Typically, an Intranet is an internal communications vehicle for employees of a company. However, Intranets are typically blocked by firewalls. Often, they are not accessible from any where or any time, especially with hand-held PDAs like the iPhone. However, during emergency situations like hurricanes, employers often need to get information out to employees fast. The company internet website is quickly becoming the tool of choice to disseminate information rapidly to employees who may not have access to an internal, password-protected, firewalled company intranet portal.
The problem, however, is that unless you give employees advanced notice that they can find critical information on the company’s website, then they may not think of going there. Moreover, a company website is typically geared towards its clients, not its employees. So, there is usually no logical or intuitive navigational link for employees to click on to know where to go in the case of an emergency.
For this reason, it is probably best to think ahead, plan ahead, let employees know that emergency information will be posted online and let them know where to find it. Otherwise, your hastidely posted information may be like the tree that falls in the forest … if there is nobody to hear it fall, does it still make a sound?
