Key takeaways in this post about healthcare intranet content:

  • While intranets serve as essential hubs for necessary documents and policies, adding human-centered content—such as employee spotlights, leadership messages, and organizational news—can make the platform more engaging and build stronger internal buy-in.
  • Leadership communication is crucial for fostering a transparent and open workplace culture. To create effective leadership updates, tone and authenticity matter—leaders should be approachable, concise and relatable, focusing on both current challenges and future goals.
  • Featuring a diverse range of team members, from clinical to non-clinical staff, in employee spotlights helps build morale and a sense of community.


Author: WG Content
Last updated: 10/23/24

Intranets are essential hubs for healthcare systems to share important information with their employees. 

While some content and resources are mandatory, other content provides the human touch that encourages employees to keep coming back to your intranet for more. Recent award-winning healthcare intranets recognized by Nielsen Norman Group, Ragan Communications and eHealthcare Leadership and Trends demonstrate that this human-centered approach is what truly sets them apart.

Learn about the must-haves for employee intranets and how to customize content showcasing your employee value proposition (EVP) and organizational updates.  

Must-have content on your intranet

Often thought of as a connecting hub for essential forms, functions and news, your employee intranet, if done right, can help retell your organization’s story and build internal buy-in for your employee value proposition (EVP). Your EVP is an extension of your brand; it showcases your healthcare system’s values and benefits for its team members.

When you think about must-have content for your hospital intranet, consider what tools, resources and communications help streamline workflows and engage your employees. 

Your employee intranet likely has the following:

  • Official documents and forms
  • Policies and procedures
  • Company goals and strategies
  • Employee spotlights
  • Human resources information
  • Employee benefits
  • Apps and tools
  • Employee directory
  • Training and growth tools
  • Organizational information

But you can bring more life to a digital database by including:

  • Company news and headlines
  • Messages from leadership
  • Anniversaries and milestones
  • New employee announcements
  • Employee events

Let’s dig into two top reads for employees – and some of the most fun intranet content to write.

Create leadership messages that connect

Everyone benefits when your healthcare system has a culture of clear, consistent and open communication. Communication from the CEO is one way to achieve this, but messages can quickly become muddled if you don’t take care. 

Here’s how to create leadership updates that connect.

Tips for writing leadership updates

  • Make the tone approachable and conversational, letting the leader’s personality shine through. 
  • Listen to your leader’s speaking style before you write messages to help transform their voice into the written word.
  • The best leadership messages are concise and authentic. Keep it short and to the point—no need to overload with too many ideas. 
  • Avoid jargon and keep language clear enough for someone new to your organization to understand.
  • Stick to short sentences and brief paragraphs. Use bullet points for clarity. 
  • Be honest. Acknowledge any difficulties and the work your employees are doing to improve matters.
  • Acknowledge the past, but focus on the future.
  • Connecting your CEO’s message to a patient or employee story is always a good idea.

Starting the conversation with leaders

Looking for an angle for your next leadership update? Here are some good general questions to help your leader’s perspective shine through:

  • Can you describe your personal leadership style and how it influences culture?
  • What led you to pursue a career in healthcare?
  • What are the most significant trends shaping the healthcare industry today? (Consider national or state perspectives.)
  • How does our organization promote diversity and inclusion, and what initiatives are in place to ensure a diverse workforce?

Once you have this information, you can begin to write your message from your leader.

Learn the five attributes of effective executive communications in healthcare.

Shine a spotlight on team members

Featuring your employees on your hospital intranet helps boost morale, recognize accomplishments, reinforce the values you want to support in your organization and build internal community.

While it’s easy to lean on an “employee of the month,” a newly published staff member or DAISY award recipient as your subject, your hospital has a wealth of themes that keep healthcare flowing every day. 

Look outside the daytime shift clinical employees and employees located on your hospital campus for your storytelling.

And go beyond the soundbite version of “Jane Smith is an environmental services employee at our hospital.” Instead, use your space to get to know Jane as a teammate and a person. You might do this with a written article or a short video submission.

Questions to ask team members

  • What role(s) have you had with our healthcare system?
  • What do you enjoy about your job?
  • What don’t most people know about your work?
  • What made you go into healthcare?
  • What advice would you offer a new team member or others about working for us?
  • Can you describe a time when you felt like you made a difference in your job?
  • What do you love doing on your days off?
  • What would people be surprised to learn about you?
  • What song makes you smile and why?

Providing a personal look at your healthcare team members, both clinical and non-clinical, helps build an appreciation for your organization beyond the tasks of daily work. As healthcare organizations continue to build remote teams and grow, building personal relationships can help your teammates connect and support your healthcare system’s mission and values.

Bring your intranet content to life with WG Content

Need help creating more leadership communications and employee spotlights for your hospital’s intranet? WG Content’s writers and strategists can help create engaging human-centered content for your intranet.

Follow-up questions about content for employee intranets

To ensure leadership messages reach all employees, consider using multiple communication channels beyond just the intranet. You can send email newsletters, post messages on internal messaging platforms and include them in staff meetings or town halls. For clinical staff or employees on night shifts, ensure that leadership messages are highlighted in physical areas such as break rooms or staff lounges, where they are likely to be seen during downtime.

Leadership messages can be posted monthly or quarterly, depending on how often the organization needs to communicate strategic updates. For employee spotlights, a monthly cadence works well, ensuring there is fresh content that continually engages employees without overwhelming the platform. If possible, align these updates with significant organizational events or milestones to keep the content relevant. Creating an editorial calendar for internal communications is always a helpful idea.

Encourage employees to contribute by making the process simple and transparent. Create a nomination form for spotlight features or invite employees to submit suggestions for leadership messages, either through the intranet or via email. Offering incentives, like recognition or small rewards for featured content, can also boost participation. Additionally, emphasizing that the intranet is a platform for all voices to be heard can foster a more collaborative environment.

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