Personalize Staffbase with the JASP Widget Builder – No Developers, No Waiting
If you are responsible for internal communication at a company with 500 or more employees, you probably know this situation: Staffbase is rolled out, the app is installed, everything works technically. But usage stays flat. Employees open the app once, find nothing that concerns them personally, and do not come back.
The JASP Widget Builder extends Staffbase with personalized widgets that editorial teams manage themselves. No coding required, no IT ticket for every update.
What We Keep Seeing at Customer Organizations
Most intranet solutions work fine from a technical standpoint. The problem sits somewhere else entirely: in the relevance of content and in who can update it how quickly.
Everyone Gets Everything – and Nobody Reads It
When a production worker in Hamburg sees the same news as a marketing manager in Munich, attention drops fast. The Staffbase app turns into a digital notice board that people walk past.
What the Widget Builder changes here:
Widgets can target content by location, department, or role. The production worker sees their shift schedule and the cafeteria menu for their location. The marketing manager sees meeting room bookings and project updates. It sounds simple, but in practice the difference is significant.
Here is what that looks like:
Production Staff Location North:
→ Cafeteria menu Location North
→ Shift schedule updates
→ Shuttle times for early shift
Office Team Location South:
→ Parking availability
→ Meeting room bookings
→ Public transport connections
Every Small Change Becomes an IT Project
At an energy utility with 3,000 employees, we saw that even a text change on the homepage required an IT ticket. Lead time: two weeks. The communications team was frustrated because they could not respond on their own.
What the Widget Builder changes here:
Editors open the widget editor directly in Staffbase, update content, and publish immediately. IT gets involved during initial setup, then the communications team works independently.
Typical Workflow:
Traditional:
Change request → IT ticket → 2-week wait → Implementation
With Widget Builder:
Change request → Open widget editor → 5 min adjustment → Live
Information Employees Actually Need Every Day
What is for lunch in the cafeteria? When does the next bus leave from campus? Where is the current leave request form? These questions are not answered by a news article. They need widgets that automatically display current data.
What the Widget Builder changes here:
Dynamic widgets pull data from existing systems and display it where employees expect it: on the app homepage, in the intranet, on mobile.
What the Widget Builder Does
Personalization by Location, Role, and Group
Content can be targeted using rules based on Staffbase attributes like location, department, or custom fields. The editorial team creates and manages these rules themselves.
No-Code Management by Editors
Widget management requires no code at all. Templates for common use cases like news tiles, cafeteria menus, or countdowns come pre-configured. Design adjustments to match corporate identity are possible directly in the editor.
Tested Widget Templates
We do not hand over an empty canvas. We deliver tested templates from real customer projects: news widgets, cafeteria widgets, anniversary widgets, public transport widgets, and more.
Integration with Microsoft 365 and SharePoint
The Widget Builder reads data from SharePoint lists and Microsoft 365 and displays it directly in Staffbase. No duplicate maintenance, no manual exports.
GDPR-Compliant and Secure
Role-based visibility, EU data hosting, no data processing outside the Staffbase environment.
Technical Architecture
The Widget Builder connects to the existing Staffbase infrastructure. There is no separate system landscape, no additional maintenance overhead.
Integration & Architecture
Microsoft 365 / SharePoint
↓
Widget Builder API
↓
Staffbase Platform
↓
App + Intranet + Web
What this means technically:
- Content from Microsoft 365 and SharePoint is displayed directly
- Single sign-on through Staffbase, no separate login
- REST API for connecting third-party systems (HR, cafeteria systems, transit)
- No dedicated server, no separate hosting
Widgets from Real Projects
Grid Layout News Widgets
For an international corporation with eight locations, we built a news widget that presents company updates as image tiles. The editorial team assigns categories, and employees filter by topics that concern them. The mobile view adapts automatically.
Cafeteria Menu Widgets
For a manufacturing company with four cafeterias, we built widgets that pull the daily menu automatically from the cafeteria system. Allergens and nutritional values are displayed, vegetarian and vegan options can be filtered. The result: the cafeteria page became the most visited page in the app.
Public Transport Widgets
Companies on a campus outside the city center need current departure times. Our transit widget shows live data from local transit authorities, including delays and alternative routes. At locations with a company shuttle, the shuttle schedule is integrated.
Anniversary Widgets
The anniversary widget pulls data from the HR system and automatically displays work anniversaries. Teams can congratulate each other directly. At one of our customers, this noticeably increased app interaction because there was suddenly a personal reason to open the app.
Countdown Timers
Countdown widgets for events, trade shows, or internal campaigns can be set up in minutes. Dynamic time display with automatic updates. Multiple events can run in parallel.
Why JASP?
To be honest: the Widget Builder is not rocket science. What sets us apart from generic solutions is the experience from over 20 years of Microsoft projects and our specialization in the Staffbase platform.
We know the typical stumbling blocks during rollout. We know which widget types work in which industries. And we built the Widget Builder so that editorial teams actually use it, not just the IT department.
What We Bring
Microsoft Technologies: SharePoint Online and On-Premises, Microsoft 365, Azure Services, Power Platform. We know where the data lives and how to connect it cleanly.
Staffbase Extension: Widget development, API integrations, SSO setup. We know the platform in detail.
Rollout Support: Training for editorial teams, workshops for use case development, support after go-live. What we have learned from customers: the best widget is useless if nobody knows how to maintain it.
How a Rollout Works
Phase 1: Analysis (1-2 weeks)
Clarify Requirements
- What information do employees actually need every day?
- Where do friction points occur in daily work?
- What content is currently found through workarounds (email, Teams chat, bulletin boards)?
Define Target Groups
- Map locations and roles
- Document differing information needs
- Select pilot group for the start
Phase 2: Configuration (1-2 weeks)
Widget Selection and Setup
- Choose suitable widget template
- Adapt design to corporate identity
- Connect data sources
Prepare Integration
- Configure Staffbase environment
- Establish Microsoft 365 connections
- Set up permissions
Phase 3: Go-Live (1 week)
Deployment and Training
- Activate widgets in Staffbase
- Train editorial team (typically 2-3 hours)
- Publish first content together
Monitoring and Adjustment
- Evaluate usage data after two weeks
- Gather feedback from pilot group
- Adjust widgets based on results
Result: Productive use within 4-6 weeks. For simple setups with one or two widgets, it can be faster.
Results from Customer Projects
What We Were Able to Measure
The following figures come from projects we supported over the past two years. They are experience values from actual rollouts, not market averages:
- Intranet usage increased noticeably, in some projects by more than a third, because the homepage suddenly showed content relevant to daily work.
- Employees saved measurable time on daily information searches because cafeteria menus, shift schedules, or bus times were available directly in the app.
- Support volume for organizational questions (parking, cafeteria, HR forms) dropped significantly in several projects.
What Is Harder to Measure but Noticeable
Editorial teams report they can respond to current topics faster. Acceptance of the Staffbase app increases because employees have a concrete reason to open it regularly. And the IT department is no longer needed for every content change.
Who Is the Widget Builder For?
Companies with 500+ employees across multiple locations or with hybrid work models that want to get more out of their Staffbase platform. Especially relevant when you need to reach employees without a fixed desk (production, field service, retail locations).
Existing Staffbase customers who want more personalization without waiting for IT. The editorial team should be able to manage content independently.
An honest note: If you are just starting your Staffbase rollout, we recommend stabilizing the base platform first before adding widgets. The Widget Builder delivers its full value on a platform that is already in active use.
Getting Started
Browse the Widget Gallery and see which widgets fit your requirements.
Gather requirements: What information is currently missing for your employees on the homepage?
Start a proof of concept: Begin with one or two widgets, let a pilot group test them, evaluate the results.
Schedule a demo and see the Widget Builder live in your Staffbase environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need technical knowledge? A: No. Widget management is completely no-code. Your editors can work independently.
Q: How long does setup take? A: Initial integration takes 4-6 weeks. Individual widgets are configured in minutes.
Q: Which data sources are supported? A: Microsoft 365, SharePoint, HR systems, external APIs, and many more via REST API.
Q: Is migration of existing content possible? A: Yes, we support migration from SharePoint content and other sources.
Q: How does data privacy work? A: All data remains in your Staffbase environment. GDPR-compliant processing guaranteed.
Q: Is there support during implementation? A: Yes, we accompany you from analysis to go-live and beyond.
Conclusion
Staffbase provides the platform. The JASP Widget Builder makes it relevant. What we have learned from customer projects: the difference between an intranet that gets used and one that gets ignored is rarely about technology. It comes down to whether employees find something on the homepage that matters to their workday.
That is exactly what we built the Widget Builder for.
Next Steps
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