15 Employee Communication Tools to Implement in Your Corporate Office
According to Expert Market, “86% of employees and executives cite the lack of effective collaboration and communication as the main causes for workplace failures.” Therefore, effective internal communication is key to promoting employee engagement within your company. That is why you need to consider the best employee communication tools.
Digital signage, internal newsletters, social media platforms, and videoconferencing are some of the numerous collaboration tools that you can use to enhance employee communication. Here are the top 15 employee communication tools for your company’s internal communication strategy to achieve yearly KPI goals.
1. Digital Signage
Digital signage is one of many types of internal communication tools you need to implement. This communication platform displays instant messaging and information for your team members to see. Therefore, you should consider installing digital displays in the form of over-wall-mounted high-definition television screens in strategic locations.
Digital signage is usually productive and effective in high-traffic areas such as elevators, lobbies, and cafeterias. In this case, you can expand your employee social network and new hires integration by sharing company information on digital signage. em
With this employee communication tool in place, you can be sure of maintaining your company culture, increasing your knowledge base, and creating a pleasant employee experience in your digital workplace.
2. Internal Newsletters
74% of employees feel they are missing out on company information and news. Company newsletters are among the most popular and reliable internal communication tools. They enable you to deliver and aggregate company news to both on-premise and remote teams of workers. In terms of pricing, internal newsletters are a fairly low-cost type of corporate communication.
You can send them through email to reach all employees within your organization. A well-written and eye-catching company newsletter can play a significant role in sharing information and building a positive company culture.
3. Instant Messaging
Another effective employee communication tool is instant messaging. With this type of communication, your employees, both on-premise and remote workers, can share information in real-time. They can send text, access useful links, or share videos and photos among themselves.
All they need is efficient internal communication software, social media platform, employee app, mobile apps, and company intranet to make internal communication a reality.
4. Company Intranet
An intranet is a common internal communication tool in a workplace. This form of communication channel is a centralized repository of news, knowledge, documents, and timely updates. Through the company intranet, your team of workers can access a wide range of topics related to the company.
After all, the intranet provides a way to share files and knowledge with your employees. Also, it ensures that you have a robust corporate knowledge base for everyone within your organization.
5. Corporate Social Media
Social media is already an integral part of everyone, including your employees. In fact, 58.4% of the world’s population uses social media. As such, you can take the initiative of using available social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, or WhatsApp to communicate with your team members. On the other hand, you can take advantage of purpose-built platforms like Yammer to informally and quickly share information.
6. Internal Blogs
Blogs on your organization’s intranet site can be an effective employee communication tool. These channels of communication may encourage discussion between departments and among employees. This is because blogs are a top-down approach to internal communication in most companies.
So, you may appoint senior executives or company CEO to write informative blogs with your employees as their target audience. Through these internal blogs, you can make important announcements share useful information, reinforce policies and procedures, and even address frequently asked questions.
7. Team Collaboration Tools
You can take advantage of collaboration software to keep your employees’ communication in one place. Typically, team collaboration tools play a significant role in project management and sharing information within your organization. Also, these collaboration tools can be useful in keeping you connected to your remote workers or project team members doing remote work.
As a matter of fact, team collaboration tools have been instrumental during the pandemic. This means they can help keep your team of employees cohesive and engaged while working in different geographical areas.
Good examples of team collaboration software include:
- Microsoft teams
- Asana
- Basecamp
- Trello
- Slack
8. Video Chat
Video chat is a vital employee communication tool in large companies and organizations spread across multiple geographic locations. Plus, video is one of the most effective ways that workmates in different offices and departments can talk face-to-face without being physically together.
Video chat software makes everyone in your company to get together through a one-on-one conversation. It is also ideal for social distancing and restrictions imposed on in-person meetings. Examples of video chat for internal communication are Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, PowWowNow, and Microsoft Teams.
9. Video Broadcasts
Besides video chat, you can invest in video broadcasts to enhance the employee experience. Video broadcasts enable you to make important official announcements across a large company. They can also keep your employees engaged, connected, and included in all company events regardless of working remotely.
Tools such as Zoom, GoToWebinar, and Webex can help everyone in your company access information. You just need high-quality sound equipment and a high-resolution camera to record and make your broadcasts available to your team members. You may also use mobile devices to make video broadcasts possible.
10. Employee Surveys
Surveys are part of your internal comms. Remember, internal communication is not just a one-way communication channel. Instead, it is a two-way communication strategy between employees and management. Therefore, you need internal communications intended for this purpose.
The best way to achieve this goal is through employee surveys. With this type of internal communication tool, you can determine your employees’ perspectives and progress in various aspects of your organization. Examples of internal communication software for employee surveys include Survey Monkey and DestAlerts.
11. Discussion Forums
Forums are a common communication tool in many organizations. In fact, discussion forums are among the most popular ways employees and employers could communicate before the rise of giant social media platforms. In this sense, you may use discussion threads to allow different employees to share opinions, ask questions, solve problems and get feedback.
Use sites such as Reddit, vBulletin, and Zendesk to share your thoughts and ideas with your team members. Add company software or turn to an employee app to create a place for everyone in your organization to discuss issues.
12. Implement Podcasts
Podcasts are a success story when it comes to employee communication tools. Many people are already tuning in to different podcasts for professional development and personal enjoyment.
From the professional development point of view, podcasts can keep your employees engaged while they are working. They can also be listened to while communicating, relaxing, driving, or performing other tasks. You may use them to tap into your employees’ preferences and topics they like the most. Examples of podcast software to use are Logic Pro, Adobe Audition, Alitu, and Audacity.
13. Use of Screensavers
Screensavers are options that you can use for your employee communication. In this regard, you can turn your team members’ screens into some sort of mini digital billboards. This way, you can easily communicate about anything, reinforce your company values and advertise a new product launch.
14. Employee Experience Communication Tools
One of the most efficient employee communication tools to implement is the employee experience tool. This is a type of customizable software application designed to help you embed important aspects of your company culture.
Employee communication tools form part of your employee overall experience that makes them productive for your organization. These tools give your team members access to the information they need to perform their duties. They also help promote consistent onboarding experience, coordinate new hire training, and deliver information such as leave entitlements, payroll information, accessing employee benefits, and managing employee holidays.
15. Employee Apps
Besides employee recognition apps, webinars, and employee business communication, employee apps can provide a great way to communicate with your remote workers. Through employee apps, you can keep your workers informed when information changes. For example, you can send push notifications, safety advice, stock levels, forced closures, and rostering through tablets or smartphones.
Set Your Employees Up For Success With These Tools!
Many of these employee communication tools are essential when dealing with remote workers and frontline team members. They streamline team collaboration, ensure smooth workflow, and promote knowledge sharing in real-time. So, make sure to choose the right employee communication tool that suits your needs.