Nov 30 2022
9 min read
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20 min read
July 26, 2022
20 min read
Internal communication is key to a well-coordinated team. Sometimes, missing an important email might lead to an unexpected snafu in the workplace. In today’s busy time, there is so much information, messages, and instructions in just one day that it feels like an impossible load to bear.
With a strategic workplace communication system, you can overcome challenges easily. And to do that seamlessly, you require internal communication tools that best suit your work preferences and employee interests.
Internal Communication tools in the workplace have become essential for companies in 2023, as the business world continues to embrace remote work culture. Instead of withdrawing from this trend, many companies are promoting remote work for various reasons and benefits. Globalization has opened numerous opportunities for borderless collaborations.
However, communicating effectively with a global team can be even more challenging when employees are dispersed all around the globe. To overcome communication barriers and achieve employee engagement and productivity having an effective internal communication strategy is the only reliable way.
There’s no end to the list of internal communication tools. You will surely get confused when you search for the same online. Choosing the best device among the million options is a task similar to finding a needle in the haystack.
We present a list of 12 internal communication types and the best tool for every kind of communication. Now, you can shed the burden of shortlisting the most useful ones for your company and choose the fitting one without a headache.
The tools are for the following types of internal communication:
Instant messaging
Digital signage
Team collaboration
Video conferencing
Video broadcasting
Employee social networking
Intranet & forums
Digital whiteboards
Project management
Company newsletters
Employee podcasts
Surveys & feedbacks
There are hundreds of internal communication tools available on the market. Some are good for text-based communications, while others are used for live collaborations. So, let’s find out some of the top internal communication software applications and why your employees will love using them.
An instant messaging tool helps you to be prompt while communicating with your employees. You can instantly share messages, documents, videos, images, web links, PDFs, and more as and when you need, just like you do via WhatsApp or Messenger.
Top pick for instant messaging tool: Google Chat
(4.6/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Google chat replaces the Hangouts messaging hub, bringing more flexibility to workplace communications. It is now more equipped and advanced.
Google Chat features:
It has chat rooms for a focused conversation on specific matters like social media posts for the upcoming week or changes in content marketing strategy.
Look for direct messages for one-on-one conversations over important business decisions.
Chat rooms work with a special focus on threads. Got new ideas to discuss? Create a new thread and engage employees on the same. Have a quirky solution to an unresolved matter? Pull up the old thread and draw everyone’s attention to your innovative way out.
Switch the conversation with your team to a video call by clicking the Google Meet icon below each chat thread. When messages don’t suffice, get into a call directly from the chat. No need to switch to the meet app separately.
Google Chat, being a workplace tool, of course, integrates with the other G-suite workplace apps. So, you can share Google docs, spreadsheets, slides, and more from the cloud drive directly. The icon is ever present below each chat.
Similar tools: Flock and Chatwork
Digital signage is not a common internal communication tool but can be useful if implemented correctly. Place the digital signage screens at well-thought-out locations in your office and communicate passively with all employees by sharing important information and company updates directly on the screens.
You will find people getting informed more quickly about new office policies, employee achievement, or new meeting agendas via the digital devices than via email, instant messages, or any other type of tool for internal communication. Because they can have a look at it on the go. For example, moving to another cubicle for a refreshing chit-chat or getting an hourly caffeine dose – on the way back and forth, they can note the messages.
Top pick for digital signage tool: Pickcel
(4.5/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Pickcel digital signage software is a cloud-based solution for all industries. Pickcel offers support for various display types and is compatible with a wide range of media players and operating systems.
Get to know more about Pickcel digital signage services.
Pickcel features:
One can manage the content on Pickcel digital signage from anywhere. Even if your laptop isn’t with you, you can monitor and update the content on the screens using Pickcel mobile app.
Using Pickcel’s cloud-based software, one person, a team, or the owner can publish information, announcements, and messages on the digital screens. You just need to stay logged into the software dashboard.
Run the same content on all your digital signage screens so the message can get an office-wide view. While publishing any new content, you only need to check if the specific screens are active and added.
Play multiple contents simultaneously without affecting the quality or visibility. For example, you may have an urgent announcement regarding tomorrow’s meeting. At the same time, you may need to introduce the new manager to the concerned teams. You can run both the contents by dividing the screen space into two sections or zones. Then using the Meet your team app, introduce the manager in one zone and display the urgent note in the other zone using a digital bulletin board app. The apps & widgets come along with your Pickcel subscription.
With cross-platform integration, you can communicate your social media feedback, customer satisfaction improvements, and new achievements directly from the dedicated media platforms on the digital screens. And, of course, it can keep other vital messages on the screen, thanks to multiple-zone features.
You can automate your digital signage content for more impressive internal communication. Using the tool, you can pre-set the intervals between each content set so one can be auto-played after the other.
Schedule your employee-centered messages beforehand, so you don’t have to worry about delivering the right message at the right time in your absence. You won’t have to call your HR or another staff member to go to your desk and open the Pickcel dashboard to play the content. You will be assured that the message will be conveyed to concerned people.
Emergency alerts can be sent across multiple office locations and premises using the Pickcel digital signage solution. All you have to do is update the emergency notice on the dedicated app and hit the publish button. This widespread communication tool can ensure safety without any panic or havoc.
Similar tools: Rise Vision and OnSign TV
Team collaboration tools are the best when you need more than one employee to work on a project. They will need to communicate, share opinions, contribute to the various stages of the project and close it properly without a glitch. And for that to happen smoothly, collaboration tools work most efficiently.
Top pick for team collaboration tool: Slack
(4.7/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Slack is one of the most modern tools for team collaboration and flawless communication. Share any file format among the team members, get into a group discussion, get on a call if needed and change the project status accordingly. Collaborate consistently with all your remote workers in real-time and have a productive workflow.
Slack features:
Pin messages and reference links to channels, so you don’t waste time locating the specific information during a discussion.
Integration with several apps and tools makes sharing and accessing files in Google Drive, Dropbox, or your computer easy.
Slack offers seamless communication for the internal staff and external bodies like clients or partners. You can keep everyone on the same page and regularly connect with ongoing business deals.
Set reminders for your tasks on Slack. You can add Google calendar to your Slack channels and stay ahead of your schedule all the time.
Send audio and video clips to channels to explain matters in a more elaborate and easy-to-understand way.
Slack ‘huddles’ allow you to connect to teams or even a single employee on an audio-only call. The best part is, though it has no video features, it will enable screen sharing, which makes communication faster and stress-free.
Similar apps: Chanty and ProofHub
This has become an essential communication tool not only for the internal team members but also for the field workers. Video conferences are always the best option for quick updates on projects, solving business issues, introducing new clients to the team, and the induction round of a new recruit.
Top pick for video conferences: Zoom
(4.6/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Zoom is the most popular video conferencing tool among corporate people. These days, companies are expanding their wings to different countries and continents. Hence, remote workers are increasing in number. To have proper coordination between the remote teams and to execute all business strategies effectively, Zoom has no match. Connect with all and solve matters together in real-time, no matter who’s working from where.
Zoom features:
Create and schedule video meetings among office employees in just one click.
View participant profiles in the meeting. Often, you’ve joined a virtual company meeting but don’t know many of the heads. A quick profile overview cancels out the uneasiness and helps to interact correctly with other members.
Suppose you are the host of a meeting. In that case, if others have joined the discussion on your invitation, you can control the participants in the meeting by keeping them mute, barring them from raising a hand, and more.
Zoom integrates with other third-party apps like SAFE Classroom and Flyte and assists in better internal communication across industries.
You can have whiteboard sessions with your team via Zoom itself. You can add, remove and restrict participants from engaging with the whiteboard collaboration.
Record the video conferences for future references. You may forget one or two points later. With the recorded version, you’ll miss nothing ever.
Similar tools: Google Meet and GoToMeeting
Important announcements can’t wait for all regional workers to visit the office and listen to the plan live. Right? You can announce it when it’s time and yet reach out to every employee using a video broadcasting tool.
Remote workers, staff at regional outposts, and employees on leave can’t attend meetings physically. However, they can still be in the loop if you broadcast your video message. Employees can refer to it even later if they miss the live broadcast because the recording remains for future reference.
Top pick for video broadcasting: OBS Studio
(4.7/5 - Rating in Capterra)
OBS Studio is open-source software with limitless possibilities for end-to-end internal communications. It suits technology-based companies, especially game-based brands, the most. But other industries can also benefit from this freeware tool. It is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Suggested Read: Open source vs. Licensed software- which one is better?
OBS Studio Features:
The simple and user-friendly interface of the software makes it a go-to tool for all.
You can tweak the app’s settings according to your preference and make the video broadcast work just as you please. You can configure the video as per your need.
A screen recording feature lets you quickly capture your screen activity and demonstrate the same over the broadcast. It helps employees explain and describe business plans and execution progress in a better way. It also helps in team training as the team head can show the newbies at remote locations how to do a particular job.
With audio-visual mixing features, real time screen capture can reach a new level with OBS Studio. Also, customization of the number of frames and video resolution is enabled.
Noise suppression, noise gain, and multilingual features help you broadcast a high-quality video that makes communication clear and doubt-free.
Integrations with third-party applications and plug-ins enhance the tool’s performance, making it simpler for the workforce to quickly discuss and decide important matters.
Similar tools: Camtasia and Vmix
We all know what a social network is. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have become our regular internet buddies.
On the contrary, workplace social networks aren’t popular yet. However, it will soon create a buzz among working professionals for the agility and comfort of communication and, most importantly, the fun and engagement it offers office employees.
Top pick for employee social network: Jostle
(4.3/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Jostle — the popular employee social media networks are similar to the traditional, public social media platform but with a private, employee-centric approach that offers a relatively new experience to enterprises. It promotes the multi-cultural and all-inclusive environment of a workplace.
Jostle features:
Make everyone know about the business proceedings like announcements about new offices, monthly target achievement success, new perspectives on business development, and things like that.
Choose your audience using advanced features that allow you to set departments, employees, and even project teams who can get access to the content, read and share. Publish highly targeted content using the social media tool features and achieve productive corporate communication.
Share external web articles in just a few clicks and allow teams to help each other learn various work tactics to beat your competitors.
Strengthen internal communication using the social media poll & feedback tools. Gain opinions from employees on a crucial project decision just like you do in case of new product launches on public forums.
Check what’s going on at work, find out whose birthday or work anniversary it is today, and mingle better with the introverted ones in your team.
Post a Shout-Out to let everyone in the organization recognize how one of your staff has exceeded the standard performance benchmarks and helped the company achieve big.
Similar tools: Yammer and Clarizen
A company intranet is a centralized channel used mainly for internal communication. It is essentially a private network tool where employees can quickly gather, discuss, share information, and access files. Everything is open to all within the closed community forum of an intranet. Whatever information is shared is visible to all. Filtered by sections and channels, one can navigate through the necessary matters.
Top pick for intranet forums: Qatalog
(4.7/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Qatalog is the single reference point for all employees in a company where they can chat, access important files, and manage workflow to publish a project. They can further add a to-do list and set reminders for tasks. The tool is a one-stop solution for your internal communication issues.
Qatalog features:
Set tasks and periodic goals for each team so you can have a centralized workflow with zero communication gap.
Link your goals to specific people and projects to increase visibility and accountability among the team members so that they can further interact with clarity.
Have a well-managed company profile that can be accessed to find relevant information on employee profiles, work duration, team details, and more. The team directories in the Org Chart help understand the company structure better, especially for the new joiners.
Weekly plans, quarterly reviews, and monthly reports align in sync for reference through the centralized documentation process.
Seamless onboarding and offboarding are possible with newly nested workflow features. It assists in quick changes and updates for project reassignments.
With all the resources in one place, you won’t have to hunt down files and links on different platforms.
Smart integration with Google Drive and other platforms makes it even easier to stay on the same page as your managers all the time.
Similar tools: Igloo and Interact
Whiteboards have been there for decades. Companies and organizations like educational institutes have been using it for a long time as the most fundamental tool for internal communication. But the advent of digital whiteboards has made it one of the most essential tools for every office and governing body.
Top pick for digital whiteboard: Stormboard
(4.5/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Stormboard is the best-suited tool for companies who need to draw and demonstrate prototypes of goods or craft a new design for upcoming products using advanced features. And when you do all of that, you need direct communication with the internal team.
Stormboard features:
As it is an online whiteboarding device, the first and foremost feature you enjoy is sketching ideas on the whiteboard and making internal communication more visible and clear. Join a group discussion and harness the power of multiple brains on one project for the best innovative outcome.
Add sticky notes, files, texts, images, and more to the content you share on the whiteboard for better understanding.
Use 250+ templates to pace up the execution of your plans. When in a rush, the templates come in handy and effectively push the workflow towards success.
Stormboard tool comes with a mobile application too. So, your marketing communication won’t get affected even if you are not at your work desk. You can easily interact with the internal employees using the app on your mobile or tablet.
The infinite canvas of the whiteboard tool ensures you never run out of space for brainstorming new ideas. Add a new section, invite more brains, and keep the internal communication going unless your team comes up with the best solution.
Export your whiteboard discussions into a stakeholder-ready image or document and get a nailing sales pitch right away.
Define, track, organize and review the whiteboard projects with your team members.
Assign tasks, share files of all formats, and collaborate proficiently as soon as you get closure on the discussion. No need to jump-start on a separate communication tool for further meetings.
Similar tools: Canva Online Whiteboards,Miro and Bluescape
When the onus of your internal communication is on the projects and how you can manage it more efficiently, this tool will save the day. Project management tools can help you maintain and monitor the life cycle of a project from scratch to production and even after that. All the interactions and integrations you need for the tasks can be done seamlessly using the tool.
Top pick for project management tool: Zoho Projects
(4.2/5 - Rating in Capterra)
It is a cloud-based project management software that helps employees of a company collaborate for the timely execution of tasks and come up with excellent results. It helps communicate on the go, plan, track, and achieve higher goals faster than ever.
Zoho Projects features:
Breakdown your projects into milestones, tasks, and subtasks to organize them properly so that you won’t struggle to locate tasks when you invite employees into a group chat.
Set up recurring tasks for the ones that have to be repeated several times in a month. No need to create separate tasks every time you are about to work on it. Your team will get notified about the recurrent tasks and will act accordingly.
Use the interactive forum to share, save and spread ideas on a project topic or general industry matters to help employees engage and get inspired from the same.
Interact and collaborate in personal or group chat rooms. Discuss projects, get feedback on the final plan, introduce new recruits or get opinions on urgent decisions and whatnot. Do everything on a single platform using this professional project management tool for internal communication.
Use the Blueprint feature to automate tasks in Zoho so that you can avoid the hassle of repetition and help employees focus better with clarity in project interaction.
If there’s a change in plans and you need to reschedule your tasks, collaborate on Zoho and reorganize projects easily with Gantt charts. The internal communication achieves better clarity with this.
Reports are an essential part of office communications. The seamless integration with Zoho Reports helps in easy report presentation with dashboards customization and metrics tracking features.
Similar tools: Trello and ProofHub
Company-wide updates can reach your employees as soon as the events occur via digital newsletter tools. You no longer have to send emails to each concerned person and then knock them to ensure they have checked it.
Top pick for company newsletter: SnapComms
(4.8/5 - Rating in Capterra)
You can now trade in those emails for company-centric newsletter tool SnapComms that offers strong internal communication regarding achievements, rewards, and more.
SnapComms features:
Target your reader base among the employees so that the newsletter you send doesn’t bother those who aren’t related to the message. Add groups manually or get help from the directory.
Preconfigure your newsletters and schedule message delivery beforehand. You don’t have to wait for employees to read the proposals or reports while you are already in the meeting.
Comprehensive reporting leads to better communication and improved performance due to prompt and correct evaluation and feedback. SnapComms allows timely and accurate reporting via its featured tools.
According to the relevance and importance of communication, you can choose from numerous message templates and draft your newsletter perfectly aligned with your brand identity.
Similar tools: ContactMonkey and Mailchimps
Internal podcasts offer straightforward yet super-convenient communication, especially when you must simultaneously pace up production and train new joiners. Employee podcasts work just as the usual public podcasts do; the only difference is that the publisher can choose who can have access to which podcast.
Special instructions, training modules, product manuals, and more can be uploaded on podcasts that workers can refer to on the move. They won’t have to spare another hour of screen time to learn something new. Onboarding new employees, staying connected with higher authorities, and managing a team becomes easy with pre-recorded podcasts.
Top pick for employee podcast: Buzzsprout
(4.8/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Buzzsprout offers the simplest platform for internal communication via podcast creation device for employees. It promotes multi-tasking as one can listen to the new instructions while working on a project at the same time.
Buzzsprout features:
Automatic episode optimization allows you to publish immediately or schedule your podcast content for a specific day and time.
Pre-roll and post-roll features help you notify your employees about the upcoming audio explanation of another critical business plan.
This fantastic podcast tool also allows you to transcribe your episodes to help the employees who have restrictions to constant earphone use or are short of hearing.
Add an endless number of employees to your episodes to spread your messages to the whole company, not just to one or two teams.
Similar tools: Libsyn and Podbean
Identifying common pain points and changing the aspects of a company for better employee engagement & satisfaction is a real tough job. Employee retention policies fail when you don’t know what makes your staff disappointed. Employee survey tools can open the door for anonymous voicing about the workplace policies and procedures. This opportunity makes your employees believe that your company is up for welcoming new ideas and transformations.
Top pick for surveys and feedback: Glint
(4.5/5 - Rating in Capterra)
Glint helps increase your company’s goodwill and makes the staff feel recognized, valued, and cared for. When it’s about employee retention and productivity boost, employee surveys and feedback tools like Glint are the best communication partners.
Glint features:
Pulse survey features help managers of a company to measure and analyze employee satisfaction and complaints in an orderly manner.
Anonymous feedback allows employees to share their feelings and thoughts about company policies, salary structure, increment norms, and more without hesitation. It will enable fair discussion and opinion sharing across teams and departments without exposing the employee names.
Similar tools: Survey Sparrow and Waggl
What’s your communication objective? Identifying your communication goals will help you decide what employee communication tools are best for your organization.
So, choose wisely. Remember, when you have a perfectly connected team of workers, you don’t have to look back to attain success.
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