Best practices for boosting profile completion on your intranet

Employee profiles on an intranet are a useful tool for improving workplace collaboration and communication. They're not just a place for basic information; they help colleagues connect, find experts, and build a stronger company culture. Think of a complete profile as a digital handshake that turns strangers into teammates and tasks into teamwork.

But how can you get employees to complete their profiles? This article provides strategies to boost profile completion and help your organization get the most out of your intranet.

Why complete employee profiles matter

Having a filled-out user profile is more than just sharing personal info—it's a valuable tool for the entire business.

Find the Right Person, Fast: Need to find a colleague whose name you can't remember but know they work in the London office? With complete profiles, you can quickly search for or filter colleagues by their office location, department, or job title. This saves time and helps you connect with the right person in seconds.
Onboard New Hires: When a new person joins, they can use profiles to put names to faces and understand who does what, including their manager and team. Complete profiles help new hires feel like part of the team right away, making the onboarding process smoother for everyone.
Build Stronger Connections: Profiles aren't just for work. Sharing hobbies or interests helps colleagues find common ground and build relationships. These small details can spark friendships and boost teamwork, especially for remote or hybrid teams.

Your blank profile leaves your colleagues in the dark. By filling it out, you turn from a stranger into a teammate.

Strategies to drive profile completion

1. Pre-populate existing data

Help employees get started more easily by automatically filling in essential information. This reduces their workload and provides a foundation of accurate, professional data.

How to do it: Connect your intranet to your user directory system (like MS Graph or an HRIS) to automatically update and display professional information on employee profiles. Basic details like Department, Job Title, Manager, and Office Location can be pre-filled, allowing employees to focus on adding more personal and qualitative information.

2. Make it part of official processes

Making profile completion a standard part of your business processes helps everyone see it as a professional norm rather than a suggestion.

How to do it: Include intranet profile completion in your new hire onboarding checklist to ensure new employees fill it out from their first day. This positions the profile as essential for every new employee. Additionally, consider adding a Complete profile widget to your homepage as a visible reminder for all users.

3. Lead by example

Employees are motivated to follow when they observe leaders setting a positive example.

How to do it: Have all company leaders and managers complete their profiles first. Then, use these complete profiles as examples of what a good profile can look like while demonstrating that the initiative is valued throughout the organization.

4. Provide structured guidance

Show users exactly what to include in their profiles. If you simply ask users to fill out fields without providing any direction, they won't do it.

How to do it:

Helpful Guidelines: Clearly explain what users should fill out in each field. This will help users to understand the purpose of each section and what information is appropriate to share. Keep these guidelines accessible on your HR page. To help get you started, we have some example descriptions listed below.
Professional Headshots: Offer free professional headshots to all employees and encourage them to use the high-quality photo on their profile.
Ready-Made Cover Images: Offer branded cover images for users to download and upload directly. This saves employees time and helps ensure all profiles have a consistent look and feel.

5. Gamify the process

Inject some fun and friendly competition to make profile completion more engaging.

How to do it: Launch a profile completion contest. Announce a contest to see which department or team can achieve the highest percentage of completed profiles by a certain date. The winning team could earn a fun prize, like a catered lunch or a team-building activity.

Guidelines for profile fields

Use these guidelines to help employees complete their profiles effectively. The fields available depend on the ones you've added to your platform, so use these suggestions as a reference rather than strict rules.

Fields that can be pre-populated	Fields best kept personal and optional
These fields are typically filled from your user directory to ensure consistency and accuracy.	These are the fields employees often need to complete themselves, adding a personal touch. Provide a clear prompt to guide their input.
Job title: Your official job title. Department: Your official department. Company: The company you work for. Office: Your primary office location. Current location: The country you're located in. Phone: Your official work phone number, if applicable. Mobile: Your private mobile number.	About Me: Use 2-3 sentences to summarize your professional experience and key responsibilities. Explain how your role contributes to the company's mission. Expertise: List 3-5 of your primary professional skills or areas of expertise (e.g., "Data Analytics," "Product Marketing," "Project Management"). This helps colleagues find you when they need specific knowledge. Projects: List key projects you are currently working on or have completed. This provides context for your work and helps others understand what you're focused on. Education: List your highest degree or relevant certifications (e.g., "Bachelor of Arts in Communications," "PMP Certification"). Languages: List the languages you speak fluently. This is helpful for international teams or a diverse workforce. Pronouns: Specify your pronouns to ensure colleagues address you respectfully. Interests: What are your passions outside of work? (e.g., "Hiking," "Photography," "Cooking"). Sharing these can help build connections and spark conversations. Hometown: Where are you from? This is a great way to find common ground with colleagues. Birthday: Your date of birth. You can choose to leave the year blank if you prefer. Social Media / Website: Add links to professional profiles (like LinkedIn or a company-related website) that you are comfortable sharing for networking purposes.

Fields that can be pre-populated

Fields best kept personal and optional

These fields are typically filled from your user directory to ensure consistency and accuracy.

These are the fields employees often need to complete themselves, adding a personal touch. Provide a clear prompt to guide their input.

Job title: Your official job title.
Department: Your official department.
Company: The company you work for.
Office: Your primary office location.
Current location: The country you're located in.
Phone: Your official work phone number, if applicable.
Mobile: Your private mobile number.

About Me: Use 2-3 sentences to summarize your professional experience and key responsibilities. Explain how your role contributes to the company's mission.
Expertise: List 3-5 of your primary professional skills or areas of expertise (e.g., "Data Analytics," "Product Marketing," "Project Management"). This helps colleagues find you when they need specific knowledge.
Projects: List key projects you are currently working on or have completed. This provides context for your work and helps others understand what you're focused on.
Education: List your highest degree or relevant certifications (e.g., "Bachelor of Arts in Communications," "PMP Certification").
Languages: List the languages you speak fluently. This is helpful for international teams or a diverse workforce.
Pronouns: Specify your pronouns to ensure colleagues address you respectfully.
Interests: What are your passions outside of work? (e.g., "Hiking," "Photography," "Cooking"). Sharing these can help build connections and spark conversations.
Hometown: Where are you from? This is a great way to find common ground with colleagues.
Birthday: Your date of birth. You can choose to leave the year blank if you prefer.
Social Media / Website: Add links to professional profiles (like LinkedIn or a company-related website) that you are comfortable sharing for networking purposes.