When we talk about internal communication, we have to say that having a good internal communication strategy is a vital part of the success of your business. If your plans, goals, and roadmaps are not effectively communicated within a company, that can lead to a complete chaos and confusion.
By having effective internal communication tools, a couple of things will be accomplished- you will have a happy work environment, less employee turnover, you will eliminate any confusion, and the knowledge and ideas will be easily shared.
There are now hundreds of options of different tools that go under the term-internal communication, and there has to be a smart choice when choosing one of them for your business.
Types of Internal Communication Tools
Communication through Multi-Channel Intranets
Intranet is a private network, designed as a centralized channel for communication where employees can gather, share and access information easily.
Another important feature of the intranets is the ‘homepage’ section through which the company increases the visibility of company-wide information and important notices. Some of the intranet benefits:
- it presents a closed community without the possibility for the outsiders gaining access to it
- it can be organized into channels, so that the communication between members can run smoothly
- Different documents and spreadsheets can be easily accessible
The choice of intranet tools is wide, but the right choice for a business will depend on its needs. There are many popular intranet tools used, one of them being Staff base and also products similar to Staff base such as Blink. The Staff base employee app works best for big corporations, while Blink’s simpler format lends itself to on-the-go workers.
Blink as the no. 1 alternative to Staff base app, combines workplace messaging with access to rotes, policy and training documents, e-pay slips, and holiday booking forms. Its main goal is to boost levels of engagement and productivity and in that way increase the sense of a good working environment.
Communication through video conferencing tools
With the rise of remote work, especially over the last two years, we could see the increase in using video conferencing tools. It was one of the revolutionary things used for communication and it paved the way as a standard for hiring, communicating and having meetings over the internet all over the world.
Benefits of a video chat tool:
- helps employees connect visually
- They are often free or offer low-cost services
- Easy access
Communication through project management tools
The task of the project management tools is to help the company meet deadlines, keep tabs on progress and also use all the materials optimally. These tools can also track time that is needed for each process and task. Project management tools are considered to be collaboration tools as well, since they allow multiple users to access them simultaneously, changes can easily be tracked by all the users and different versions of the projects can be used and saved as the project evolves and changes.
Among many of these tools that can help companies and employees with their organization is all-in-one project management software that is used by 80,000 companies, including companies like Uber and it is called Aeratable. Teams can organize their work there in different views like grids, galleries, Kanban boards, and calendars. There are a lot for software similar to tools like Aeratable , the difference being that usage of the latter ones is for small and medium businesses only.
Communication through document management tools
If the goal is to organize all your documents, files and data in one place, keep track of all your information, reduce reliance on paper and speed up the workflow, then finding a good document management system is the main task. If the team within your company is a small one then using Google Drive can be a good option, or if it is used for medium size companies, tools like Bit. Ai can be the best solution.
Employee social networks
A relatively new tool when it comes to internal communication are employee social networks. Companies can use regular social networks to encourage employees to communicate work-related topics or use standalone platforms to do so. Like with other company communication tools, there will be some overlap with other tools like instant messaging or company intranets. But the main purpose of the employee social networks can be sharing events, company blogs, and all the other information the employee needs to access.