendor provides typically includes: 

• Structured onboarding and migration to move you from “we’ve signed” to “employees rely on it” 

• Role‑based training and self‑serve learning so admins, authors, and end users can succeed

• Technical support, proactive monitoring, and regular updates to keep performance steady and secure

• Ongoing success management – dedicated members of your vendor’s team who review usage and steer tailored improvements

• Customer community and advocacy to learn from peers and showcase your wins

High-quality employee experience vendor support evolves over time to fit your employee experience needs: guidance and structure before launch; risk‑managed migration; training and go‑live; then regular optimization so value compounds over time. 

Seven key elements of ongoing vendor support 

Here’s what “good” looks like long-term. From strategic pointers to technical support to a library of resources, this is what an intranet or employee experience vendor should provide. 

1. Continuous optimization: Your vendor should regularly review usage, search, and engagement patterns and translate them into “do this next” recommendations (for example: prune stale content, simplify navigation, promote under‑used features, or reshape communications). 
2. Expert guidance: Your vendor should consistently share new EX tactics, design and accessibility best practices; fresh engagement ideas, and adoption strategies informed by other organizations like yours. 
3. Always‑on help: Multichannel support with prompt, human responses – and proactive monitoring to catch issues early – keeps the experience reliable. Launch is the starting line, not the finish. 
4. Right‑sized learning: A living library of tutorials, webinars, guides, and workshops means you don’t wait on one‑off training. Your authors learn quickly, and new admins can get up to speed when they need to. 
5. Internal advocacy: Your vendor should help you tell your own success story with data – that means a dedicated CSM that works with you to highlight wins, make resource asks with confidence, and keep leaders aligned on EX goals and outcomes. 
6. Strategic visibility: Opportunities to share your impact – customer events, case studies, and awards – build credibility, attract champions, and maintain momentum. 
7. A support community: Peer forums and resource hubs let you borrow what works without the need to reinvent every workflow or campaign. 

What types of support should you expect when partnering with an employee experience vendor or intranet vendor? 

Strong employee experience vendor and intranet vendor support will include technical setup of your platform, onboarding and migration strategy and assistance, admin and user training, and a dedicated team on your side for the duration of the partnership. Here are more details on what to expect: 

How do technical support and proactive monitoring work? 

You should have a clear way to raise, track, and escalate issues (think help desk, email, or phone options). Expect defined issue types (so “how‑to” questions aren’t treated the same as outages), target response windows, and transparent updates. Proactive monitoring and routine security and feature updates help address problems before they reach employees. 

When weighing EX or intranet providers (or even at the start of your relationship with a vendor), don’t be afraid to ask detailed and practical questions that reveal what the day-to-day support experience is really like: how to contact support, how cases are prioritized, what “response” vs. “resolution” means, and how after‑hours incidents are handled. 

What onboarding and migration support should we expect? 

Whether you’re creating a brand-new employee experience platform or migrating your content from elsewhere, your vendor will play an active role in setting up your new solution. 

The best employee experience and intranet vendors will offer several migration options so that you can pick one that matches your capacity. For example, they may allow you to choose from the following three approaches: 

• Guidance only: Your team leads the process using vendor-provided frameworks and templates. 

• Staff augmentation: Your team leads the process, but the vendor provides hands-on assistance where needed. 

• Fully managed migration: The vendor has complete responsibility for the entire migration, from planning through execution, with minimal burden on your team. 

So, when presented with your vendor’s migration options, which type of support should you choose? This depends on your unique needs, but here at Interact, we often recommend an option with more involvement from your vendor for several reasons: 

• With seasoned professionals managing every detail, it’s more likely the project will stay on-schedule and complication-free. 

• Your team can stay focused on day-to-day operations. 

• A vendor-led approach ensures an easy, efficient, and secure extraction and migration of any existing data. 

Whatever model you choose, expect your vendor to provide detailed guidance or documentation on project milestones, who on your team should own what, risk controls (pilot cohorts, test scripts, rollback plans) and performance checks before go‑live, and post-migration optimization (early adoption review, search tuning, content refresh plan).

What training and resources do employee experience and intranet vendors typically provide? 

Your vendor should also partner with you on training. The best intranet and employee experience vendors will lay out role‑based training paths (admins, authors, end users) and provide an on‑demand library of tutorials, webinars, and step‑by‑step guides. After launch, you’ll want refreshers and advanced workshops so teams can adopt new features without disruption. 

Who on an EX or intranet vendor’s team will we work closest with? 

The best employee experience and intranet vendors will assign dedicated individuals from their team to work with you throughout the partnership. These people will help you optimize your platform over time and get the most out of what the vendor provides. Two common roles are: 

Customer Success Manager (CSM)

Your CSM is a dedicated individual on your vendor’s team who knows your organization well and keeps the platform delivering outcomes – not just features. This person: 

• Aligns goals and success metrics, then translates usage insights into clear actions – for example: improve findability, refresh content, or raise adoption (this last one is key: among stakeholders who regretted a software purchase in 2025, 39% cited lack of adoption as a factor)

• Runs regular success reviews and shares practical resources and industry best practices 

• Communicates progress, surfaces wins, and helps you make the internal case for time and budget 

• Helps you make the most of new features and adapt your platform to changes within your business

• Invites you to participate in industry events, awards entries, and case studies

Technical Account Manager (TAM)

A TAM is a proactive technical advisor, often offered where deeper guidance is helpful. They work to connect your objectives to how the platform is designed, integrated, and run. This person:

• Maps your environment, conductshealth checks, and recommends performance, security, and configuration improvements

• Spots risks and opportunities early, suggesting ways to reduce admin friction, boost reliability, and plan for expansion 

• Advocates for your priorities, facilitates roadmap conversations, and keeps executive stakeholders aligned 

What does an EX vendor’s customer community provide? 

Many EX vendors and intranet vendors offer a customer community – a vendor‑hosted hub where teams swap ideas, ask questions, and share what’s working. Think of it as a shortcut to real‑world answers: you’re learning from practitioners who’ve already solved the problems you’re tackling. This space may include:

• Peer discussion boards and Q&A pages for quick, practical answers 

• Reusable resources like tutorials, webinars, guides, templates, and case examples you can adapt quickly 

• A chance to provide feedback and suggest new features to the vendor 

• Self‑serve, on‑demand access to a curated knowledge base and updates, so admins and authors can self‑serve answers and learn how to refine their use 

A well-supported community helps your team solve faster, avoid rework, and keep skills current as the platform evolves. 

What red flags should you look for in employee experience vendor support? 

While you’re digging through feature overviews, filling in vendor checklists, and sitting through EX demos and trials, be on the lookout for these support warning signs – they’re quick to spot and tell you a lot about how a partnership will feel day‑to‑day. 

• No named contacts. If you’re told “a team” will look after you rather than a designated customer success manager, expect hand‑offs, slower context, and more chasing. You want one person accountable for outcomes. 

• Vague promises. “Best effort” language, fuzzy response windows, and a murky escalation path all signal risk. Ask for how severity is defined, who escalates issues, and what “good” looks like in a typical month.

• Only a DIY migration option. Complex projects rarely succeed on documentation alone. A strong vendor offers choices (for example, a self-directed approach with vendor guidance, a vendor-led approach, or a hybrid approach) so you can match support to your team’s capacity and timeline. 

• Little emphasis on training and content ownership. If training sounds like a one‑off webinar – or there’s no mention of author enablement and content governance – it’s a recipe for poor adoption over time. Look for a vendor with role‑based resources and ongoing refreshers instead.

• No regular success reviews or shared metrics. If there’s no set cadence for reviewing adoption, search success, and content health with your vendor, you’ll be reacting to issues – not improving proactively.

• Community is an afterthought. A healthy customer community saves time and improves your use of the platform through peer Q&A, reusable templates, and practical how‑tos. If all “resources” live in scattered emails, you’ll spend more time reinventing the wheel.

• Contract terms that gloss over support mechanics. If maintenance windows, renewals, data handling/return, and liability aren’t clear in the Master Subscription Agreement (MSA), you may struggle when things get busy. Ask how the agreement and referenced service targets work together. 

In short: look for clarity, accountability, and continuity – named roles, written expectations, real enablement, and a rhythm of review – so support becomes a lever for outcomes, not just a way to close tickets.

How can you get the most from an EX or intranet vendor partnership? 

Here are our favorite tips to make the most out of your EX or intranet vendor partnership and ensure the best outcome for your platform:

• Start with shared objectives. Work with your vendor to pick three to five goals and align on how you’ll measure them. If these goals are set out at the start of your journey, you can revisit them throughout the relationship.
• Assign jobs early. Identify your internal project lead, content owners, and an IT point person. Clarify who approves what and when to make the partnership run smoothly and avoid any roadblocks.
• Take advantage of your vendor’s training catalog. Enroll admins and authors in role‑based courses; publish a simple “how to” list for employees; schedule refreshers before major releases. 
• When in doubt, ask. It’s your vendor’s job to support you. They’ve helped many people like you launch and maintain EX platforms over time, which means they’ll have great advice or solutions for anything you may be stuck on or struggling with. 
• Share wins. Work with your CSM to submit case studies and award nominations. This helps you build internal momentum for a better employee experience and shines a spotlight on your achievements. 

Partnering with an employee experience vendor or intranet vendor: Frequently asked questions

The post Partnering with an employee experience vendor or intranet vendor: What type of support to expect and look for appeared first on Interact software.

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Employee experience platform governance is the foundation for a successful digital workplace. This post – the fourth in our Steps to EX platform success series – explains what governance is, why it matters, and how to build a governance model that keeps your platform organized, accountable, and ready for long-term growth.

When organizations invest in an employee experience (EX) platform or modern intranet, the focus is often (and understandably) on essential EX features, integrations, and launch day excitement. But what truly determines whether your platform thrives or fizzles out over time? The answer is governance. 

Governance is what turns an EX platform from a simple tool into a sustainable digital workplace. It provides structure and clarity so that your platform supports collaboration and growth – rather than slipping into disorganization and low adoption.

In this post, we’ll break down what governance means for EX platforms, why it’s essential, how to build a governance model, and best practices to ensure your platform’s long-term success.

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What is employee experience platform governance?

Employee experience platform governance is defined as the framework of roles, rules, responsibilities, guidelines, and processes that keep your EX platform or intranet organized, accountable, and effective. Governance ensures your platform remains relevant, secure, and valuable as your organization evolves. Without it, even the best platforms can become cluttered, confusing, and underused.

Why is governance important for an EX platform or intranet?

Governance keeps your platform organized and reliable over time by delivering:

• Clarity: Everyone knows the purpose of your platform and who’s responsible for which aspects of building and maintaining it. 
• Consistency: Content and processes stay aligned with business goals. 
• Scalability: The platform can grow and adapt without losing its structure. 
• Trust: Employees rely on the platform as a single source of truth. 
• Continuous improvement: Regular reviews and feedback keep the platform evolving. 

Without governance, you risk content sprawl, confusion, low adoption, and a lack of accountability. 

Who should be involved in EX platform governance?

Depending on your organization’s employee experience needs, you’ll want to involve a variety of players in the governance of your intranet or EX platform, including: 

• C-level sponsors/senior leaders: Set vision and secure buy-in. 
• Stakeholders/sponsors: Oversee strategy and report progress. 
• Intranet/EX manager: Day-to-day management and training. 
• Content leads: Ensure departmental content is accurate. 
• Content publishers: Create and maintain content. 
• IT support: Manage technical aspects and integrations. 
• Champions/ambassadors: Promote adoption and gather feedback. 
• Steering group: Provide cross-functional input and escalate issues. 

Governance only works when the right people are involved. A mix of leadership, operational roles, and advocates creates a governance team that can maintain structure and drive adoption long after launch. 

Who should lead EX platform governance? 

Typically, an internal project owner or intranet manager leads governance efforts. This person acts as the central point of contact, coordinating tasks and ensuring compliance with governance standards. Senior leadership should provide strategic oversight and support. 

What a RACI matrix is and how is it used in EX platform governance?

A RACI matrix clarifies responsibilities by defining who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task. Here’s what each one means:  

• Responsible: The person who completes the task (e.g., content publisher)
• Accountable: The person ultimately answerable for the outcome (e.g., intranet manager)
• Consulted: Stakeholders who provide input (e.g., HR or IT leads)
• Informed: Those who need updates but aren’t directly involved (e.g., senior leadership)

Multiple individuals can be named Responsible, Consulted, and Informed for each part of the project, but only one person should be listed as Accountable for any given task.

In governance planning, use RACI to map roles for content creation, approvals, technical support, and decision-making. This prevents overlap, ensures accountability, and keeps everyone aligned. 

What role does an EX or intranet software vendor play in governance planning?

Your EX or intranet software vendor is a key partner in governance planning. They can provide: 

• Frameworks and templates: Vendors supply best-practice models to help structure governance. 
• Training and support: They provide onboarding resources and ongoing guidance for governance compliance. 
• Strategic input: Vendors advise on workflows and integrations to align governance with platform capabilities. 

Leveraging vendor expertise ensures your governance plan is practical, scalable, and aligned with industry best practices. 

What are the key elements of a governance model for EX platforms?

Below are the core elements of Intranet governance and EX platform governance you need to know, broken down into practical questions and answers.

What types of governance models exist for EX platforms? 

The three main governance models for EX software and intranets are centralized, hybrid, and collaborative. Choosing the right model for your organization impacts everything from decision-making to content quality to long-term adoption. Here’s what each one entails: 

• Centralized: A core team manages structure, content, and permissions. This approach is ideal for new launches or organizations needing tight control. 
• Hybrid: One central team manages core areas, while departments have autonomy over their sections. 
• Collaborative: Content creation and management are distributed widely, with clear guidelines and oversight. 

EX software governance tip: In our experience, you can’t go wrong starting off centralized. You can then evolve toward a hybrid or collaborative model as your platform matures. 

What policies, guidelines, and processes should EX platform governance include? 

When you’re putting together a governance strategy for your employee experience platform or intranet, you’ll want to lay out usage policies, site provisions, and content standards – these are what will keep your platform organized and compliant over time: 

• Usage policies: Define acceptable use, moderation, and review of user-generated content. 
• Site provisions and decommissioning: Outline processes for future additions to your intranet, from smaller pieces of content (like new pages) to bigger additions (like creating a new site).
• Content standards: Set guidelines for tone, branding, and approval workflows. 

Getting these details recorded before your platform launch will solidify standards, head off any differences of opinion among teammates, and help you avoid confusion later on. The clarity and consistency they create will ensure your platform remains a trusted source of information and a safe space for collaboration.

How do you manage an EX platform’s content lifecycle? 

Laying out how you’ll manage the lifecycle of your intranet or EX platform content from start to finish is a key step in the governance process. Here’s what it entails: 

• Planning: Identify what content is needed for launch and ongoing use. 
• Creation: Develop content guidelines and provide training for authors. 
• Review and maintenance: Schedule regular audits to keep content fresh and relevant. 
• Content audits: Use tools and templates to assess what’s working and what needs updating. 

Managing content proactively ensures your platform stays useful, engaging, and aligned with organizational goals.

What technical and integration standards are needed for an intranet or EX platform? 

Governance isn’t just about content – it also covers the technical backbone of your EX platform. Clear standards prevent security risks and integration headaches. Here’s what to include in your governance plan:

• IT’s role: Lay out what your IT team will be responsible for – for example, overseeing integrations, user management, and compliance. 
• Approved tools: List what’s allowed on the platform and who manages each integration. 
• Troubleshooting: Define escalation paths for technical issues. 

Technical governance ensures your platform runs smoothly, integrates seamlessly with other systems, and remains secure as your organization grows. 

How do you measure and improve EX or intranet governance success? 

Measuring success helps you refine your governance approach and keep your employee experience aligned with business goals. Here’s how to track your progress: 

• Measurement plan: Set benchmarks for adoption, engagement, and content health. 
• Feedback loops: Regularly gather input from users and stakeholders. 
• Continuous improvement: Use analytics and feedback to refine governance and platform features. 

By monitoring performance and acting on feedback, you turn governance into a dynamic process that evolves with your organization. 

How to build and maintain a governance plan for your EX platform or intranet 

Creating a governance plan can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to. Think of it as a roadmap that sets your EX platform or intranet up for long-term success. Below is a clear, step-by-step approach to help you start strong and keep your governance framework effective over time. 

1. Start governance early: Introduce governance during the EX platform onboarding process, not after launch. Early planning ensures governance is baked into every decision, from content structure to technical integrations.
2. Map what you have: Document existing workflows for content approvals, publishing, and technical changes. Identify gaps and pain points so your governance plan solves real problems rather than adding complexity.
3. Assign clear roles: Use the RACI matrix we outlined above to define responsibilities. This prevents confusion and ensures accountability across leadership, content owners, and IT.
4. Create and share your plan: Draft a simple, accessible document outlining policies, roles, and workflows. Share it widely and invite feedback to build trust and ownership among stakeholders.
5. Train your team to make governance stick: Provide role-specific training and easy-to-use resources like templates and checklists. Governance should feel like a helpful guide, not a barrier.
6. Keep it alive – decide how often you’ll review governance: Treat governance as a living document. Review it at least annually, or sooner if your organization or platform undergoes major changes. Regular updates keep it relevant and effective.

Quick tips for building a governance plan for your intranet or EX platform: 

• Get buy-in from leadership and key departments. 
• Make governance collaborative by inviting feedback and adapting your approach as needed. 
• Use templates and checklists from your vendor to simplify the process. 
• Communicate changes clearly and often. 

What are best practices for EX platform governance?

Here’s are the key best practices to follow as you plan and execute governance of your intranet or EX platform: 

• Align governance with business goals: Make sure your governance plan supports your organization’s mission and objectives. 
• Establish clear ownership: Assign specific people to each role and responsibility. 
• Use intuitive, user-friendly platforms: The easier it is to follow governance processes, the more likely people are to comply. 
• Foster a knowledge-sharing culture: Encourage contributions, recognize top contributors, and make it easy to share expertise. 
• Provide ongoing training and resources: Keep content owners and users up to date on best practices. 
• Leverage analytics: Track usage, engagement, and content health to identify areas for improvement. 
• Recognize and reward contributors: Celebrate milestones and successes to keep momentum high. 
• Commit to continuous improvement: Regularly review and refine your governance plan as your platform and organization evolve. 
• Take advantage of vendor support: During the EX platform buying process, take advantage of demos and other conversations to ask potential vendors about how they support governance. After signing, be sure to put your EX vendor’s resources and expertise to good use.

We’ve helped thousands of organizations establish governance of their employee experience platforms, and the above tactics make the most difference when it comes to both short-term and long-term health of their platforms.  

Why governance is a must for any new EX platform 

Governance isn’t just a launch requirement – it’s the foundation for a platform that grows with your organization. When done well, it creates clarity, accountability, and trust. Think of it as an ongoing conversation, not a static document. The more you revisit and refine your governance plan, the more resilient and effective your EX platform will be. 

Employee experience platform governance and intranet governance: Frequently asked questions

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Employee experience (EX) platform onboarding and intranet onboarding refer to the structured processes of planning, configuring, training, launching, and optimizing your new EX software or intranet so that teams adopt it quickly and get value over time. This post – the third in our Steps to EX platform success series – covers everything you need to know about the onboarding process and how it can set you up for long-term success.

This post provides a practical roadmap for launching an employee experience platform or intranet, focusing on how to organize work, make informed decisions, and keep the project moving forward. It outlines what to expect at each stage, responsibilities across teams, and how to align stakeholders around clear outcomes.

We’ll cover collaboration with your vendor, the essentials of strategy and ownership, preparing content for day one, and more. You’ll also find concise guidance on the tactics that sustain momentum after release, metrics that signal healthy adoption, and common pitfalls to avoid. Let’s get started.

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What is employee experience platform onboarding?

Onboarding for an employee experience platform covers everything between “we’ve chosen a platform” and “employees reliably use it”: outcomes and scope, EX governance and roles, content readiness (audit and migration), platform configuration, author training, change communications, launch, and continuous optimization.  

The intranet onboarding process plays out in the same way – the only difference is what you’re launching, as an employee experience platform will have more features to coordinate and deliver. 

If you’ve been tasked with leading your company’s intranet or EX platform onboarding process, or if you’re shopping for EX software and want to know what the journey entails, read on for details, tips, and answers. 

What are the phases of employee experience software onboarding and intranet onboarding?

Employee experience platform onboarding and intranet onboarding phases include planning, setup, training, launch, and ongoing optimization, typically following these steps:

1. Pre-onboarding & project planning
2. Strategic planning & governance
3. MVP launch
4. Implementation & build-out
5. Soft launch or phased rollout (optional)
6. Full launch
7. Optimization & ongoing success 

The onboarding process will be guided by your intranet or employee experience vendor, who should ensure everything unfolds smoothly and that your team is well-supported from start to finish. Let’s review the basics for each phase of the project:

Phase 1: Pre-onboarding and planning 

• Discovery of business goals, how to best meet your organization’s EX needs, and challenges to solve for 
• Mapping of project roles (IT, HR, comms, content owners) 
• Projecting your onboarding timeline 
• Development of a migration plan and initial content identification or content audit 

Phase 2: Strategic planning and governance 

• Working with your vendor to set objectives (we recommend sticking to between three and five goals) and create a comprehensive strategy for your EX platform 
• Establishing governance frameworks, publishing models, and approval channels 
• Identification of essential content and assignment to content owners 

Phase 3: MVP creation 

• A minimum viable product (MVP) is typically built by your vendor at this stage 
• An MVP is an initial version of your employee experience platform, featuring core functionality and sample content
• Early author training and feedback sessions (including with stakeholders) help refine the MVP before broader rollout 

Phase 4: Implementation and build-out 

• Finalization of site structure and configuration of integrations 
• Building out content, which should include content owner training and author training for admins and contributors 
• Continuation of iterative design and technical setup 

Phase 5: Soft launch or phased rollout (if applicable)

• Release of the platform to a select group or department for pilot testing (soft launch) 
• Gradual expansion of access before the full launch (phased rollout) 
• Gathering feedback, monitoring adoption, and making improvements 

Note: Soft launch and phased rollout are optional, but both are recommended for larger organizations

Phase 6: Launch 

• Launching your new EX platform for all users at your organization 
• Execution of launch communications and engagement campaigns 
• Providing training, guidance, and support to new users 
• Monitoring initial adoption and engagement metrics 

Phase 7: Ongoing optimization 

• Analyzing usage data and user feedback post-launch and over time to drive continuous improvement 
• Offering ongoing training, refreshers, and advanced feature workshops 
• Conducting regular strategic reviews and planning for future enhancements 

Who should be involved in the employee experience platform onboarding or intranet onboarding process?

The onboarding team for your intranet or employee experience platform should include individuals on both the vendor side and the customer side. 

This can vary by project, but on the vendor side, expect to work with an Onboarding Manager, strategy, design, and technical consultants, training and build consultants, and a Customer Success Manager.

Your organization’s side of the team will include an internal project manager (this could be you) and any other relevant players from comms, HR, and IT. It will also include content owners and internal champions.

Which individuals need to be part of employee experience platform or intranet onboarding?

Here’s an example of a typical team during the EX software onboarding process (note that there may be overlap between these roles on your team – for example, the Project Manager may also serve as the Comms Lead, and your HR Lead may also be a content owner):

What support do vendors provide during the EX platform onboarding process or intranet onboarding process?

A good EX or intranet software vendor will offer the following forms of support during the onboarding process: 

Dedicated project management

An onboarding manager on your vendor’s team should serve as your primary point of contact, coordinating all activities, managing timelines, and ensuring smooth communication between you and the vendor. They keep the project organized and proactively address risks before they escalate. 

Strategic consultancy 

Vendors should help align your platform with business goals by guiding governance planning, content strategy, and feature prioritization. This includes workshops, best-practice frameworks, and tailored recommendations to maximize adoption. 

Change management expertise 

Your vendor should guide you through a structured change management approach that includes: 

• Stakeholder engagement and communication planning 
• Role-based training programs and self-service resources 
• Identification and support of internal “change champions” to drive adoption 

Technical support and integration 

Expect your EX software or intranet vendor to provide infrastructure review, integration planning, and secure data migration. Your vendor’s IT experts should coordinate with your team’s IT Lead during the project to ensure compatibility with existing systems and future scalability. 

Comprehensive Training 

Training should be role-specific and flexible – covering administrators, content authors, and end users through workshops, webinars, and e-learning modules. Vendors should also provide ongoing resources to maintain engagement post-offboarding.

Post-Launch Optimization 

Vendor involvement doesn’t stop at launch. Your vendor should continue to offer support, including: 

• Usage analytics and adoption insights 
• Advanced feature training and best-practice updates 
• Opportunities to participate in case studies, awards, and other opportunities to highlight your achievements 

Spotlight: What is the role of a Customer Success Manager in the EX software and intranet onboarding process (and beyond)?

Your vendor should assign you a dedicated Customer Success Manager during the onboarding process. This person will be your partner and advisor throughout the journey and beyond, ensuring continuous value for your investment. Their role is to:

• Align and focus on your business outcomes  
• Identify continuous opportunities to meet your needs, address challenges, and advocate for you
• Advise on strategy, best practices, and trends  
• Provide updates and guidance for increased adoption and engagement with your new platform 

Tips for successful employee experience software onboarding

How do I measure success during employee experience platform onboarding or intranet onboarding?

Here are some key metrics to track your EX platform’s success, starting during onboarding:

• Adoption: Track active mobile and desktop users, repeat visits, and mobile app onboarding rates to understand engagement.
• Findability: Monitor search success rates, top failed queries, and average time-to-content to ensure users can easily find what they need.
• Content health: Review the percentage of pages with current review dates and the number of content updates per month to keep information fresh. 
• Outcome alignment: Regularly assess progress against the goals set during the pre-onboarding and strategic planning phases of the project to ensure your EX onboarding plan or intranet onboarding plan is delivering on business objectives. 

Tracking performance (particularly adoption, findability, and content health) from the start allows you to make changes that improve experiences and lead to higher engagement and adoption. The earlier you spot potential improvements, the better your long-term outcomes will be.

How do you get the most out of the employee experience software onboarding process?

Do the following during the EX-platform or intranet onboarding process to make things easier for your team, move the project along faster, and get the best results: 

• Prioritize and keep it simple: Start with the most important features and content. Don’t try to do everything at once. 
• Get content owners involved ASAP: Ask the people who know your company’s information best to help prepare and review content well in advance. Getting tasks on their radar early helps them budget their time and helps you avoid chasing people. 
• Complete baseline IT setup early: Address technical requirements and integrations at the outset to avoid surprises – and resulting delays – later on. 
• Keep leadership involved and informed: Regular status updates and check-ins with leaders help keep the project moving and show you’re making progress. 
• Tap your vendor’s experience: Your vendor has done this many times before. Ask plenty of questions and take advantage of their frameworks, best practices, and tips. Above all, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, let them know – they can provide reassurance and solutions to help. 
• Invite and act on feedback: Collect and use feedback from pilot groups, stakeholders, and end users to refine the platform and your launch efforts. This means engaging multiple audiences – for example, frontline workers, remote workers, and office workers will all have different perspectives. 

How can companies ensure the long-term success of their EX platforms starting at onboarding? 

Start applying these strategies during onboarding to boost long-term adoption and success for your EX platform: 

• Make training part of your strategy: Take advantage of vendor training resources to be sure employees are engaging with – and making the most of – your new EX platform. Include training as part of your internal onboarding process for new hires, so every employee starts off on the right foot.
• Monitor and share adoption metrics: Use analytics to track usage, highlight wins, and identify areas for improvement. This is especially important early on, so that you can work with your vendor to optimize your platform and content – leading to higher usage now and in the long run. 
• Keep content relevant and up to date: Plan for regular content reviews and updates to maintain trust and usefulness. Establish the when, how, and who of these processes early to keep everyone accountable. 
• Promote champions and peer advocates: Empower internal champions and early adopters to support and encourage others. Peer influence goes a long way. 
• Celebrate milestones and successes: Recognize teams and individuals for high adoption, innovative use, or content quality. 
• Keep partnering with your vendor: As we mentioned above, a good EX software vendor doesn’t disappear after onboarding – they’re there to provide continuous support, guide you through any new features, and optimize your platform over time. They want to see you succeed, so take advantage of this partnership. 

Employee experience platform onboarding and intranet onboarding: Frequently asked questions

The post Employee experience platform onboarding: How to succeed when launching a new EX platform or intranet appeared first on Interact software.

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Part two of our series on the journey to a better employee experience covers best practices for navigating EX platform demos, EX platform trials, and EX platform proofs of concepts. We’ve got tips on all three, so that you can spot vendor gaps easily and evaluate employee experience software options with clarity. Start making the most of your tours and trials with these expert strategies. 

Evaluating employee experience (EX) platforms is no easy task. With so many options, features, and buzzwords, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. 

While feature lists and guides can be helpful, there’s truly nothing that can replace seeing (and in some cases, testing) EX platform capabilities in action. That’s where demos and customized trials – or proofs of concepts (POCs) – come in. 

This post will take you through the steps to confidently navigate EX demos, trials, and POCs so you can make the best decision for your organization. You’ll learn what to expect at each stage, how to ask the right questions, and how to set yourself up for EX platform success. 

Want even more tips for big EX decisions?

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Why are demos, trials, and POCs key parts of EX platform buying process? 

Demos, trials, and POCs are your chance to move beyond marketing promises and see how an EX platform really works for your team during the buying process. Each stage gives you a deeper look at the product and helps you make a more informed decision. 

Want more proof? In a 2025 survey of software purchasers, 62% ranked a product trial as a top factor in their final purchase decision, and 54% ranked a product demo as a top factor.

Steps involved in the EX platform buying process 

While every journey is unique, most organizations in search of new employee experience software follow seven steps: 

1. Define your requirements: Start by identifying your organization’s EX platform needs. Knowing what you’re looking for – and what your dealbreakers are – will save you time and frustration down the road. 
2. Search for potential vendors. Common ways to find solutions include: reports and reviews from third-party analysts such as Gartner, Forrester, or G2; seminars, events, and conferences for comms and EX pros; and recommendations from colleagues or specialist groups (often found on LinkedIn or in other online communities).
3. Create a shortlist: Narrow your options by seeing which vendors check your boxes, weighing initial impressions or concerns, and reading reviews and customer testimonials. 
4. Request demos: Invite your shortlisted vendors to show you their platforms in action and answer your questions. 
5. Compare features and fit: Evaluate how each platform matches your requirements, culture, internal comms needs, and work processes, and rank your top contenders. 
6. Run a proof of concept (POC): If needed, test your top contenders’ platforms in a real-world setting through tailored POCs.
7. Make your final decision: Gather feedback, compare results, and choose the platform that best fits your needs.

What to know about EX platform demos

Do I really need a demo for EX software?

Yes. While sitting through a software demo doesn’t top many people’s lists of favorite activities, it’s an essential step in the EX buying process.

A demo is your first opportunity to see a potential EX platform in action. It’s not just about flashy features. When done right, it can be much more of a strategic conversation than a sales pitch. 

EX software demos are also crucial for avoiding costly mistakes – according to research from Gartner, 58% of buyers regret at least one software purchase made in the past 18 months. The demo process can spot what potential platforms can and can’t do, and help raise any red flags before it’s too late.  

This is your chance to understand how each EX software vendor can solve your real challenges and support your goals – and it’s a meeting that’s totally focused on YOU. Take advantage of this by coming prepared. Knowing what you’re looking for and what questions to ask can go a long way in setting you up for success. 

What should I expect from an employee experience platform demo? 

Most EX platform demos, regardless of vendor, will include the same basic components: 

Introduction and context 

• Brief overview of the demo’s purpose and what will be covered 
• Discussion of your organization’s goals and challenges, touching on where you are now and any desired outcomes for your EX platform 

Vendor overview 

• Introduction to the vendor’s mission and philosophy around employee experience 
• A general sense of what the platform does and doesn’t do, and what sets it apart from competitors 

Live platform demonstration 

• Guided tour of the homepage, navigation, and personalization features 
• In-depth look at core features and capabilities (for example, content creation and management, search functionality, analytics and reporting, mobile app, multichannel comms, application of agentic AI, etc.)

Branding and UX information 

• Overview of branding options, themes, and accessibility to ensure a good fit 

Integration capabilities 

• Explanation of how the platform connects with other workplace tools (e.g., Microsoft 365, ServiceNow, etc.) 

Security and hosting 

• Information on hosting, security certifications, and other technical factors

Support and success services 

• Introduction to how the vendor approaches onboarding, training, guidance on governance, customer success management, product updates, and technical support 

Q&A and next steps 

• Opportunity to ask questions and discuss how the platform addresses specific needs 
• Guidance on next steps, such as setting up a proof of concept if necessary 

How do I prepare for an EX software demo? 

Going into the demo process prepared means you’ll be better equipped to spot gaps and strengths, so get ready for your EX demo by doing the following: 

• Define your must-haves and nice-to-haves: Hopefully, you’ve already got a good idea of which features are essential for your organization. Write down the main capabilities you’re looking for and keep them handy during the demo so that you don’t lose sight of the big picture.
• Think about your challenges: Your biggest day-to-day frustrations may not be mapped to specific features, but that doesn’t mean a vendor can’t solve them. List out your problems and the person you speak with may just have the perfect solution.
• Involve the right stakeholders: Consult team members in IT, HR, and other key roles. They likely already contributed their thoughts as you created your shortlist, but they may have vendor-specific questions as well – and a few may want to sit in on demos with you. 
• Refresh your memory: Sure, you already evaluated each vendor when creating your shortlist, but all those features can blur together, making it tough to remember which platform does what. A quick trip to the product page on the vendor’s website or a review of your notes from the research process will give you an edge in any demo. 
• Bring a list of questions: Don’t count on coming up with questions on the fly. Demos can move fast, and laying out what you want to know ahead of time puts you in the driver’s seat. 

What questions should I ask in an EX software demo? 

Here are some of the most important questions to ask in an EX software demo based on the latest best practices: 

• How customizable is the platform to our brand and workflows? 
• Can you walk us through a typical user journey – from logging on to finding key information? 
• How does your platform support different types of employee communications (e.g., news, updates, peer-to-peer)? 
• Can you show how the intranet integrates with our existing tools (like Microsoft 365 or HRIS systems)? 
• What analytics and reporting features are available? 
• What support and training do you provide during onboarding and after launch? 

For a more comprehensive list, check out our 14 questions to ask in an EX product demo. 

Standard EX platform trial vs. proof of concept: What’s the difference when evaluating software? 

Defining “trial” and “proof of concept” for EX software 

• EX platform trial definition: A trial is a standard, out-of-the-box version of the platform that lets you explore features and get a feel for the user experience. It’s usually self-guided and gives you a broad overview. 
• EX platform proof of concept (POC) definition: A POC is a tailored, goal-driven test environment. It’s designed around your specific needs, with custom branding, workflows, and support. A POC helps you validate that the platform can solve your unique challenges before you commit. 

The difference between a proof of concept and a standard EX software trial

Which is better for evaluating EX tech – a trial or a POC? 

If you need to try out the platform for yourself (more on that below) a POC is a better choice. That’s because, technically, a POC is a more intensive type of trial that’s tailored to your needs. This allows you to test the product as it would work in your organization. 

Traditional, non-tailored trials give you the opportunity to explore a generic version of the product on your own. However, they don’t paint a full picture of your team’s day-to-day experience and don’t let you test specific use cases. This is whyPOCs are considered more robust for those wanting to take a closer look. 

Why some vendors offer POCs (and when you should consider one) 

Not every vendor offers a POC, but it can be essential for organizations with complex needs or high-stakes projects. A POC is especially valuable if you need to: 

• Test specific integrations or workflows 
• Get buy-in from multiple stakeholders 
• Validate that the platform can handle your unique requirements 

If your needs are straightforward, you may not need all this. Many organizations secure the right solution through standard procurement methods such as demos, proposal processes, and robust vendor vetting. But if you want to reduce risk and make a confident decision, a POC is worth considering.  

What to know about EX platform proofs of concepts (POCs)

What should I expect from a POC for EX software? 

A typical EX platform POC should include: 

• A dedicated test environment: You’ll get access to a version of the platform set up just for your organization. 
• Some level of customization: Expect basic branding, sample content, and workflows that reflect your real use cases. 
• Support and training: The vendor should provide guidance, training, and checkpoints to help your team get the most out of the POC. 
• A defined test period: Most POCs run for 2–4 weeks, giving you plenty of time to explore and evaluate. 
• Clear objectives: You’ll typically work with the vendor to set goals and define what success looks like. 
• Opportunities for feedback: Regular check-ins and feedback sessions help you stay on track and get answers to your questions. 

How do I prepare for an EX platform POC?

Preparation is key to getting value from your POC. Here’s what you and your team should do: 

• Lay out your expectations: Know what you want to achieve and which features or workflows you need to test. 
• Identify use cases: Develop specific scenarios or tasks that reflect your real business needs. 
• Assemble the right team: Assign a project lead and involve stakeholders from IT, HR, communications, and end users. 
• Gather resources: Provide brand assets, guidelines, and any sample content needed for customization. 
• Allocate time and commitment: Make sure your team is available for training, testing, and feedback sessions during the POC period. 
• Clarify roles: Decide who will test which features and who will provide feedback. 
• Understand vendor requirements: Be ready to sign any necessary agreements (e.g., NDA, data protection) and coordinate with IT or InfoSec if integrations are being tested. 

What are some tips for getting the most out of a POC for EX software?

Maximize your POC experience with these best practices: 

• Set measurable goals: Decide how you’ll evaluate success (e.g., ease of use, integration, user adoption). 
• Keep your search team tight: Involve enough people to get diverse feedback, but keep the group focused and engaged. 
• Plan user journeys: Assign different roles and permissions to mimic real-world scenarios. 
• Test real tasks: Don’t just explore – try to complete actual tasks your team will perform on the platform. 
• Use vendor support: Take advantage of training, documentation, and Q&A sessions. 
• Document feedback: Collect input from all participants and track issues or questions as they arise. 
• Stay on schedule: Stick to the agreed timeline and attend all checkpoints or review meetings. 
• Be open about challenges: Share any blockers or concerns with the vendor early so they can help address them. 

What are the signs an EX software POC is going well? 

During your POC, look for these positive indicators to help inform your decision: 

• Stakeholder engagement: Team members are actively participating, asking questions, and providing feedback. 
• Smooth onboarding: Users can access the platform easily and understand how to use key features after training. 
• Platform reliability: The test environment is stable, and any technical issues are resolved quickly. 
• Customization success: Branding, content, and workflows reflect your organization’s needs. 
• Use case validation: Your team can complete real tasks and scenarios without major roadblocks. 
• Clear communication: The vendor is responsive, transparent, and proactive in addressing questions or challenges. 
• Actionable feedback: You’re able to gather meaningful input that will inform your final decision. 
• Measurable progress: You can track outcomes against objectives and see tangible results. 

Handling EX demos, trials, and POCs with confidence 

Choosing the right employee experience platform is a big decision, but with the right approach to demos, trials, and proofs of concept, you can move forward with confidence.  

By preparing well, asking the right questions, and involving your team, you’ll be able to evaluate each option thoroughly and find the best fit for your organization. Remember: a thoughtful, hands-on evaluation process is key to EX platform success. 

EX platform demos, trials, and POCs: Frequently asked questions 

The post Evaluating employee experience platforms: Making the most of EX software trials, demos and POCs appeared first on Interact software.

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This post – which kicks off our five-part series on the journey to a better employee experience – tackles the first step to selecting your new employee experience platform: laying out your EX needs. Read on for tips and tactics to help you get clear on requirements so you can make decisions with confidence. 

Thinking about a new employee experience (EX) platform, intranet, or internal comms software?  

Before you start comparing features and prepping for EX platform demos, it’s important to take a step back and get real about your EX strategy. Because no two organizations are alike, every successful EX project must begin with a deep understanding of unique needs and pain points.

When you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll have a new approach to asking the right questions, defining your employee experience platform needs, and getting your team on board.

Why is defining your needs essential to choosing the right EX platform? 

Taking time to determine employee experience needs upfront saves time, money, and headaches in the long run. It ensures your platform solves real problems specific to your workplace instead of simply adding another tool to the pile.

What does it look like when organizations skip this crucial step?

Take this example: A company invests in a shiny new EX platform packed with bells and whistles. It promises better communication, higher engagement, and a sleek interface – so it should work for any workplace, right? Wrong. Six months later, employees barely use it, IT is frustrated, and leadership wonders why adoption is so low.

Several factors could be at play here. Maybe the platform failed to address waning frontline engagement. Perhaps it lacked the ability to personalize comms for different regions. Or maybe it didn’t have the self-service capabilities needed to support overstretched HR and IT teams.

The truth is, these issues are avoidable – but only if we rethink how we approach EX software selection. Instead of starting with a feature checklist, start with your organization’s needs. Define what matters most, then look for a platform that delivers on those priorities.

Tips to identify employee experience needs

Your first step to defining your EX needs is observing what is and isn’t working for you right now. This helps you get clear on exactly what to look for, so that you’re more likely to land on a platform that meets your specific requirements.

Common employee experience gaps to look for 

Depending on your organization’s structure, geography, and culture, you’ll likely notice several common employee experience problems as you take a look around.

Here are a few issues we see all the time: 

• Missed updates: Critical news and messaging end up buried and unseen. This tends to happen when comms aren’t personalized, which makes employees tune out. 
• Subpar knowledge management: Policies are in one system, benefits are in another, platform governance is lacking, and there’s no searchable, single source of truth for employees. (This one is especially common – 47% of digital workers struggle to find the information they need to do their jobs)
• Low engagement: Employees ignore existing digital workplace tools because they’re clunky, don’t have enough relevance, or aren’t useful enough.  
• Disconnected teams: Remote or frontline workers feel out of touch with broader organizational goals and culture.
• EX is a black box: Poor analytics fail to capture employee sentiment, engagement, and other data, making it difficult to replicate what’s working and shift what’s not.

In the next section, we’ll dive deeper into how to identify these and similar pain points in your employee experience so that you can better select a platform that suits your needs. 

Mistakes to avoid when defining employee experience needs 

Here are several common missteps to steer clear of when exploring your EX needs: 

• Jumping straight to features. Before creating a wish list of capabilities, lay out current problems and desired outcomes. 
• Only asking leadership. Include employees, managers, and frontline staff in your discovery. 
• Leaving out key stakeholders. Be sure to loop in any relevant players in HR, IT, and other departments – forgetting just one person can make your findings less accurate and a potential solution more difficult to implement.
• Overcomplicating requirements. Keep your list of needs focused and actionable by separating the “need-to-have” from the “nice-to-have.”
• Ignoring culture. Culture is hard to define, but it’s a crucial part of the employee experience. Consider which aspects of your culture employees engage with the most and which could use a boost.

Three steps to identify your organization’s employee experience needs

1. Review usage data from your current digital workplace tools

If you have any analytics from your current tools, it’s time to put them to use. 

Look at data from your intranet to answer questions like: 

• Which pages or features get used most?  
• Where do people drop off?  
• How does mobile engagement compare to desktop engagement? 
• What does frontline engagement look like? 
• How effective is search?  
• How often do tickets get raised about your intranet?

Internal comms metrics are helpful as well. For example, identifying which emails tend to get opened and read the most tells you what type of content employees are interested in, and which aspects of your current strategy are working well. The more information you have, the better. 

2. Use pulse survey questions to evaluate EX needs 

Pulse surveys are a strategic way to assess EX without overwhelming employees. Aim to ask five to ten questions, with each targeting different pillars of the employee experience (more on that below). Try these: 

• How connected do you feel to coworkers in different departments or locations? (What it measures: Community) 
• Agree or disagree – I receive the amount of credit and positive feedback I deserve when I do good work. (What it measures: Recognition) 
• How easy is it to find the people and information you need to do your job? (What it measures: Self-Service and Knowledge) 
• Agree or disagree – My personal values align with the company’s vision and mission. (What it measures: Alignment) 
• Do you receive the right amount of communication about company news, updates, and decisions? (What it measures: Communication) 
• Do you have access to the right technology to do your job well? (What it measures: Tool access) 

3. Use the seven employee experience pillars to rank what matters  

Form a focus group of internal experts 

Once you’ve gathered some initial data, it’s time to assemble a cross-departmental team that knows your organization well. This group – whether it’s three people or ten – will provide insight into your current experience and help determine which facets of EX you should focus on improving. 

First, share any research you’ve done already, including digital workplace data, pulse survey results, and any anecdotal observations or feedback.

Then, open up the discussion. Ask the group to use the seven key pillars of the employee experience as a rubric to measure current performance and establish which needs are most important. These pillars are: 

• Communication: Are messages timely, relevant, and reaching everyone who needs them? 
• Self-service: Can employees easily find answers and complete tasks without help? 
• Tool access: Is it simple to get to the apps and resources people use every day? 
• Knowledge: Is information accurate, up-to-date, and easy to search? 
• Community: Do people feel connected and able to share ideas or feedback? 
• Alignment: Is company strategy visible and understood at every level? 
• Recognition: Are wins and contributions celebrated in meaningful ways? 

Individuals in different departments, roles, or locations may have different views and priorities, but that’s a good thing. You’re looking for a wide range of perspectives, so take note of every contribution.  

Decide on your top three EX priorities 

Once you’ve landed on a collaborative, big-picture ranking of what’s important, it’s time to lay out your top three pillars. They’ll be the areas you’ll focus on optimizing and will be at the center of your project’s goals.

Laying out your top three pillars is especially useful when it’s time to decide on your must-have features. For instance, you may rank Knowledge, Communication, and Self-service as your top three pillars. This means you should prioritize solutions that offer a centralized, searchable knowledge hub, personalized comms, and tools that make it easy for employees to complete tasks without assistance. 

When looking for a new EX solution, you’ll still want it to address every pillar of the employee experience. That said, your top three pillars are non-negotiable. Treat them as deal-breakers and monitor them more closely during the decision-making process – this means seeking them out in feature lists and asking extra questions in product demos.

How do you start the process for selecting an EX platform? 

It’s time to turn that newfound knowledge about your EX into a clear plan of action. Once you’ve gotten clear on your EX needs, you’ll want to summarize them in one place, link them to desired outcomes and specific features, and use them to create a list of next steps.

Build a strategic wish list 

Translate your findings into a focused list of goals. These goals should cover all seven EX pillars, but be sure to lead with those related to your top three. 

Below each goal, note any potential features that could help achieve it. This exercise will help you get granular about your EX strategy without losing sight of your why.

Want a comprehensive list of modern features to pair with your goals? Check out our 28 things to look for in EX tech resource – it maps must-have capabilities by pillar to simplify the process. 

Summarize your EX needs and desired outcomes 

 Create a simple summary that includes: 

• An overview of the EX gaps you identified using digital workplace data, pulse surveys, and conversations with internal leaders
• A rundown of the three EX pillars you’re prioritizing, and why
• The feature wish list you crafted above
• A short explanation linking proposed EX improvements to business outcomes

This document will help you maintain focus during the search for better EX tools (especially when those shiny new tools threaten to pull your attention away from the essentials). You can also use it to brief coworkers who join the process later on, and even to get started on building a business case for a new EX platform. 

When you’re done creating your summary, share it with any relevant stakeholders as an FYI. The information you’ve gathered will help them understand the need for change before you propose potential solutions – priming them for buy-in. 

Plan what’s next in the process for selecting EX tech 

Next, use your insights to plot out the rest of your EX project. Decide what other tasks are involved, when they should happen, and how you’ll use your new findings about the employee experience to inform them. Here are a few steps you’ll want to plan for: 

• Explore potential solutions 
• Define success metrics 
• Outline a realistic timeline that covers the entire process – from search to EX platform onboarding to launch
• Secure stakeholder buy-in 
• Draft your business case 
• Compare vendors strategically 

Mapping out these pieces of your project turns your employee experience needs into a practical, actionable roadmap, ensuring you choose an EX solution that provides real value for years to come. 

Defining your employee experience needs: Frequently asked questions

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MANCHESTER, UK / NEW YORK, NY – November 12, 2025 – GLOBE NEWSWIRE – Interact, the provider of the Employee Experience (EX) Platform that powers the world’s best workplaces, today announced its Autumn 2025 launch featuring agentic AI capabilities, an intranet integration with Microsoft Copilot as a Microsoft Cloud AI Partner, enhanced workplace social tools, and more. 

The launch addresses a critical workplace challenge: context-switching between disconnected tools fragments employee focus and drains productivity, while valuable signals buried in workplace conversations—from emerging risks to moments of recognition—remain invisible to leaders. By bringing everyday systems into a unified intranet, surfacing praise that would otherwise stay hidden, and deploying AI agents that analyze workplace sentiment, Interact enables organizations to accelerate work and strengthen culture. 

“Success in the modern workplace is not about having more tools—it’s about having a smarter one,” said Simon Dance, CEO of Interact. “Our agentic AI is the bridge that turns raw data into human insight, eliminating the noise that slows employees down. We are fixing the ‘signal-to-noise’ problem in the enterprise, empowering leaders to act faster and ensuring every single employee feels seen and connected to the mission, because that leads to results.”  

New capabilities in the Autumn 2025 launch 

Move work along by simplifying the tech 

Organizations can now reduce context-switching by consolidating tools and answers in one place. The Microsoft Copilot Connector securely exposes intranet content within Microsoft 365 Copilot, delivering permission-aware answers without requiring employees to leave their workflow. New out-of-the-box integrations with SAP Success Factors and ServiceNow bring HR and IT self-service directly into the intranet via Interact’s Marketplace, allowing employees to check PTO balances, view task lists, submit tickets, and access knowledge articles without switching systems.  

Know where your focus is needed 

The Signal Agent uses agentic AI to transform workplace chatter into context-rich insights. This always-on capability analyzes posts, comments, and forum discussions to detect sentiment shifts, trending topics, and potential risks, then sends detailed alerts to Internal Communications, HR, IT, or Security teams. Organizations gain a real-time pulse on employee concerns, unanswered questions, emerging themes, and compliance risks without manual monitoring or survey fatigue, so action can be taken before it’s too late.   

Make success the norm 

The new Recognition Agent ensures praise never gets lost. This agentic AI for managers detects recognition signals across internal channels and routes them to the right leaders with full context. It automatically conducts employee listening and surfaces moments of achievement, especially among frontline teams. By doing so, managers can celebrate contributions promptly and foster a stronger culture of recognition. 

Customers participating in early access programs are already seeing the impact. 

“Culture and recognition really matter to our teams,” said Jessica Jensen, Senior Manager of Communications at Love’s Travel Stops. “With so much great activity happening across our intranet every day, it can be hard to keep up and spot what truly matters. Interact recognized this challenge and delivered Signal Agent—which we’re excited to use to amplify our core values.”  

New features released during the Autumn 2025 launch are available now to all Interact customers. Learn more here.

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Organizations pour valuable time and resources into SharePoint, and while they may be happy with the initial results, cracks begin to show over time. Because here’s the reality: SharePoint isn’t designed to be a true intranet, and that’s likely holding your workforce back. 

If you’re experiencing any of the five warning signs below, it’s time to face the music: your current setup is failing you… and it might be time to consider a SharePoint intranet alternative. 

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How do you know it’s time to find a SharePoint intranet alternative? 

1. Information is MIA  

Are employees on a perpetual scavenger hunt (or worse, a wild goose chase) for crucial documents, people, and policies? According to Gartner, 47% of digital workers struggle to find the information they need. SharePoint is likely making matters worse.  

Poor searchability, unintuitive structure, and “site creep” (an unwieldy accumulation of disorganized content, data, and sites) make it a black hole for information, leaving your team frustrated and unproductive.  

If you hear frequent complaints about hard-to-find information, or if you and your colleagues are bogged down by requests for documents or policies, you may want to look into alternatives to a SharePoint intranet that offer intuitive navigation and powerful search. 

2. IT is drowning in requests 

Is your IT team swamped with requests to fix, update, or customize your intranet? SharePoint demands significant technical expertise and ongoing maintenance, turning comms and EX into a burden. 

In our talks with former SharePoint customers, we found that they made an average of nine SharePoint requests to IT per month, each taking an average of 3.5 days to resolve. 

In addition to siphoning technical resources away from work that matters, this IT dependence creates bottlenecks that prevent organizations from sharing key knowledge and improving their intranets. Modern intranet software lifts this burden from IT, making it a compelling SharePoint alternative. 

3. You’re getting “ghost-town” vibes 

An intranet can only serve its purpose if people actually use it. If you’re seeing low visits and engagement levels, SharePoint’s limitations may be to blame. A poor user experience and outdated features can cause employees to view your intranet as a last resort. 

In contrast, an effective intranet is a traffic magnet. When Interact customer Audacy switched from SharePoint to a full-featured intranet, 98% of users visited the new intranet weekly, with engagement holding steady at 91% two years later. To get numbers like that, you’ll likely have to say goodbye to SharePoint and hello to an alternative that truly engages and supports your workforce. 

4. Employees are left behind 

With approximately 80% of the global workforce in deskless roles, mobile accessibility is non-negotiable. If employees on the front line, in the field, or on the road struggle to access important company information on their devices, your SharePoint intranet is falling short.  

Even the best content in the world is ineffective if it doesn’t get in front of the right audience at the right time. A modern intranet should be accessible anywhere, anytime – a key feature to look for when considering SharePoint intranet alternatives. 

5. It looks the same… to everyone 

One-size-fits-all experiences just don’t cut it anymore. If a hybrid operations manager in London, a delivery driver in Indiana, and a marketing associate at your New York headquarters have identical (or even very similar) experiences on your intranet, your digital workplace isn’t delivering what it should, and SharePoint may be to blame. 

Employees expect a level of personalization that SharePoint intranets usually lack, and they often become frustrated and disengaged when they have to sift through irrelevant content to find what they need – or when they get comms that don’t apply to them. This limited experience is a sure sign that you may need to change things up and consider alternatives to SharePoint for your intranet. 

Shedding SharePoint: A real-world success story 

Post Consumer Brands (PCB) faced the all-too-common SharePoint struggle: an outdated system that was a black hole for engagement and a constant drain on IT. By transitioning to a dedicated, full-featured intranet, “The Better Center,” PCB transformed their internal landscape and unlocked remarkable results.  

Frontline adoption shot up by 41% and time wasted searching for vital HR and Finance resources dropped by 45%, instantly boosting efficiency across thousands of workdays. For PCB, ditching SharePoint was more than a software change. It was a strategic tactic that paid off in newfound productivity and connection. 

Your path beyond SharePoint: How to choose the best SharePoint intranet alternative

If any of these SharePoint red flags resonated, you’re likely feeling the strain of an intranet that’s not measuring up. So, what now? Switching digital workplace tools is a big deal, and charting your journey in advance is essential. Here are the key steps you need to take to ensure a smooth process: 

• Map your needs and pain points: Start by gathering honest feedback from employees and internal teams. What’s currently missing? What causes frustration or slows down work? Understanding these specifics will define your ideal solution. 

• Envision your ideal digital hub: Picture an employee experience platform that truly empowers your workforce. What does seamless communication look like? How would it connect disparate teams? Defining this vision helps you recognize the right fit. 

• Build a compelling case for change: Translate your defined needs and vision into a persuasive argument for stakeholders. Highlight the measurable benefits of a new employee experience platform, such as improved productivity, high ROI, and reduced IT burden. 

• Weigh your options: Explore modern alternatives that are designed from the ground up as employee experience platforms. Set up walkthroughs of your favorites and arrive prepared with smart EX product demo questions to be sure their features address your key challenges – for example, a large frontline workforce or flailing engagement. 

• Plan for adoption, not just deployment: A new employee experience platform’s success hinges on employee adoption. Plan your approach strategically. Consider solutions that prioritize user experience and offer robust support for onboarding and continuous engagement to ensure long-term results. 

• Craft your launch strategy: Develop a comprehensive plan to introduce your new platform to the organization. This can include building excitement, creating incentive-driven challenges, and coordinating multichannel communications to drive adoption and engagement. 

• Optimize and evolve: Recognize that your employee experience platform is a living tool. That means you must continue to gather user feedback, measure EX over time, and make improvements. This will ensure your digital workplace remains relevant, valuable, and supportive of your evolving organizational goals. 

From SharePoint’s failures to a stronger future 

Coming to terms with digital workplace issues can be daunting, but remember: you’ve already taken the most important step. By recognizing current pitfalls and understanding what’s truly possible, you can turn your digital workplace into a must-visit destination that keeps communication, productivity, and business goals on track. 

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MANCHESTER, UK / NEW YORK, NY — October 7, 2025 — Interact, the provider of the Employee Experience (EX) Platform that powers the world’s best workplaces, and Leena AI, a leader in Agentic AI for employee self-service, today announced a strategic partnership to bring a cohesive AI agent to enterprises – that not only delivers dynamic answers in search but also takes actions on behalf of employees, improving the employee experience and reducing reliance on HR and IT for routine tasks.  

The announcement comes on the heels of Interact’s Summer Launch, which introduced Interact’s AI Search, a feature which brings federated, AI-powered search to every employee. It delivers chatbot-style answers from systems like SharePoint, Google Drive, and ServiceNow to reduce HR and IT dependency, and sets the stage for this next leap into agentic AI.  

The partnership addresses a major pain point for modern businesses: the fragmented digital workplace. Employees often struggle to find information and complete routine tasks across multiple systems. The joint solution empowers employees to simply ask a question, such as “How much vacation time do I have?” and not only get an immediate answer but also have the agent automatically start a time-off request.  

Backed by Leena AI’s proven success in reducing support tickets and improving resolution times for global enterprises, this strategic collaboration goes beyond integration – delivering a seamless, always-on support system that helps employees resolve issues independently and automate routine tasks.  

“This collaboration with Leena AI is a significant step forward in our mission to create a smarter digital workplace,” said Simon Dance, CEO of Interact. “By integrating Leena AI’s powerful Agentic AI into our comprehensive employee experience platform, we’re not just helping employees find information – we’re enabling them to take action and automate processes. This will lighten the load on HR and IT teams and help every employee be more efficient and self-sufficient.”  

“Our AI Colleagues help bring automation to the back office, increasing your profit margins. This partnership allows our AI colleagues to be available from within the Interact EX Platform,” said Adit Jain, CEO and co-founder of Leena AI. “Our partnership with Interact gives them a single, conversational interface – powered by agentic AI colleagues – that works across all underlying systems. It’s a simpler, faster way for employees to get things done.” 

About Interact  

Interact powers the world’s best workplaces. Organizations like Levi’s, Domino’s, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Subway trust Interact’s AI-driven, comprehensive employee experience platform to connect, engage, and inform their most important asset: their employees. To learn more, visit www.interactsoftware.com.  

About Leena AI   

Leena AI is the world’s largest independent agentic AI, serving hundreds of enterprises worldwide. Its AI colleagues automates the back office and lets employees access knowledge and execute agentic actions across HRIS, ITSM, ERP, CRM, and other business systems through a single conversational interface. To learn more, visit Leena.ai.  

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When frontline workers are frustrated with a new process, how long does it take for your team to find out? Days? Weeks? Never? 

Frontline workers are often the most important – and most overlooked – voices in an organization. They’re the ones interacting with customers, managing day-to-day operations, and keeping your business running.  

But when it comes to understanding how they’re feeling, what’s working, and what’s not, internal comms teams often hit a wall. Frontline workers tend to lack access to the devices that office workers spend the majority of their days on, and inconsistent shift patterns make them more difficult to reach. Unfortunately, this can leave them feeling deprioritized, unheard, and dissatisfied. 

Annual surveys can be time-consuming, easy to ignore, and rarely capture the full picture. Focus groups aren’t scalable and are difficult to execute with shift-based scheduling. Gut instinct is risky and inaccurate.  

What if you could understand what frontline teams are telling you – without needing to ask a single question? That’s where signals come in. 

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What are signals in the workplace? 

In the workplace, signals are AI-detected patterns in employee interactions that surface emerging themes, sentiment shifts, and cultural indicators. 

They’re the digital breadcrumbs your workforce leaves behind in chats, comments, and conversations. And when these breadcrumbs are analyzed intelligently, they reveal what’s really going on beneath the surface – without interrupting anyone’s day, adding to survey fatigue, or frustrating internal comms teams. 

Think of signals as a passive feedback loop. They help you understand without asking, and act without guessing. 

Why do frontline signals matter for comms teams? 

For internal communicators, especially those supporting distributed or deskless teams, signals can be a powerful tool for both employee listening and action. Here’s why: 

They analyze frontline employee sentiment to surface issues before it’s too late

With research from SHRM and Fidelity Investments reporting an average turnover rate of 26% for deskless workers (10% higher than that of office-based workers), retention is one of the biggest issues around frontline employees.  

Paying attention to signals can help IC teams detect dips in sentiment before they morph into full-fledged disengagement and, ultimately, turnover.  

Whether it’s frustration over scheduling, confusion about a new policy, or a rise in burnout at a specific location, early knowledge means solving problems and cultivating an environment employees want to stay in. 

They detect operational friction before it escalates 

Repeated questions, complaints, or confusion from frontline workers? These are all signals. They point to where processes are breaking down or where communication needs to be clarified, before those issues become costly. 

For example, if frontline team members are saying a new software is difficult to use, you’ll know about it right away, and be able to provide better training or instructions. In this case, something that would have caused major inefficiency will have minimal impact on the business because the right people could intervene early. 

They use constant employee listening to recognize contributions that often go unseen

Praise happens organically and often on the front lines – but not always in a public or company-wide setting. When we use signals, we can surface these moments in everyday conversations among workers, their colleagues, and managers, and route them to the right leaders. For example, when a store manager casually praises a team member in chat, that moment can be elevated for broader, more public recognition. 

This helps call out great work that might otherwise go unnoticed, highlight desired behavior among employees, and create a culture of recognition that boosts all-around frontline sentiment. It’s not just a feel-good exercise, either. Gallup’s researchers found that well-recognized employees were 45% less likely to have left their organizations two years later.  

Applications: Using signals for frontline employee sentiment analysis

Here are a few examples of how internal comms teams can put signals to work as an employee sentiment analysis tool: 

Accurate pulse checks for distributed or shift-based teams 

As we touched on above, surveys – especially the lengthy, annual ones – aren’t always the best tactic for gauging frontline sentiment. These workers often don’t sit at desks, may not have regular access to email, and are spread across shifts and locations, making it hard to catch them at the right time or in the right format. Even when surveys are mobile-friendly, response rates can be low and skewed toward more engaged employees, leaving you with less-than-accurate data. 

While shorter pulse surveys can be used effectively among frontline workers from time to time, it’s likely that you’ll want to supplement them with additional data to get the full picture. Signals can serve this purpose by providing a continuous, passive read on how teams are feeling – without interrupting their flow or chasing them to fill out a form. 

Scaling recognition campaigns to improve frontline employee sentiment 

Use detected praise and shout-outs to fuel recognition programs. Signals can help managers celebrate wins in real time, boosting morale and reinforcing company values.  

Beyond surfacing individual moments, signals also help internal comms teams spot patterns – like which locations or roles are consistently under-recognized. That insight allows you to design more inclusive recognition campaigns that reach across shifts, sites, and job types, ensuring no team is left out of the spotlight. 

Informing onboarding and learning priorities 

If the same questions keep popping up in chat or comments, that’s a signal. Use it to refine learning materials and operational processes, create targeted training, or launch a comms campaign that clears up confusion.  

These patterns can also reveal where knowledge isn’t sticking, whether due to unclear documentation, inconsistent manager messaging, or gaps in peer-to-peer support. By spotting these friction points early, comms teams can partner with L&D teams to close gaps before they impact performance or morale. 

3 tips for using signals as a frontline employee sentiment analysis tool 

Signals are only as powerful as the actions they inspire. Here’s how to make them part of your toolkit: 

Inform comms strategies for deskless workers 

A one-size-fits-all comms approach rarely works well for any audience, but it’s especially alienating for frontline employees. Their experiences, preferred channels, and what they need to know will differ vastly from desked workers.  

Using signals as a tool to gauge frontline employee sentiment can help you identify their needs, preferences, and pain points so you can target messaging to resonate with them – which means effective comms and happier employees.  

Guide manager enablement and support 

Managers are your frontline amplifiers. Signals can highlight where teams are thriving or struggling, giving managers timely, contextual insights they can use to coach, course-correct, or celebrate. This helps turn manager comms from reactive to proactive, while making employee listening easier for managers at the same time.

Shape onboarding and training content 

Signals can pinpoint where new hires are getting stuck—whether it’s confusion around tools, processes, or expectations. Use that intel to update onboarding flows, create just-in-time resources, or reinforce key messages in manager briefings. 

The bottom line on signals for frontline employee sentiment analysis

Frontline employee sentiment is dynamic, and traditional tools often miss its nuance. Signals offer a way to capture what’s happening in real time without requiring constant manual monitoring or relying on self-reporting. For internal comms teams, this means more clarity on what’s driving engagement, confusion, or friction. 

In today’s workplace, where retention, performance, and culture are shaped by how employees feel, signals help you move from reactive to responsive. They give you the context to act with empathy, the data to communicate with precision, and the insight to build a frontline experience that’s not just heard, but also understood. 

Now that you know about the power of signals, it’s time to ask yourself (and your team) an important question: How can signal-driven insights help you better understand, serve, and celebrate your frontline workforce? 

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What it means to be a Leader

IDC’s recognition reflects Interact’s continued progress in helping organizations reach every employee with relevant communications, knowledge, and tools wherever work happens. Read the full IDC report here.

This year’s recognition builds on our Leader placement in the 2024 IDC MarketScape and highlights our improved position on the Capabilities axis in 2025. IDC’s 2025 assessment focuses on the evolution from “experience‑centric digital workspaces” to “integrated employee workspaces,” emphasizing orchestration, AI, and in‑flow employee support. These are areas where we have invested deeply to deliver more value, faster. 

“Being named a Leader again and moving up on capabilities underscores our commitment to practical innovation that improves employees’ daily experience. We are focused on helping enterprise teams cut through noise, find what matters, and get work done with less effort.”

— Simon Dance, CEO 

Read the report

If you are evaluating platforms in the employee experience space, the IDC MarketScape offers a rigorous, independent view of the market and of vendors’ strengths and strategies. Explore the complete report and methodology to see how Interact compares and what this could mean for your organization’s employee experience strategy. 

About IDC MarketScape 

IDC MarketScape is the ICT industry’s premier vendor assessment tool, providing in-depth quantitative and qualitative technology market assessments of ICT vendors for a wide range of technology markets. This comprehensive assessment of market competitors, delivered in a full-length research report, and summarized in an easy-to-read graphical depiction, provides you with the critical information necessary to make your most important technology decisions. 

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MANCHESTER, UK / NEW YORK, NY – August 19, 2025 – GLOBE NEWSWIRE – Interact, the provider of the Employee Experience (EX) Platform that powers the world’s best workplaces, today announced a significant expansion of its platform capabilities with a suite of new features and products designed to elevate internal communications and drive operational efficiency for organizations worldwide. 

This launch comes on the heels of significant momentum for Interact, following its win of the prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise and its placement in the Leaders category of the IDC Worldwide Employee Experience for Integrated Employee Workspaces 2025 Vendor Assessment. The company also earned 13 awards from G2, in categories including High Performer: Enterprise for Summer 2025. 

“The workplace has changed, and the tools for creating a connected employee experience must evolve,” said Simon Dance, CEO of Interact. “We’re moving beyond the age of top-down messaging and into a future of instant answers and employees empowered to self-serve. Our new features are designed to remove the friction that slows people down, so every team member has the knowledge and connections they need to drive unprecedented productivity.” 

This innovative release introduces enhancements built to deliver immediate value, fundamentally changing how organizations provide employees with instant answers, reduce reliance on support teams, and develop impactful content faster than ever: 

• AI Search Assistant: Bring AI-powered enterprise search to every team member – chatbot-style search delivers federated, contextual answers. It increases employee self-service options and reduces reliance on HR and IT support teams by providing 24/7 access to answers. 

• Classified Ads: Champion sustainability and foster connection with a vibrant internal marketplace where colleagues can buy, sell, exchange, and give away items within a trusted environment. For workplaces emphasizing sustainability it strengthens organizational values and fosters genuine connections to create additional employee engagement opportunities. 

• Editorial Calendar: Get a bird’s eye view of campaigns with a unified calendar view of all communication and promotional activities within the platform. It helps internal comms teams manage information volume, prevent message overload, and ensure coordinated content distribution across the organization. 

• Auto-Translations: Building upon Interact’s existing real-time content translations, this capability automatically translates pages and emails into any number of specified languages at the point of save. Global internal comms teams can accelerate content creation and drive consistency without manual translation tasks and removing language barriers that slow organizations down. 

• Mobile Chat (paid add-on): An in-app chat functionality allowing for direct, private 1-on-1, multi-user, and group conversations directly on mobile devices. Frontline workers get instant access to answers, colleagues, and leadership without using personal phone numbers. 

“Interact’s platform is essential to our digital employee experience,” said Kelli Newman, Director of Internal Communications at Piedmont Healthcare. “The new features—especially the editorial calendar and enhanced email newsletters—will streamline content planning, strengthen cross-team collaboration, improve messaging strategy and timing and help us deliver more targeted, measurable communications. I’m excited to boost productivity and keep our team members informed, connected and empowered to continue delivering high-quality care to Piedmont patients.” 

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On June 17, Interact joined a select group of British businesses recognized with The King’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s most distinguished accolade for commercial achievement. The award highlights companies that have demonstrated outstanding growth and impact in international trade. This year’s honorees include globally recognized names such as Jellycat and The Deluxe Group, underscoring the strength and innovation of the UK’s business community. 

Interact’s path to The King’s Award 

Founded in 1996, Interact has grown from its Manchester roots into a global provider of internal communication and employee experience solutions. The company’s expansion strategy has focused on building a strong foundation in its home market before scaling internationally – an approach that has delivered sustained growth across multiple regions. 

To qualify for the King’s Award in the International Trade category, businesses must meet rigorous criteria for overseas earnings growth. Interact’s performance over recent years reflects both the strength of its platform and the dedication of its global team. 

A shining moment

The award was formally celebrated at a royal reception held at Windsor Castle, hosted by King Charles III and attended by members of the Royal Family. The event brought together leaders from across sectors – innovation, sustainability, social mobility, and trade – highlighting the diversity and excellence of British enterprise. 

Reflecting on the achievement, Interact CEO Simon Dance said:  

“I am absolutely thrilled and incredibly proud of our entire organization for achieving The King’s Award for Enterprise. This award is a monumental validation of Interact’s journey of international growth and the relentless dedication of our team.” 

Looking ahead 

As Interact continues to expand its global footprint, the company remains committed to its Manchester heritage and to helping organizations worldwide create meaningful employee experiences. The King’s Award marks a significant milestone in that journey – and a powerful motivator for what comes next. 

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