10 Essential Internal Communication Tools Every Organization Needs to Succeed

Internal communication tools have become increasingly important for modern companies, as they recognize that their success is closely tied to the effectiveness of their workforce.

Aside from boosting productivity and decreasing wasted time and resources, effective internal communication brings employees from your whole organization together on a more personal level. The results are all positive: Efficient workflows, innovative ideas, and less toxicity.

Sure, a good company culture is a long time in the making — but choosing the right technology certainly lays the groundwork.

This article will cover the top 10 essential internal communication tools every organization needs to succeed.

1. Corporate email for formal communication across your team

It might seem a bit route one, but there’s a reason you can find corporate email in pretty much any company’s internal communication tools. Although they are often criticized for being slow and for burying important information, emails have weathered the storm and remain among the most effective communication strategies for organizations.

Emails are generally the go-to format for any formal announcement or communication, and they keep an important (cloud-based) paper trail that any form of spoken or video communication simply can’t promise. Similarly, they’re versatile — able to attach files, images, links, and HTML to get your point across using more than just words.

Newer email providers are cleaner and more intuitive than their predecessors. Starring important messages, snoozing some for later, and archiving others for your records make email far more useful to those who know how to use it properly. Similarly, integration with HR tools and automation of delivery times allow you to drip-feed onboarding materials for a clear, coherent learning experience.

2. Instant messaging for quick check-ins and decision-making

Instant messaging is a fantastic replacement for in-person chats, whether you’re in a remote team, in a different room in the office, or you simply don’t want to tap a colleague on the shoulder and interrupt their flow. Available as one-to-one or group chats, they can be used for social cohesion as well as work applications.

It offers immediate interactions, to get feedback and make faster decisions. This makes it a perfect internal communication tool for a quick back-and-forth when a deadline is fast approaching. With these solutions, there’s no need to stick to formal company language, you can be brief, informal, and more agile in your response.

On the downside, instant messaging can lead to decisions being made without informing everybody. To counteract this, make it clear in your company policy that strategic announcements must be made through specific internal messaging platforms, such as corporate email or intranet.

3. Video conferencing for a personal touch in remote environments

With the rise of remote work, video conferencing software sits among the most important internal communication tools for companies from all industries. Saving travel expenses and office rent, you can run one-to-one or company-wide meetings over video where everybody can see each other’s faces.

One of the greatest challenges facing remote teams is how to build strong bonds between your employees, which boosts productivity and reduces demotivation and turnover. The face-to-face element is key to building those bonds, with many remote managers running short catch-ups every morning to check in with their team and build that feeling of unity.

It’s not just meetings where video conferencing improves workplace communication. With features such as screen sharing and video recording, your team can access, pause, and rewind your materials as they please. Furthermore, breakthroughs in AI technology mean you can transcribe and translate video scripts for better accessibility and summarize meetings into key talking points to keep non-attendees up to date.

4. Corporate intranet as a digital headquarters for your team

A corporate intranet is more than just a typical internal communication tool—it's one of the most powerful, versatile, and secure digital communication platforms available.

Corporate intranets offer a single point of access to key resources, documents, and updates. This makes them ideal as a central knowledge base where all of your employees can find answers to their questions, as well as evergreen training materials, policies, procedures, and guidelines. Search bars, categories, and tags all facilitate navigation, encouraging employees to use the knowledge base instead of asking colleagues for help.

However, a corporate intranet can have a more social side. Internal social media is a great place for exploring shared interests outside of work and building a positive company culture. It’s also your go-to place for announcing achievements and giving a like when your colleagues have gone the extra mile. Forums, polls, notifications and reminders for team-building events keep employees engaged in the non-work side of your organization.

5. Discussion forums to get multiple perspectives on tricky questions

The best ideas often come from a meeting of two seemingly opposed minds, so using company internal communication tools to lay the ground for that synergy is a smart move.

Discussion forums are platforms for open dialogue and knowledge sharing. Accessible to everybody in the company, you get input from every department, from the technical minds of the IT department to the people-focused approach of the sales team. This melting pot of opinions encourages problem-solving and creative collaboration that can often give you the edge over your competitors.

On a more personal level, it bridges the gap between colleagues who wouldn’t typically spend time with each other and helps them see eye to eye. When different teams know the priorities and restrictions of others, you’re more likely to have a more harmonious and understanding work environment.

You can use forums to tackle a range of subjects, teams, or projects transparently. Forums are among the most effective collaboration tools as they are asynchronous. This relieves the pressure of a timed brainstorming session and allows people to reflect on ideas and add a contribution when inspiration hits.

6. Internal newsletters to keep employees up-to-date on company news

Internal newsletters are an efficient organizational communication method to keep employees up-to-date with the latest news, without investing much time. Users can see a series of headlines and dive into detail if they want, and they can spend no more than three minutes and have a good idea of what is going on in the wider organization.

There’s nothing revolutionary about these communication software solutions. A simple email builder is enough to drag and drop text boxes, images, and links into place, and to add an interesting heading to attract attention. However, the effect can be great. For example, celebrating your HR team’s attendance at an industry conference can inspire other teams to do the same for their sectors.

You can easily track metrics such as open rates and click-through rates and make changes to improve engagement in your company culture. By tailoring specific newsletters for different departments, the news is more relevant, increasing those open rates.

7. Digital bulletin boards for people to check the day’s important information

Digital bulletin boards act as a more passive version of a newsletter, making them ideal for publishing dates, times, initiatives, or events. Instead of emailing the HR team or sifting through your inbox to find an old newsletter, you can take a look at the bulletin board and find the info you need.

Bulletin boards represent engaging and effective communication strategies as they’re accessible from any device and give employees a quick overview of the latest news, recognitions, and important updates.

Most digital communication platforms have some form of bulletin board in their internal communication tools. However, to get the most out of it, you have to make staff aware that they should check the board regularly. In the busy day-to-day of life, it’s hard to stay on top of these non-urgent tasks, which is where notifications can come in handy. Internal comms technology is much better with automated alerts, which point employees to news when it happens, rather than leaving it up to individuals to add another thing to their to-do lists.

8. Project management tools to streamline task-based communication

Project management tools are at the center of workplace communication. While bulletin boards are for general company-wide news, project management tools are intensely task-specific. Updates are shared on a need-to-know basis to avoid everyone on your team being overwhelmed with notifications.

Early cloud-based team communication software relied too heavily on emails and internal messaging platforms as collaboration tools. This led to messy, convoluted email chains and key information getting lost in dense messenger chats.

However, smarter communication software solutions have now taken over to streamline task-based communication. Each task is represented by a card on the project management platform, and all relevant people are assigned to the card, along with the necessary resources. Any questions, updates, or announcements are logged on the card, with notifications sent out to those on the task.

Participants not only get real-time transparency into project progress but they also have a clear record of all activity on the task, improving collaboration and accountability.

9. Surveys and feedback platforms to get actionable comments from everyone in the organization

Some of the best ideas can be enacted and the worst catastrophes avoided through employee feedback. Therefore, internal communication tools that take the temperature of your workforce are essential to any organizational communication.

Feedback forms are most commonly used to gather opinions on satisfaction and engagement. Guaranteeing anonymity increases the chances of unearthing any undetected disgruntlement in your team early, so you can take action to remedy it.

In a more proactive sense, surveys can lead to competitive advantages that the senior leadership team may have overlooked. Employees across your organization bring different perspectives and mindsets that can lead to micro or even macro improvements in your processes and workflows.

Team communication software solutions often provide customizable forms exactly for this purpose. Create multiple-choice questions for quantitative analysis or leave text boxes for people to explore their ideas in more detail and you’ll have a full picture of actionable feedback.

10. Social collaboration platforms to bring your team together on a personal level

Business isn’t all about crafting the most efficient processes. People management is a critical factor in success and internal communication tools are perfect for a connected workplace.

Social collaboration platforms are ideal for building communities around interests, projects, and goals to foster a sense of belonging. You can open up a channel on most communication tools for spaces where members share videos of their dogs, pictures of their hikes, and cooking tips. When colleagues know each other on a personal level, it removes the reluctance and awkwardness of asking for a favor from others. This helps to break down silos, improve internal communication, and encourage collaboration.

Social collaboration platforms are perfect for remote teams who don’t have the traditional water cooler chat but still want a united team. Although it does eat into company time, the rewards of having employees who have each other’s back far outweigh the negatives.

Bitrix24: All the internal communication tools you could need in one place

Internal comms technology encompasses a vast and varied selection of features — and luckily you can get your hands on all of them in one neat package.

Bitrix24 is the ideal platform for in-office and remote teams who want all the best internal communication tools in one place.

• Communication channels spanning email, instant messaging, video conferencing, social collaboration, and more.

• Centralized information management with a secure intranet, discussion forums, and a searchable knowledge base.

• A powerful project management platform to streamline task-based communication, project tracking, and collaboration.

• Employee engagement tools including internal newsletters, surveys, and feedback forms to get valuable insights into performance and morale.

So if you’re in need of internal communication tools to unite your team and improve your performance, sign up for Bitrix24 today.

FAQs

What are the best internal communication tools for organizations?

The best internal communication tools for organizations include:

• Corporate email for formal communication

• Instant messaging for quick interactions

• Video conferencing for face-to-face meetings

• Corporate intranets for centralized information sharing

• Discussion forums for getting diverse perspectives

• Internal newsletters to share news and events

• Digital bulletin boards for company-wide reminders

• Project management software to streamline productivity

• Surveys and feedbacks to see how your team really feels

• Social collaboration platforms to build personal connections

How can internal communication tools improve team collaboration?

Internal communication tools improve team collaboration by:

• Providing real-time communication channels

• Increasing transparency and accountability in project management

• Offering centralized platforms for sharing information

• Breaking down silos with social collaboration spaces

• Making remote workers feel part of the projects they’re doing

What features should you look for in internal communication tools?

When choosing internal communication tools, look for features like real-time messaging, video conferencing, and file sharing for effective communication. Integration with other collaboration tools, security for data protection, and customizability to meet your organization's specific needs are also essential for maximizing productivity and communication efficiency.