Importance of Internal Communication

Communication is an important element for the success of any business. Internal communication or communication that happens within the organization is extremely important. Today is the age of employee empowerment. Employees need to be empowered and information is what helps them to be empowered. Organizations need to keep employees informed about what is happening in the organization so that they can work effectively.

Employees need to be made aware of many things that include:

• Vision of the leadership
• Company policies and plans
• Requirements of customers
• Strategies and programs of the organization
• Feedback from customers and how the organization should respond to it
• Employee welfare measures

Earlier internal communication used to happen through meetings or through circulars. Then company magazines became popular and were used for effective communication. With the advent of the internet, sending e-mails was used for internal communication. Intranet was also used. The problem here is most people do not read emails unless it is from customers or from the big boss. The solution that has emerged of late in the use of apps for communication.

Apps and Communication

Apps are very popular nowadays, thanks to the growth and penetration of mobile phones. People love to use apps for many things and apps have become the future of mobile computing. In such a scenario, using an employee communication app is a great idea that companies can implement. A business can make an app available and ask employees to download and use it. Many businesses frown on employees using their mobile phones during work. But this would be a situation where employees are encouraged to use the mobile phone and the app. This would definitely motivate employees to use the app.

While an employee may not open an email, he/she would be more likely to open an app and check the information provided. Employees are also more likely to open the notifications sent by the app. This is a great way for companies to communicate with their employees. This is particularly of great use for organizations that have employees working in remote locations. An app allows those working at different locations to be seamlessly part of the internal communication system.

Benefits of using an App for Internal Communication

Using an app for internal communication is highly beneficial for the organization and also for the employees. This is how it can be of help:

• Effective communication ensures that every employee understands the vision of the organization and can work in a holistic way to achieve this vision.
• The main benefit of using an app for internal communication is that employees feel empowered. When the management communicates regularly with the employees, it helps to motivate employees to work better as they have complete knowledge of what is going on.
• An employee who has full information would work to his/her full potential. This can ensure increased productivity.
• An important impact of effective internal communication is on internal relations within the organization. It can help to foster team spirit and also reduce conflicts between individuals and teams.
• Employees who have complete information can serve customers better. Customers would get better service and this leads to more satisfied customers. Better internal communication has a direct impact on customer satisfaction.
• When employees have full knowledge, they can handle different situations easily. In case of any problems or crisis, they would know what is to be done and how to handle it.
• Decision making improves because employees have full information and that enables them to evaluate different scenarios before taking a decision.
• Proper internal communication leads to a better relationship between employees and their superiors and also with the management. This goes a long way to improve employee morale.
• One of the most positive impacts of effective internal communication is to keep employees happy. This helps the organization to be able to reduce turnover.
• Employees working at branches and remote locations are connected at all times with the rest of the team thanks to the app. This would benefit both employees and the organization.

Using an Internal Communication App

A business can eitherchoose to develop an app on their own or use an app developed by professionals for this purpose. Using a third party app ensures that the app would be designed in such a way that it attracts employees to use it. While implementing an app-based internal communication, the following needs to be ensured:

• Security is an important aspect. Access rights can be used to control who gets to see what information. General communication, team-wise communication can be segregated.
• The app must be in line with the workflow of the organization. Ideally, it can be blended with the existing software systems.
• The platform should be device-independent and support different operating systems.

An employee communication app can be of great help for a business to communicate more effectively with employees.

This article is contributed by Marilou Alcaide, Marketing Coordinator, content crafter for Ezzely an employee engagement app

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