LAIKA Studios - The benefits of a centralised intranet
LAIKA artists and artisans meticulously replicated Forest Park’s famed Pittock Mansion for WILDWOOD, the studio’s upcoming animated feature film set in a fictionalised version of Portland.
At American film and production company LAIKA Studios, the intranet is a one-stop shop for accurate and up-to-date information for all employees. All internal communications lead back to the intranet, and it’s the source of truth for company information employees want and need to know. It’s also a highly engaged intranet, according to SWOOP Analytics’ global benchmarking report.
Part of the reason LAIKA Studios can be confident the intranet provides accurate, engaging information is because it has centralised administration, with a small, dedicated team managing content and overseeing the publishing process.
In addition to authoring content themselves, this Communications team works directly with departments across the studio and allows anyone to contribute content for consideration, usually via a submission form. As the audience for this site is the entire studio, the focus is on content that’s broadly relevant to most, if not all, employees. Other channels and tools exist for intradepartmental communications.
Using a centralised, curatorial intranet model ensures high-quality, relevant content and consistency because the Communications team reviews and edits all material before it is published.
“We’re very collaborative. We’re working with subject matter experts, working with content owners, to help them have the best chance of getting their information out there to people in a way that’s going to be accessible, informative, and engaging.”
Deciding upon a centralised versus decentralised intranet model
It was a deliberate decision by LAIKA Studios to adopt a centralised model when a new SharePoint Online intranet was launched in late 2022 (the previous intranet had a decentralised model). Rather than simply replicating their former intranet’s architecture and migrating all legacy content, LAIKA Studios decided to use the opportunity for a fresh start.
A cross-functional workgroup including representatives from Communications, People & Culture, Technology, Marketing, and Production Management—with key leadership support and guidance from the studio’s Chief Marketing and Operations Officer—invested time in a thoughtful discovery and planning phase before delving into execution mode.
Opting for a centralised intranet helps ensure the quality and consistency of intranet content is always maintained, and that published content is in alignment with the studio’s mission, values, business objectives, and editorial style, Mary Ann said.
“We didn’t just automatically lift and shift everything from the existing site to the new SharePoint Online intranet,” she said.
“We took the opportunity to get curious and ask questions like; ‘Are we doing this just because that’s how it was initially set up? Or is this actually still the way we want it to be? What from the former site still serves us, and what do we want to reimagine to better support the studio’s—and our employees’—needs?’
“Since we were already re-evaluating and re-examining the status quo, that just gave us the perfect permission structure to say that we’re going to take a centralised approach to managing the new site and have Communications own it.”
Mary Ann said the Communications team works with people as consultants and thought partners.
“We want them to have a sense of ownership over their content, so we’re always offering to co-create, often by meeting to work through desired specifications for a page, and then iterating until we reach a place both parties are happy with,” she said.
Is a centralised intranet more work?
Mary Ann acknowledges that having a centralised intranet can potentially be more work upfront for the Communications team overseeing the site, but it also eliminates the need to spend time monitoring published content the way you’d need to with a decentralised model, and you’re not overseeing adherence to publishing guidelines for a multitude of editors.
“In some ways, I think having a centralised model can seem like more work because you’ve got a smaller group of people sharing the load,” she said.
“But on the other hand, you’re not going to be surprised by something that you then have to course-correct.
“This centralised oversight requires more hands-on work upfront, but it significantly reduces the need for clean up and corrections down the line.
“It also helps prevent conflicting or redundant content and ensures consistent messaging across the site, which is better for end users and for the studio’s interests.”
LAIKA Studio’s centralised model has resulted in a successful intranet, with the data to prove it. In SWOOP Analytics’ 2025 SharePoint intranet global benchmarking study of 28 organisations, LAIKA Studios ranked No.1 for the percentage of people visiting Content pages and No.2 for the percentage of people visiting all intranet pages (Content + News).
LAIKA Studios was also in the top three for the measures of intranet Quality and Experience.
LAIKA Studios draws talent from around the world. The studio has received a number of regional and national workplace awards, a testament to the workplace culture fostered.
Getting people to visit the intranet
Given LAIKA Studios boasts the highest percentage of people visiting Content pages across all organisations benchmarked, we asked Mary Ann for the secret to success.
The answer is easy navigation, fresh and engaging content, and directing traffic to the intranet site as the source of truth.
“Content pages are designed to be as easy and intuitive to navigate as possible, with cross-linking to other related site content to encourage people to explore multiple pages.
“We’re giving people multiple ways to access the content that they’re looking for.
“Having said that, we also try not to put the same information in multiple places that we then have to maintain because it’s unnecessary extra work for us and creates opportunities for inconsistencies to creep in.
“We’ll link to something from multiple places, but we try to house the information in just one place.”
A screenshot of LAIKA Studios’ intranet home page.
LAIKA Studios utilises all internal communications channels to direct people to the intranet, including email, newsletters, an internal chat system, digital signage, and word of mouth.
When appropriate for a particular situation, the Communications team takes a teaser approach in digital newsletters and emails that encourages people to click through to the intranet to learn more.
A screenshot of a LAIKA Studios’ employee profile on its intranet.
“We encourage people to check the site on a regular basis, and we keep the home page fresh with new spotlighted content, so people have a reason to keep coming back,” Mary Ann said.
“We also send out via our email newsletters and standalone studio emails links to specific content. So information is a push and a pull.”
The intranet home page features clearly defined sections for priority studio initiatives, the latest news, upcoming events, and a list of links to popular site pages for easy navigation. Top links include the booking app for LAIKA’s complimentary on-site chair massages and the ordering platform for its free studio coffee shop!
Mary Ann said the Communications team and its cross-functional partners in setting up the new site were particularly thoughtful about navigation for the intranet, which has paid off.
“It’s proven over the past couple of years to be both flexible and evergreen,” she said.
“There are some adjustments we’ve had to make along the way, particularly as new initiatives have been introduced or certain things have evolved, but for the most part it’s given us the flexibility we needed and has been able to grow with us, and we haven’t had to make a ton of changes to the site map.”
Interestingly, LAIKA Studios uses intranet news pages sparingly.
News pages are primarily used for leadership messages and announcements about the studio’s films and creative talent. It’s a deliberate move to limit information overload.
Popular articles on the intranet include an ongoing series of employee profiles, providing a glimpse into their lives outside work. The purpose of these profiles is to allow colleagues to get to know each other better and create connection across the organisation.
“The profiles offer a holistic look at who each featured LAIKAn is: What they do at the studio, and just as importantly, what talents they have that their coworkers might not know about and where they’ve been finding joy recently.”
“So far, we’ve published profiles on a circus artist, an illustrator, a pop singer, and someone with an epic collection of Pringles cans.
“LAIKA is a fairly large studio with about 650 employees currently, so this series serves as one way for people to get to know their colleagues, regardless of whether their paths directly cross. Also, the series is fun!
“The studio is filled with talented, interesting, creative people, and I think by adding fun content alongside our informative content, the user’s experience of the intranet is really enhanced.”
Other popular intranet pages include leadership messages, the benefits program overview, the on-site services page, the internal job board, and New to the Crew, showcasing new and returning employees.
Each of LAIKA’s five films has been nominated for the Academy Award® for Outstanding Animated Feature, including PARANORMAN (seen here).
