Chiron IT partnered with Bainbridge to modernize internal communications and employee engagement by building a centralized employee experience portal on Microsoft SharePoint Online. The solution unified corporate news, announcements, recognition programs, business resources, social engagement, and employee milestones into a single digital workplace.
The portal empowers employees to quickly access business systems, celebrate colleagues through peer recognition, stay informed about company initiatives, and engage with content across communities. Automated approval workflows, social interactions, and personalized content delivery significantly improved internal communications while reducing administrative overhead.
Faster access to frequently used company resources
Increase in employee engagement with internal communications
Reduction in manual publishing effort
Bainbridge is a leading real estate development and property management organization operating across multiple communities and business functions.
As the company continued to grow, employees needed a modern digital workplace where corporate communications, operational resources, employee recognition, and social engagement could be accessed from a single location.
Chiron IT was engaged to design and implement a modern SharePoint-based employee portal that would serve as the primary destination for daily employee activities and internal communications.
Prior to the project, employees accessed information through multiple disconnected systems and communication channels.
The organization faced several challenges:
The technologies used to deliver the solution included:
Chiron delivered the solution using an Agile methodology with iterative feedback from business stakeholders.
Chiron delivered the solution using an Agile methodology, working in short iterative cycles and gathering continuous feedback from business stakeholders. This collaborative approach allowed the intranet to evolve alongside the organization’s real needs, with each stage building on what the team learned in the one before.
The project began with a series of workshops with the HR, Marketing, Operations, and IT departments. These sessions helped the team understand how employees find information and use internal resources day to day. From there, Chiron mapped key user journeys, planned a clear information architecture, and defined governance guidelines and content ownership, so the intranet would stay organized and up to date long after launch.
The design phase focused on creating an intuitive, employee-centered experience. Chiron designed a personalized homepage that brings the most relevant content to the front, along with mobile-responsive layouts that work smoothly on any device. Every part of the interface was built with employee engagement in mind, making the intranet a place people want to visit rather than one they simply have to.
Chiron’s developers built a suite of custom React-based SharePoint components tailored to the organization. A hero banner slider showcases key announcements at the top of the homepage, while a department navigation hub gives employees quick access to every team’s space. The Most Used Links and Top Resources sections keep everyday tools and documents just a click away.
To strengthen company culture, the intranet includes a Shout-Outs Recognition Center where colleagues can celebrate one another, an Employee Anniversaries widget that marks work milestones, and the Bainbridge Brief news section that keeps everyone informed about company updates. An integrated Instagram feed brings the organization’s social presence into the workplace, and a clear footer navigation ties the whole experience together.
To reduce manual work and keep content fresh, Chiron implemented Microsoft Power Automate workflows behind the scenes. Shout-out submissions go through an automated approval process before they’re published, notifications reach the right people at the right time, and employee anniversary data syncs automatically so every milestone is accurate and celebrated on time.
The project was delivered by a multidisciplinary team consisting of:
Description
The new intranet brings company news, essential tools, and employee recognition together in one engaging, easy-to-navigate SharePoint portal. Each feature was designed to save employees time, keep everyone informed, and strengthen the company’s culture.
At the top of the homepage, a dynamic banner area gives moderators a simple way to share company-wide initiatives, awareness campaigns, important updates, and upcoming events. Its easy-to-manage content structure means communications teams can keep the homepage current without technical help, so key messages always reach employees first.
A visually organized navigation panel gives employees one-click access to every key business function. Instead of searching through folders or bookmarks, staff can jump straight to the department they need.
Curated resource panels put critical business systems, forms, policies, and frequently used applications within easy reach. Employees spend less time hunting for what they need and more time getting work done.
The Shout-Outs program has become one of the portal’s most popular features. Employees can create recognition posts, mention coworkers, celebrate achievements, and highlight individual contributions, sharing their appreciation with colleagues across the organization.
To maintain content quality and governance, every submission passes through an approval workflow powered by Microsoft Power Automate before it’s published. Once approved, coworkers can join the celebration by reacting to and liking posts, turning everyday recognition into a shared moment.
The Bainbridge Brief is the intranet’s central hub for company news. Moderators use this centrally managed content area to publish business updates, organizational news, announcements, and informational articles, giving employees a single trusted source for what’s happening across the company.
The portal automatically highlights employees who are celebrating upcoming work anniversaries. Employee data is maintained in SharePoint and kept current through a scheduled data-import automation, so every service milestone is recognized accurately and on time.
A live Instagram feed on the homepage connects employees with corporate events, achievements, and community initiatives. By bringing the company’s social presence into the workplace, it helps reinforce a sense of pride and shared culture.
The strategic objective was to create a single digital destination for employees that combines:
The strategic goal was to give Bainbridge employees a single digital destination for everything they need at work. Rather than spreading information across separate tools, the new intranet brings corporate communication, employee engagement, recognition, resource discovery, knowledge sharing, and organizational culture together in one place.
Before the project, employees relied on multiple disconnected systems to find news, tools, and information. Now they can access all essential workplace services from a unified platform integrated with Microsoft 365. The result is a simpler, more connected digital workplace where employees spend less time searching and more time collaborating, staying informed, and celebrating each other’s success.
To maximize adoption and long-term maintainability, the project followed several best practices:
To maximize adoption and keep the intranet easy to maintain over time, the project followed a set of proven best practices. An Agile delivery methodology kept stakeholders involved at every stage, while user-centric design principles ensured each feature was built around how employees actually work. A mobile-first approach means the portal looks and performs just as well on a phone as on a desktop.
Native Microsoft 365 integration allows the intranet to fit naturally into the tools employees already use every day. Behind the scenes, a low-maintenance administration model, automated governance processes, and role-based permissions make it simple for the organization to manage content and keep the platform running smoothly without heavy IT involvement.
Security and governance were core requirements from the very beginning of the project. The solution uses Microsoft Entra ID for secure authentication, along with SharePoint permission management and role-based access controls to ensure employees see the content that’s relevant to their roles. The platform follows SharePoint Online security standards and takes advantage of Microsoft 365 compliance capabilities, while Power Automate approval workflows ensure that content is reviewed before it’s published.
Together, these measures keep access to content carefully controlled while still giving employees a seamless, friction-free experience.
The portal successfully addressed a number of organizational challenges
The new portal addressed several long-standing organizational challenges. Before its launch, information was scattered across different locations, making business resources hard to find and leaving employees unsure where to look. Communications were inconsistent, content had to be published manually, and there was no central place to recognize colleagues for their contributions. As a result, employee engagement was low and the company’s culture had limited visibility in everyday work.
By bringing news, resources, recognition, and culture together in one platform, the intranet replaced this fragmented experience with a single, well-organized destination that is easy to use and easy to maintain.
Employees now enjoy faster access to the business systems and resources they rely on every day, along with simplified navigation across every department. Company news and updates are more visible than ever, so staff stay informed about what’s happening across the organization.
The intranet also makes the workplace more connected and personal. Peer recognition and social engagement give employees new ways to appreciate one another, and automated anniversary highlights bring greater awareness to colleagues’ milestones. With mobile-friendly access and a consistent, modern user experience, employees can stay connected to their workplace wherever they are.
Following implementation, Bainbridge successfully established a centralized digital workplace experience that improved communication, engagement, and resource accessibility across the organization.
The solution enabled employees to stay informed, connected, and recognized while reducing administrative effort through workflow automation and modern content management practices. The SharePoint-based architecture provides a scalable foundation that can continue evolving alongside the company’s growth and employee experience initiatives.
Here are some of the project deliverables and custom web-parts
CyberPower’s Intranet Portal Solution, built on SharePoint Online, provides a centralized platform for seamless collaboration and information sharing within the organization.
