Internal communication connects people in a company regardless of location. Employees rely on internal communication tools for communicating with their team members effectively using instant messages, share work files, and have a virtual conference with their colleagues without the need to have everyone physically in the same location.
Using internal communication tools, employees who are working from a remote location or on a business trip can contact their colleagues, talk to customers or vendors without relying much on the traditional communication systems like phone calls and emails.
Using internal communication tools is much more time and cost-efficient than traditional phone calls and face-to-face meetings. Improving internal communication in the workplace eliminates long-distance phone charges and travel expenses.
A study revealed that employees take less time to complete their daily tasks using internal communication tools, and companies could save an average of 40 minutes a day per user. It is estimated that an organization with 5,000 people could see a $37.5 million a year savings in productivity using an internal communication tool.
Why internal communication is important
When it comes to ways to improve communication in an organization, internal communication plays an important role. Many studies have proved that companies can reap a significant return on investment made on internal communication tools.
Internal communication tools provide a host of benefits for companies with their features and immediacy. It helps to communicate with team members effectively. They can reduce much of the back-and-forth through e-mails, voice mails and office visits needed for teams to work together.
Overall, an internal communication tool makes business operations faster, agile, and efficient and it comes at a very little cost. An internal communication tool is less intrusive than a phone call but much faster than an email. Internal communication tools help employees to improve effective communication skills and focus on their work uninterrupted by letting users set status messages to inform others about their availability.
Internal communication tool also offers a quick way to resolve questions and issues when they arise. A unified internal communication tool increases productivity by eliminating time wasted switching between various communication tools like email, voice call, chat, etc.
A good internal communication tool has to fulfill two basic functionalities
1. Internal communication must be instant but unobtrusive
Instant communication is synchronous, and it has the potential to make or break an organization. In instant communication, employees are competing with multiple other communications for their colleagues’ attention.
For synchronous communication to succeed, employees should avoid bombarding their own teams will multiple communication at the same time. This will help to gain the attention of your colleagues and increase the chances of getting replies to your message. Because employees can’t assume that just because they have sent a message to their colleagues, they will get a reply.
In fact, when employees send a message to their colleagues, only a few will read it and only a few will still remember the message after two weeks. So, to improve instant communication and increase the chances of getting replies you need to follow certain procedures.
The common problem with instant communication
Internal communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams are chat-focused. A common grouse against these tools is you can get stuck in long and never-ending group chats that demand your attention 24/7.
It puts pressure on you to be online & available all the time. These group chats called channels are rigid because once a channel is created and group members are added, all the group members see all those channel’s chats whether it pertains to them or not.
As a result, users are overwhelmed reading a constant stream of messages peripherally related to their day-to-day work. This can get even more stressful as chat messages in channels can mix up many related topics making it hard to understand the context of the discussion.
How Clariti handles instant communication
When you use Clariti, you can start a group chat with multiple Clariti users on a specific topic. However, unlike channels, Clariti group chats are not rigid. Group members can be added and removed on the fly.
Consequently, group members only get chat alerts on issues that are important to them. This helps you avoid unwanted messages from multiple groups. So, you are not overloaded with too much unnecessary information. Clariti helps you to communicate with team members effectively by automatically arranging all related communications including emails, chats, calendar events, to-dos, and calls as if it is one conversation. There is no need to shift between many apps and there is no need to stress trying to remember all the connected conversations in memory. Clariti eliminates the need to search across many apps looking for information, and makes it very easy to see the big picture without any effort.
2. The employee must be able to perform a related task efficiently
Well-designed internal communication tools put less pressure on employee attention and memory and can quickly provide all the supporting information at the time when an employee needs to perform a related task.
When employees need to work on a related task, they need access to information to finish the work correctly and avoid time-consuming rework. Internal communication plays a crucial part here. Using a task-oriented internal communication tool where employees can find all the information related to a task grouped together is incredibly important.
When your employees are replying to your customer about a product or inquiry, they need access to all the information related to that product in a single place so that they can solve customer problems quickly and efficiently.
Task-related problems with other internal communication tools
- Users cannot create to-dos from email, chat, social feeds etc.
- Difficult for users to organize all the related information pertaining to their tasks such that it is easily available when needed.
How Clariti helps to perform related tasks efficiently
Clariti combines related emails, chats, calls, documents, and to-dos to create a Workspace where all the conversations are displayed in an easy-to-navigate visual form. Apart from keeping all discussions organized in Workspace, Clariti allows you to create To-Dos from emails, chats or calls in a way that you always have the “reference” behind the To-Do.
When you are armed with a complete context of prior conversations when the to-do is triggered, you can make your discussions more effective! And the best part is that you don’t have to do anything different. Clariti does all the work for you behind the scenes and keeps everything neatly organized in Workspace, including the To-Do you created! And that’s not all.
Workspace in Clariti is displayed in an easy-to-navigate visual form so that users can quickly see the complete history behind their work without having to rely on memory. This unique representation of the Workspace provides instant knowledge of all that transpired leading up to the To-Do and will guide you to act in the most efficient manner and make informed decisions. Clariti allows you to…
- Create to-dos linked to email, chats and calls
- Calendar view for all to-dos
- Schedule events linked to email, chats and calls by inviting other participants
- Schedule calls linked to email, and chats with other participants
Besides to-do, Clariti also has many internal communication features like chat from email, direct chat, group chat, voice calling, screen sharing etc that are needed by the modern-day workforce.
Conclusion
These days online communication apps are vital to improve internal communication in the workplace A common issue with using multiple communications apps is the disconnect between them. For example, when a manager wants to start a meeting with the team, he will need to send invitations, meeting materials, and meeting IDs using different applications.
Then before attending the meeting, the team members will need to fetch the details from messaging app and meeting app which can be a slow and tedious process. Also, when the team members receive the invitation for a meeting, the meeting link doesn’t provide any kind of context. When the team members enter the virtual meeting room, nobody is sure of what that meeting is all about. Even if the hosts provide some documents, it can be still difficult to relate to the upcoming meeting without making phone calls to the host. So, it is not enough if your internal communication just facilities instant communication, it should also help you to perform related tasks with proper context.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can internal communication be improved in the workplace?
Every workplace is different, but there are some basic tenets of effective internal communication that can be applied in any setting. First, it is important to ensure that all employees have access to the information they need in order to do their jobs effectively. This may mean instituting regular staff meetings, sending out email updates, or posting announcements in a central location. Second, it is vital to encourage open and honest communication between employees and managers. This can be accomplished by fostering a culture of respect and mutual understanding. Lastly, it is essential to create channels for feedback so that employees can share their ideas and concerns in a constructive manner. By following these guidelines, businesses can ensure that their internal communication is clear, efficient, and effective.
What is effective internal communication?
Internal communication is critical to the success of any organization. It helps employees to stay informed and motivated, and it can improve efficiency by reducing the need for supervision. However, effective internal communication is more than just sending out memos or holding departmental meetings. It requires a clear understanding of the needs and concerns of employees, and it must be carefully tailored to the specific context of the organization. When done correctly, internal communication can help to build a strong sense of community and purpose within an organization. It can also foster transparency and trust, two essential ingredients for any successful business. As such, internal communication should be given careful consideration by any organization that wishes to function at its best.
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