Intranets vs. Employee Communication Platforms: Where Hubley and Haiilo Fit In

Introduction: Cutting through the noise of digital workplace tools

If you’ve spent any time researching digital workplace solutions, you’ve probably noticed a sea of overlapping tools and buzzwords. Intranet. Employee app. Communication platform. Knowledge base. Collaboration hub. It can feel like these terms are used interchangeably—but they aren’t.

When you're deciding how to keep your workforce informed and engaged, understanding the difference between intranets and employee communication platforms is crucial. Even more important? Knowing which tools solve which problems.

Two popular options in this space, Hubley and Haiilo, often come up in these conversations. But where exactly do they fit? Are they intranets, communication tools, or a bit of both?

This article breaks down the difference between intranets and employee communication platforms—and helps you understand how Hubley and Haiilo stack up.

What is an intranet?

An intranet is like your company’s private internet—a centralized home base where employees can access internal information, documents, and tools. Think of it as the virtual front door to your organization.

Intranets are typically designed for information storage and sharing. They help employees find things like company policies, HR documents, internal news, and links to commonly used apps. The biggest strength of an intranet is that it gives employees a single place to find critical information. But traditional intranets aren’t always known for being engaging. Many legacy systems feel static, outdated, or hard to navigate—which is why modern solutions like Hubley have reimagined the intranet experience.

What is an employee communication platform?

While intranets focus on storing and sharing information, employee communication platforms focus on how that information is delivered and received. These tools are all about creating meaningful, two-way communication between leadership and employees.

Employee communication platforms often include features like newsfeeds with personalized content, campaign management tools, surveys, polls, and feedback options. Their strength lies in engagement. They make it easier to ensure your messages are seen, read, and acted on—rather than buried in an inbox or lost in Slack.

Platforms like Haiilo fall squarely into this category, providing tools that enable targeted communication and foster connection across distributed teams.

The difference between intranets and communication platforms

The easiest way to think about the difference between intranets and communication platforms is by looking at their core purposes. Intranets focus on information access, while communication platforms focus on message delivery and engagement.

Intranets serve as a reliable home for static content like policies, process documentation, and benefits information. They help employees find the resources they need, usually through navigation-based discovery. Communication platforms, on the other hand, are built for delivering timely messages that actively engage employees. These messages might take the form of leadership updates, campaign-driven content, or interactive surveys.

Another key distinction is how the two types of tools approach delivery. Intranets are often web-based and depend on employees visiting the site to get the information they need. Communication platforms push content directly to employees through multiple channels like email, mobile notifications, and even intranet integrations.

While they have distinct purposes, intranets and communication platforms often work best when used together.

Where Hubley fits in

Hubley is first and foremost an intranet solution—but not the kind of clunky, hard-to-update intranet you may remember from a decade ago. Instead, Hubley offers a modern intranet experience designed around usability, flexibility, and accessibility.

One of Hubley’s standout features is its customizable, branded homepage, which helps organizations create a digital home base that reflects their culture and makes key information easy to find. The platform’s user-friendly design makes it simple for employees to navigate and locate what they need, whether it’s HR documents, company policies, or recent announcements.

Hubley is also mobile-friendly, making sure employees can access content from anywhere, not just from their desks. Plus, it supports targeted content delivery so that specific teams or groups receive the most relevant information to their roles. While Hubley includes communication features like announcements and newsfeeds, its core strength lies in centralized information management—making it an ideal choice for companies that want a clear, accessible intranet solution.

Where Haiilo fits in

Haiilo, on the other hand, is designed specifically as an employee communication platform. Its mission is to help companies connect with employees in a more personal, interactive, and engaging way.

With Haiilo, organizations can deliver personalized newsfeeds tailored to each employee’s role, location, or preferences. It also offers campaign management features, enabling companies to plan and execute communication strategies across multiple channels such as email and mobile. This helps ensure important updates reach employees no matter where they are.

Interactive tools like surveys, polls, and comment features encourage two-way dialogue and invite feedback from employees. Additionally, Haiilo provides engagement analytics so companies can track which messages are resonating and which may need to be adjusted for better results.

Haiilo shines when your goal is to strengthen connection and communication with your people, making it easier for leadership to engage employees in a meaningful way.

Why many companies need both

Here’s the reality for many modern organizations: one tool rarely does it all. While some platforms blur the lines between intranets and communication tools, most companies find that they need both to fully support their people.

If your only tool is an intranet, your employees might know where to find documents—but they might miss out on timely updates or feel disconnected from leadership. If your only focus is a communication platform, your employees might receive announcements—but struggle to find foundational information like handbooks or org charts.

When used together, intranets and communication platforms create a more complete digital workplace experience. The intranet acts as your organization’s information backbone, while the communication platform ensures that messages don’t just sit there—they reach people where they are and invite participation.

Choosing the right approach for your organization

Choosing between an intranet, a communication platform, or both depends on your organization’s specific needs. Consider where your current gaps exist.

If employees often struggle to find critical documents and resources, you may need to strengthen your intranet experience. If your internal messages are getting lost or ignored, a communication platform could improve your reach and engagement. And if you have distributed or hybrid teams, both tools may be necessary to ensure connection and alignment across your workforce.

The size of your company, the complexity of your communication needs, and your existing technology stack will also play a role in shaping the right solution for you.

Conclusion: Creating the right digital foundation for your people

Intranets and employee communication platforms aren’t competitors—they’re collaborators. When used thoughtfully, they help you build a digital workplace where employees feel informed, connected, and engaged.

Hubley offers the structure and accessibility of a modern intranet, giving your team a clear place to go for trusted information. Haiilo provides the tools to connect with your workforce in meaningful, engaging ways through personalized communication and feedback.

Understanding where these platforms fit—and how they can work together—gives you the clarity to design a digital workplace strategy that truly supports your people.