15 Benefits of Using an Employee Communication App in 2023
Milton Herman
Communication apps for employees are an important element of working as part of a team in 2023. The workplace has changed and the way employees interact with each other has followed suit. It’s not uncommon for team members to include frontline workers, remote workers, and office workers. Employee communications apps help them communicate easily and well.
What is an Employee Communication App?
Employee communication apps are online platforms that give employees a way to reach out to workers and give them a way to share their thoughts with coworkers and managers. Employees commonly use their mobile devices to log into the communication app.
At one time, e-mail was considered an efficient way for employees to communicate with each other. Today, it’s not the most effective means for getting messages to frontline workers. When faced with a slew of e-mails in their inbox, an employee can find it challenging to determine which messages take priority. It’s tempting to start at the top of the list every day and ignore the ones at the bottom (which arrived first) and someone then follows up. By that point, the matter has become more urgent, leading to tighter deadlines and stress for the entire team.
Apps for Employee Communication Features
What kinds of features do employee communications app bring to the table? The best ones have a combination of the following:
- Mobile Access: Mobile access means employees don’t have to be located in the company’s offices to stay in the loop of company communications. They can pick up their handheld devices to stay connected to both everyday messages and push messages from their colleagues and management.
- Cloud-based: A cloud-based employee communication system is always up-to-date. The company never has to worry about which version of the software it’s running; this type of system is always current.
- Integrates with Other Platforms: The best employee communications app integrate with other platforms employees use like Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and Slack. Employees can post messages and reply to team members’ messages on the intranet or the company newsfeed.
- Personalization: When the app displays relevant content for each employee’s needs and interests, they are more likely to log in. Each team member knows they will find features that are relevant and helpful to them.
- Search Feature: Employees don’t have time to waste time when searching for documents, to share files, and other content they need for work. A robust search feature is crucial in an employee communication app so that everyone can find the content they need quickly and easily.
- Micro-apps: Micro-apps give employees solutions to specific needs they have at work. Workers can log into the employee communication app to access annual leave requests, their pay stubs, staff satisfaction surveys, and other forms.
Discover LumApps, the Employee Communication App:
1. Communications Apps Create your Working Environment
A successful company is one that gets its team members to work toward achieving a common goal. A communications app plays a role in creating a good working environment by creating a modern, forward-thinking environment. It gives employees access to the technology they need to do their work well, which helps them achieve success on the job.
The way the company customizes its workforce app reflects the type of culture it wants to create for its team members. The images and color choices, videos, content and push notifications combine to reflect your corporate culture.
2. They Help Attract Top Talent
High-quality candidates want to work for companies that have invested in modern technology that includes employee communication apps. When making a decision about accepting a job offer, Millennials and Generation Z job seekers want to ensure that the company takes the employee experience seriously.
Modern workers already use their smartphones as part of their everyday activities. These devices are something that a person always has on hand. When an employee can use their smartphone to stay in touch with their fellow team members, they can walk into their new job feeling comfortable that at least one thing about the job is something they already feel happy using.
3. Companies can Track and Analyze Communication Analytics
It would be foolish for managers to make decisions for their departments (and their teams) unless they had the proper tools and data to back them up. Company leaders need to have accurate data to make the best decisions and they rely on internal tools to make that possible.
Analytics can reveal whether employees are using the internal communication tool and which features are being used most often. Management can also determine the employees that aren’t using the app’s features. The company may want to take steps to find out why some team members aren’t embracing the communication app.
4. Soliciting Employee Feedback is Easy
Good managers want to know what their employees are thinking. Ideally, this feedback is collected regularly (and anonymously) so that workers can share their thoughts freely without fear of being reprimanded for saying exactly what is on their mind.
If the company leaders don’t know what employees want or need, then they have little chance of making effective changes to keep employees satisfied at work. Most employees understand that their employer may not be able to meet all of their expectations but appreciate it when the company acknowledges its team members’ feedback and makes reasonable attempts to address it.
5. They are Faster than Internal Email
The pace of modern business continues to move at an ever-increasing pace. At one time internal e-mail was an efficient way to contact people within the company to relay questions or concerns. This communication method is no longer fast enough to keep up with communication speed required for internal communications today.
Employee apps for internal communication help team members stay productive. They don’t clog up employee inboxes in the same way e-mails tend to do throughout the day. A communication app is a more efficient way for team members to stay in touch and on track for getting tasks done.
6. Employee Apps Focus on Real-Time Communication
With team communication, employees can communicate directly in real time. E-mails and phone messages always run the risk of being stale or inaccurate by the time an employee is able to respond to them. Urgent messages and notifications can be sent to a specific person, a team, or everyone in the company quickly, regardless of their location. If an urgent matter occurs or the company must take action during an emergency, there is no time to waste waiting for specific employees to respond to messages.
Internal Communications – Measurement to Mastery
Enhance your internal communication strategy and learn the impact of communication done right.
7. They are Easy for Employees to Use
Employee communication apps are quite user-friendly. Employees want something they can start to use quickly after joining the company. Anything that is complicated or difficult to operate during the workday isn’t going to win a lot of fans among workers.
Employees are already using mobile apps to perform many tasks in their daily lives, such as banking, ordering meals, groceries and rides. Since they are already using this technology, it makes perfect sense to bring it into the workplace. Workers won’t need a lot of time to adapt to learning the company’s communication app and they can focus their time on company-specific training.
8. Mobile Apps Reflect the Modern Workforce
The work model where employees went to a brick and mortar office and worked at a desk for a certain number of hours daily is no longer the reality for many people. A work team can be made up of people who live in different parts of the country (or even different countries). Geographic location is not a barrier to people working together quite effectively, and mobile platforms make it easy for them to connect, share ideas, complete projects and work together quite effectively.
9. They Help Ensure Communication is Clear and Transparent
Companies work best when communication between management and team members is clear and transparent. A communication app allows leaders to communicate directly with employees, reducing the amount of items that are grist for the company rumor mill.
In turn, employees feel that management will share information that impacts them at the appropriate time. The employees are more likely to trust company management and can focus on their work in a work environment that fosters mutual respect. The employees are more likely to feel valued by the employer, which reduces turnover rates (one indicator of company health).
10. Internal Communication Apps Encourage Collaboration
Team apps make it easy for employees located anywhere to communicate using their mobile devices. They can share multiple types of files easily and efficiently, including documents, forms, images, and videos. Video chat allows team members to see and hear their fellow team members, which is a distinct advantage from only seeing text messages.
Some ideas are more challenging to communicate using only words on a screen. With real-time video conferencing, team members can get a sense that they aren’t isolated, no matter where they are physically located. This option is helpful for asking questions, sharing advice, and collaborating on projects. Ultimately, the work team functions more efficiently when it has multiple means to collaborate.
11. They Help Employees Make Better Decisions
Employee communication apps are valuable tools to make it easier for employees to locate information they need to do their work more effectively. The employees can make better decisions within the scope of their job responsibilities, ultimately leading to better outcomes for the company.
An employee working in sales who can access information about available stock for a customer with their handheld device is going to be able to quickly provide accurate information about delivery dates to the customer. This information leads to quicker closings, happier customers, and higher profits for the company.
Internal Communications – Measurement to Mastery
Enhance your internal communication strategy and learn the impact of communication done right.
12. Employee Communication Apps Improve Customer Service
Making a sale is only a part of doing business. Customers want to be heard and understood as well. If they don’t feel as though the company understands their needs, they know they always have other options.
The customer service team will benefit from the tools and features available with employee communications apps. With information about customers’ previous orders, they can connect with customers who contact the company for support more effectively. Customers will feel as though their questions are being answered fully and their concerns are being addressed appropriately by the company and are more likely to remain loyal.
13. They Simplify Business Processes
Businesses are looking for ways to automate and simplify their processes across the board. Employee communication apps streamline business processes by integrating with the company’s enterprise applications to simplify tasks throughout the operation. Employees can manage their daily tasks from the app’s dashboard to stay organized and on top of their work.
Throughout the work day, there will be challenges and stresses for the employees. The internal communications app is there to help team members manage them - and get help from their fellow team members when necessary.
14. Instant Messaging Apps Increase Brand Awareness
When multiple users are interacting with an employee communications mobile app daily, it boosts the company’s brand visibility and awareness. Each time they see the company logo, the newsfeed and other features, the company brand and what it stands for makes an impression.
This ongoing positive reinforcement can’t help but increase brand awareness and help to foster positive impressions about the company among all employees. Team members carry these positive thoughts with them as they perform their employment duties. No doubt it will have an impact on how they view themselves as part of the organization.
15. Notifications can be Customized
Since apps for employee communication reflect the company brand, it makes complete sense that their notifications can be customized. We live in a world full of noises. Employees already have their smartphones set with multiple sounds to notify them of notifications for their personal apps for e-mail, social media, etc.
The internal employee communication app must have custom notifications so that employees know that push messages and messages must be acted on promptly. The company can choose custom notifications that reflect its brand and fit its corporate “personality.”
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