The art of intranet naming

Major companies share the stories behind their employee hubs.

Naming an organization’s intranet is no small decision for internal communicators.

Ideally, it should say something about the employee’s mission, values or culture. It should be easy to remember but also have a little flair about it. In many cases, employees either submit names or vote on a slate of options to help them feel invested in the product.

We took to LinkedIn to ask about company intranet names. More than 125 people chimed in sharing their company’s names.

There were a few that turned up multiple times. The Hub, The Hive and Nucleus (especially popular with science-based orgs) emphasize centrality and coming together.  Insider and The Pulse (especially for healthcare orgs) take a more information-based approach to the intranet name: By coming here, you’re getting exclusive information to keep you on the cutting edge of your field.

Here are some of the names that stood out — some including the compelling stories behind them.

• The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a global development agency, goes by Compass — not to be confused with the D.C. coffee shop of the same name.
• Financial services firm Morningstar dubbed its intranet The Pond – a nod to Henry David Thoreau who inspired the company name with his line, “The sun is but a morning star.”
• Heifer International, a non-profit that supports small farmers, allowed employees to choose the name “The Corral,” a fun nod to their work with livestock.
• Some companies try to evoke a cozy sense of home in their intranets, especially when they’re tied to their overall mission: Carnival Cruise Line’s intranet is fittingly dubbed “Homeport,” IKEA goes by “Home” while Habitat for Humanity chose “Homebase.” For a sportier angle, the Oklahoma City Thunder went for Home Court.
• Other organizations go for a folksy feel to show their warmth and homespun charm, like Land O’ Lakes’ Front Door and Simpplr’s Backyard. “We want it to be a space that’s connected to home,” said Regan Zuege, internal communications manager at Simpplr. “It’s familiar, comfortable, and always there when you need it.”
• Hubspot’s intranet is known as “The Wiki,” which Principal Content Strategy & Operations Program Manager, HubSpot Media Basha Coleman notes is a bit ironic. “You would think HubSpot would call it ‘The Hub,’” she commented wryly.
• CRM Pipedrive calls its intranet “Toru,” which simply means “pipe” in Estonian. The company now has employees in more than 50 countries, but it all started in an Estonian garage.
• Carrier Sekani Family Services provides healthcare services to indigenous communities in Canada. As Communications Specialist Jessie Scheele explains it, “Our intranet is called ‘Sus Yah’, which means ‘Bear House’ in Carrier language. The name came forward from an internal contest, and it represents a secure home-base for employees to find information, connect with each other, and get access to resources and support.”
• Employees also helped name the intranet at Alliant Health Solutions. “I launched ALLIE, which stands for Announcements, Leadership, Learning, Innovation and Engagement,” said Digital Communications and Content Manager Macrae Brennan-Fuller. “To drive excitement, I designed a naming contest so our employees felt invested and engaged throughout the development process. The contest was extremely popular, and 75% of our employees submitted potential names.”
• Some organizations favor fun plays on the organization’s name: For instance, Stratacomm dubs its intranet The Stratasphere and YouGov goes by Youniverse.
• And finally, a few nightmare stories. One user joked that their intranet is called “Sharepoint.” Another shared the worst possible way to do an intranet: “At one midsized agency that didn’t want to pay for an intranet at all it was called ‘Josh’s personal Google Drive,’” wrote freelance PR consultant Joshua Kail. “For years following my leaving that agency, I would still get updates to old and new client files because they would use my templates for incoming business. Despite my constant emailing their HR about this, it continued for quite some time. A huge security risk if I were not the ethical professional I am.”

What’s your intranet called?

Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.

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