Internal communication is the manner of interaction happening within an organization. It goes beyond the official communication as it goes on all directions and in all the conversations that are happening between staff whether official or unofficially and everywhere in the company. Internal communication is the life blood of any organization of company members talking to each other as well as the dissemination of information. It is listening to what has been expressed and that everybody gets the information he or she needs. All the questions are being answered and no one is left out from special events and announcements.
Benefits of a good internal communication system
- It provides the staff all the information they need to perform their functions effectively.
- It is an effective way to inform and remind those who are concerned of their tasks, responsibilities and appointments.
- It provides emotional support and assistance for a challenging work.
Downward communication which consists of constructive feedback, advice, encouragement from management helps boost employees' self-esteem.
- It helps maintain a shared vision of the organization.
An effective internal communication system holds an organization together. It is a way to link one individual to another as well as connect one team to the others and to make all of them connected to each other to work for the achievement of the company's goals and objectives.
Creating effective internal communications
Companies have various ways of building their internal communication systems. With the influx of digital technology, companies still need the printed material to relay information that are significant to everyone.
Among the internal communications that have been implemented in organizations in the past and even today are the company newsletters (electronic or paper); intranet sites; small group meetings; suggestion boxes; crisis communications tools; posters; orientation materials for newly hired staff; training materials and more.
A company may have the best internal communication system but it needs to consider some key factors to produce a very effective internal communication program. Internal communication is not only about sending announcements and messages as it is a two-way communication in which the recipients are free to respond to the information that has been sent. When the company is open and transparent to its employees by constant communication, it greatly helps in making everybody understand each other and the company's situation.
Communicate effectively. A positive change may sound good but if it's poorly communicated to the staff, they will not get the whole message right. Always give the right information and reduce the employees' anxiety. There must be an open communication or a forum to discuss things regularly and create a sense of stability.
Examples of Internal Communications software
Among the other ways that form part of the organization's internal communications are the marketing campaign schedules, employee forums, human resources initiatives, e-newsletters and the communication networks.
With the arrival of digital technology, there have been many internal communications systems that are produced to assist organizations in their intra-communication matters.
Here are a few of these internal communication systems that some organizations use in communicating with each other:
- HIpChat. It is a go-to tool that is more than just one-on-one messaging. It can build rooms for functional teams that go together and its API automates tasks.
- Bitrix24. It is among the best internal communication system as it has group chat and video, has its own cloud, provides document management, calendar for everyone in company for planning purposes, email, CRM, private messaging, or announcement boards. There is almost everything in Bitrix.
- Intranet sites. Companies use various intranet sites that are mostly used to spread news, relay updates on product development, and to serve as an information hub. However there is also an interactive intranet where the company can present a video of its annual report for everybody to see. sometimes webcasts are also designed to be highly interactive with members' questions posted through Skype and the intranet.
- Face-to-face communications such as regular team briefings of small group staff with their managers and other conferences for the groups and members allow for the personalization of messages as a key to success in making the employees get engaged.
- Evaluation through regular surveys for employees. These evaluations may be quantitative or qualitative methods. Technology can be used to get a statistics of how many clicks to intranet pages or the number of emails opened and unopened or to know how many have viewed the internal websites.
Qualitative methods are dip-check surveys on certain issues.
An effective internal communication system is essential in the success of any organization regardless of its size. However, the larger the company, the more challenging is its internal communications. Various methods can improve communications within the company and with the advancement of technology, the management and staff can communicate with each other about various concerns.
