The 8 must-have internal communication tools for 2024

Indispensable for large companies, internal communication tools are also strategic for small and medium-sized businesses. The reason: internal communication links departments and builds bridges between different establishments. To optimize the transmission of information and the commitment of all employees, here are some internal communication tools used by many companies and all their employees.

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What are the objectives of internal communications?

The objectives of internal communication go far beyond the simple transmission of information to all employees. Good internal communication is a tool for cohesion within the company : it enables better organization of the various departments, improves employee well-being and, ultimately, impacts your brand image.

It conveys your values

By conveying your messages to your entire team, you also convey the company's values. You give a unique vision to each employee and to new arrivals. Successful internal communication determines the quality of relations within the company.

It creates a collective identity

This is one of the main objectives of internal communication tools: to create cohesion and team spirit among your employees. This communication strategy federates the different strata of the company and generates a climate of trust by improving dialogue between your employees. As a result, teams collaborate more effectively and feel invested in the same goal: the success of their company.

It conveys your corporate strategy

Effective internal communication is the ideal tool for communicating your objectives. You can easily convey your corporate strategy and, if need be, your choice of direction to all your employees. It's also a support two-way street, since it also gives your employees the chance to be heard. In this way, you'll be able to spot potential tensions more easily, and thus deal with potential conflicts more effectively.

It strengthens your employer brand

Internal communication tools are a powerful lever for building talent loyalty and attracting future recruits. Employees who are proud of their company will be the first to convey a positive image of your brand. Good internal communication is therefore a means of improving external communication. Your employees will become your best ambassadors to the outside world, particularly on social networks, enabling your reputation to develop positively.

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8 internal communication tools to unite your teams

Internal communications are essential to any company, making it easier to convey information to all your employees. Discover 8 of today's most widely used internal communication tools.

🎯 The digital, gamified seminar

It is often difficult to maintain the traditional and costly annual seminar, hence the emergence of more frequent and shorter formats of seminars, workshops and so on. Taking the form of participative webinars, YouTube live streams or simple meetings on Slack or zoom, they are the new places where strategic concerns are shared with all employees. These formats remain effective for sharing a vision and pointing the way forward!

Digital meetings, gamified meetings and videoconferences are among the internal communication tools that require the most organization, but they are also highly effective in bringing people together, especially if your employees are not on site. 

Whether fun or informative, these virtual meetings are an opportunity toopen dialogue andexchange views on current projects or sensitive issues.

🎙️ Internal podcasts

We've felt it coming for some years now in our private lives: audio is making a comeback! Podcasts are increasingly taking over from professional webinars.

Internal podcasts are an original way of boosting your internal communications. Highly appreciated by your employees, podcasts have the advantage of being shared on cell phones, and therefore available at all times. Don't hesitate to keep things authentic with a " homemade " podcast: it'll help youhumanize your relationship with your teams, and give them a chance to have their say! However, before embarking on the creation of podcasts, always keep your objectives in mind if you wish to perpetuate this atypical distribution channel.

💻 The intranet

The intranet is often the tool of choice for medium-sized and large companies. It is rather difficult to set up, and very costly. As a general rule, it is used to bring together various productivity tools or useful information, such as official documentation or procedures to be followed. It has the advantage of being accessible via a personal code, so that each of your employees has his or her own space to consult at will.

Often, the tool incorporates intranet, digital workplace and corporate social networking. Increasingly comprehensive, they are more complex to set up and also more costly. The biggest challenge? To be truly adopted by employees.

Sometimes suffering from a somewhat outdated image, it has been revolutionized by Facebook Workplace, whose use is soaring (7 million users by May 2021). The real revolution is that it can also equip nomadic and less connected workers: in workshops, factories, in the field...

However, you can transform this tool into a modern, unifying solution by creating a corporate social network on your platform.

🖥️ Digital signage

Digital signage is one of the most effective internal communication tools. A real bridge between the physical and digital worlds, digital signage enables you to broadcast videos or content to all your employees. Screens can be made available to local management, departments, managers or even volunteer employees, to ensure optimal local communication. Screen-based communication can be adapted to suit your company's strategic objectives.

Interactive displays can also be used for gamification and feedback, for example with connected buttons. Thanks to this simple and intuitive support , you can easily communicate on an unlimited number of multisite screens that you control and manage from a dedicated interface.

Digital signage requires little organization, but offers you a host of opportunities:

• Inform all your employees in real time (even non-connected field teams) of their performance and the objectives to be achieved, thus improving company productivity;
• Modernize your brand image with innovative, connected internal communication tools;
• Spark your teams' interest by broadcasting playful information such as news briefs or weather forecasts, while keeping their attention for more formal messages.
  
  

⌨️ The in-house newsletter

Already established for many years, the in-house newsletter is unrivalled. According to a bananatag study, the in-house newsletter has a 79% open rate and a 15% click-through rate. The study points out that the smaller the mailing list, the better the engagement rate. In fact, by segmenting your audiences, you can personalize your messages, making them more relevant to your target.

The newsletter is simple and effective... but only with a connected population! It also has the advantage of being inexpensive and easy to set up. Monthly or weekly, it enables information to be circulated to all employees on a regular basis. In fact, to be optimal, the newsletter must be addressed to all employees, including management.

Among internal communication tools, the newsletter is the perfect solution for strengthening cohesion between your employees by going beyond company news. A video portrait of one of your employees, or a pictorial account of an innovative project, are examples of richer content to enhance your newsletters.

📰 Internal newsletter

More comprehensive than a newsletter, more inclusive than a digital version, the in-house newsletter is one of the most corporate of all internal communication tools. Whether in digital or paper version, the company newsletter is an opportunity to give your teams a voice, while promoting the corporate culture. It's the ideal communication tool to unite and inform all staff. You can, for example, talk about strategic decisions taken by general management, external communications operations and business results, as well as the organization of internal or external events. The potential limitation: it doesn't allow for interaction.

💡 The idea box

The suggestion box is one of the oldest internal communication tools, yet one that still generates a great deal of enthusiasm. Entirely anonymous, it allows your employees to express themselves in complete confidentiality, encouraging them to be more transparent. Not only does it enhance your image as a manager concerned about the problems encountered within the company, but it is also a means of raising awareness of your employees' concerns.

❔ Survey tools

Surveys are still one of the simplest and most effective internal communication tools. You can set up survey tools for company projects, activities or organization. Whatever your objective, a survey is a means of communication that has the advantage of centralizing your teams' responses. Every voice is taken into account, so you reinforce their sense of belonging to the group.

Create an ecosystem by combining different internal communication tools

All these internal communication tools will strengthen the cohesion of your teams internally, while enhancing the company's image externally. It's a highly effective collaborative strategy that will enable you to unite your employees around a common project: the life of the company!

CSR, a key theme for 2024

The world is changing, and business with it. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming a major issue for consumers, employees and management in companies of all sizes. You can rely on internal communication tools to initiate or reinforce a CSR strategy within your organization: use webinars, podcasts or digital signage to disseminate best practices; use the suggestion box to create momentum and multiply initiatives; make resources and information available on the company intranet; etc.

Synergies between different tools

The implementation of a high-performance communication strategy relies on the synergy between the various internal communication tools at your disposal: digital signage or a newsletter can summarize the key points raised during a webinar; the best suggestions slipped into the suggestion box are promoted in the newsletter or by digital signage, are raised during a webinar or are the subject of a dedicated survey; the internal newsletter or intranet can host a link to a podcast or the replay of a webinar; and so on. Digital signage is a tool that integrates perfectly with internal communication plans, and complements your existing tools. In fact, screens can be used to promote the latest newsletter or in-house journal, encouraging people to consult them. It's also an indispensable tool for generating traffic, reminding people of deadlines for surveys or special internal events. It's a tool that complements your existing internal communication tools.

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Cenareo combines an intuitive digital signage solution with a solid, cutting-edge expertise that simplifies the management of large screen fleets, enhances the user experience, maximizes the impact of communication and accelerates digital transformation. The solution, which is quick to deploy, stimulates our customers' creativity, boosts their productivity, and enables both local and global management to accelerate the return on their project investment.