Complete Guide To Choosing Employee Communication Software

An employee communications software system is a tool that enables organizations to send and share information quickly, in a variety of ways, between management and employees.

There are many different internal communication software systems (sometimes known as business messaging software) on the market with different features and functions, but in general, they are easy to use and provide a quick and convenient way to facilitate the sharing of information within an organization.

What to know about when it comes to employee communication software

An employee communication software system will overhaul your internal communications for the better, and promote better communications practices within your workplace.

Features and benefits generally include some or all of the following:

• The ability to communicate instantly
• The ability to reach people no matter what their location is
• The ability to communicate with different audiences 
• The ability to search messages easily
• Improved cross-team communication; and
• A less formal and more intuitive way for management to communicate to employees and vice versa.

Reasons to use employee communication software

Many organizations are frustrated by their efforts to keep employees informed about important information. There are a number of obstacles that can get in the way of good communication within an organization.

This includes:

• Employees suffering from email overload
• Employees fatigued by being sent constant, irrelevant information
• Communication being written in complex language
• Information not sent in a timely manner - or not sent at all, leading to rumors and misinformation circulating
• Difficulties reaching remote workers
• Organizations not asking employees for feedback
• Information being placed on an intranet site in a way that is difficult to find
• A lack of clear directions from management to employees
• Language and cultural barriers
• Uncertainty that internal communications information has been received and/or read

Internal communications software can help to overcome all of these obstacles.

Below are the 6 reasons to use employee communications software.

1. Bypasses emails and information overload

Messages are sent directly to employees via other methods and don’t clog up inboxes. By sending to niche, custom, targeted audiences you can ensure that only relevant information is sent to employees. Read more about targeted internal communication message.

2. Information is sent quickly 

In much the same way employees are used to instant messaging in their personal lives (think social media, text messaging, and so on) the notifications they will get via an internal communications software system are received in a similar manner. Everyone gets the same information fast, and at the same time.

3. Clear and concise

Internal communications software is designed to send clear, concise messages as well as pictures and videos helping you to grab the attention of employees.

4. Mobile friendly

Whether an employee is in the office, on the road, or working at a remote site, an internal communications software system will help you to reach them regardless of location via traditional software or mobile apps.  This means you can stay connected to your people no matter where they are.

5. Feedback mechanisms

Some internal communications systems allow for two-way conversations or have feedback functions such as surveys and polls. This helps to facilitate the flow of information in both directions - from management to employees and from employees to management.

6. Measurement tools

Email open/read rates aren’t always reliable and it can be difficult to get metrics for other common internal communications tools that are used in workplaces. Many internal communication software systems will provide you with analytics that can help you to gather the metrics you need to evaluate your internal communications campaigns.

Who needs internal communications software?

It isn’t just senior management within organizations that need to communicate with employees: within your company, you will find there are many different teams who have the need to communicate with your employees. Think about the all-staff notifications you receive on a daily basis: you’ll find that there are internal communication needs across the breadth of your organization.

Different communications functions include:

1. Leadership team communications

Your CEO and other senior executives within your company need to share important information. This can include:

• The company’s performance
• Strategic goals
• KPIs
• New policies
• Corporate news
• Other important corporate developments.

Read what should leaders communicate during COVID.

2. Human Resources communications

There are numerous different topics that HR departments need to communicate with the workforce. This can include:

• Payroll information and updates
• New policies and procedures
• New learning and development opportunities 
• Onboarding information and training
• Workplace health and safety information and alerts
• Workplace health and wellbeing information and advice

3. Information technology communications

Your IT team regularly have the need to communicate with all employees, or just a select audience within your employee cohort. This can include:

• Notifications about unexpected outages
• Information about planned outages or system maintenance
• Information about system upgrades
• Cybersecurity threats
• Cybersecurity safety reminders 

4. Facilities management communications

Employees in many organizations will regularly receive information about the following:

• Fire and other safety drills
• Issues with building security
• Reminders about alarm testing
• Problems with building facilities such as toilets and amenities
• Planned maintenance works on building infrastructure such as elevators, carpets, window cleaning, etc. 
• Car fleet management
• Bookings of meeting rooms and other facilities

5. Information from the internal communications team

The internal communications team has a lot of information to share on behalf of different teams within the organization. This can include:

• Regular internal newsletters and other updates
• Videos
• Company news
• Information about different projects 
• Information about important milestones
• “Good news stories”
• Profiles of staff members
• Recognition of initiatives and achievements

What sorts of internal communications software are available?

There are many different types of internal communications software platforms on the market. Some have similar features, and some have differing ones. The different features and uses of the software will determine which one is the right fit for your company.

Different features include:

• The ability to send to email as well as other channels
• The ability to broadcast to all users in the company
• The ability to work seamlessly with your existing intranet (with the other option being replacing it entirely with the new system)
• The ability to integrate with other systems that your organization uses through API
• The ability to send to mobile devices as well as traditional desktop and laptop computer systems
• Mobile apps for both iOS and Android
• The ability to send tailored, personalized communications to different teams within the organization
• The ability to schedule in advance in different time zones
• The ability to publish in multiple languages
• The ability to use different channels to communicate the same message
• The ability to curate different types of content into a newsletter
• Being able to double as an emergency communications system as well as an overall internal communications solution
• Being able to generate powerful analytics that helps you to understand if you have met your KPIs
• Vendor support
• Different types of licensing and hosting options.

Features of different employee communications software systems

Employee communications software systems come with a range of different features, and choosing one that suits your needs should definitely factor this in.

Some of the more common features of these systems include:

• Pop up alert notifications
• Scrolling desktop tickers
• Mobile push notifications
• Corporate screensavers
• Corporate wallpapers
• Lock screen alerts
• Digital signage
• Surveys, polls and quizzes
• Emergency notifications
• Video messages
• Interactive modules
• Newsletters and emails
• Chats

How to choose the right employee communications software for your organization?

Every organization has its own unique structures and its own unique needs: even two companies operating within the same industry may not have identical internal communications requirements. With this in mind, it’s important to find the right employee communications software solution to meet your company’s requirements.

When it comes to determining what the right internal communications software is for your organization, you should factor in the following:

• How do you currently communicate and how successful or unsuccessful is it?
• How would your employees like you to communicate with them? If you don’t know, ask them!
• Do your employees feel as though they hear enough from leadership?
• Do you struggle to correct misinformation and rumors that take hold within your organization and undermine your internal communication efforts?
• What devices do your employees predominantly use? Computers? Mobile devices? A mixture of both?
• What types of internal communications issues have you encountered?
• How many people are looking at your emails?
• How many people visit the intranet?
• Do you have an effective way of communicating quickly in an emergency situation?
• Are your employees engaged? Do they understand and support your corporate vision, mission, and goals?
• Do you have critical information that you find difficult to pass on to the people who need to know about it, in a way they can easily access? For example advice about manufacturing delays and disruptions.
• Do you need to communicate quickly and reach the entire workforce simultaneously?

Download this free spreadsheet to compare different employee communications systems

Why is this software critical in 2021 and beyond?

The world has changed so much in the past 12 months and what the future holds is still relatively unknown. The COVID-19 pandemic and the health, economic and social issues that have been caused in its wake have resulted in the modern workplace having to pivot and respond to change rapidly. This means that internal communications have a more important role to play in the workplace than ever before.

You only need to look at what is happening around the world to realize just how quickly things can change: countries that thought they had beaten the virus are finding cases are spiking and are now facing harsh lockdowns. Countries that have been locked down are emerging cautiously from months of restrictions. While there is no cure and no vaccine for COVID-19 it is clear that uncertainty and disruption will be with us for some time to come - certainly into 2021, if not beyond that.

In order to be able to respond quickly to change, an internal communications software system is needed. It will help your organization to:

• Quickly communicate any changes in direction for your company
• Communicate business continuity information and advice
• Let employees know about any requirements to work remotely or return to the office, in line with local government mandates
• Communicate critical health and safety or wellbeing information
• Let employees know if there has been an outbreak of the virus in the workplace - and do so before they learn from external sources
• Get on the front foot with internal communications to prevent rumors and misinformation
• Issue reminders about hand washing, mask policies, social distancing etc.
• Tell employees what steps they need to take in order to remain safe
• Keep remote employees connected and build a cohesive team
• Ensure that your leadership is visible
• Gather feedback from employees
• Promote wellness and wellbeing programs
• Send HR reminders
• Send cybersecurity reminders

Why DeskAlerts is the best choice for employee communication software

DeskAlerts is one of the most trusted employee communication software systems on the market. More than 700 companies around the world, from a range of industries, use our software to keep their employees informed, boost their levels of employee engagement and ensure their businesses are performing as best as they possibly can.

Watch a video about DeskAlerts:

The DeskALerts company internal communication software system is designed to be intrusive to ensure that it grabs employees’ attention, no matter what device they are using or where they are working.

Available for desktop computers and mobile devices, DeskAlerts is comparable with Windows, macOS, Android and iOS systems. It sends notifications to employee desktops or mobile devices in a way that can’t be skipped, missed or ignored. 

DeskAlerts has many different features and delivery channels, including text alerts, mobile push notifications, video alerts, pop-up notifications, an RSVP function, the ability to send surveys, polls and quizzes to employees and see the results in real-time, scrolling desktop tickers and more.

Create eye-catching, highly engaging content and schedule it to send in the future. You can choose to send to the entire organization, or create a custom audience to communicate with so that you don’t unnecessarily disrupt those who don’t need to know about a particular issue.

DeskAlerts notifications are easy to send. You can use pre-made templates to save time when you need to reach people quickly. You can even send DeskAlerts notifications to warn your employees when there is an emergency.

Get in touch with our team of internal communications experts today for a free demonstration of how our software can work in your organization.