Why Most Credit Union Intranets Fail (and How to Avoid It)

Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes

We've worked with hundreds of credit unions. Most had the same story: someone launched an intranet with high hopes, but after a few months, it faded. Staff stopped logging in. Pages went stale. A once-promising project quietly failed.

The Most Common Causes of Failure

• Stale or missing content: If forms, procedures, and links aren't updated, staff won't trust what's there
• No clear ownership: If no one is responsible for homepage updates or section quality, content decays
• Overly complex tools: When platforms are too technical or hard to use, no one updates them
• Gimmicky dashboards with no real utility, not enough function: Portals that look nice but don't help with real work lose relevance fast

What Success Looks Like Instead

We've seen what works. The most successful credit union intranets:

• Have clear ownership - every section has someone accountable
• Highlight changes staff care about, like policy rollouts or new HR tools
• Mix fun and function - staff polls, team wins, and useful tools side by side
• Integrate with real workflows - like onboarding, form automation, or policy acknowledgment