We’re in the midst of The Great Resignation, where employees are leaving their jobs—and their companies—in record numbers. According to data from the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 24 million Americans left their jobs during the second half of 2021—and the trend looks as though it will continue into 2022. According to recent data from careerarc, nearly 1 in 4 employees in the United States are planning to leave their job in the next 12 months.
As we navigate this mass talent exodus, it’s more important than ever for companies to do everything they can to improve their business operations and keep their employees happy, satisfied, and engaged with their work. And one way to do that? Improving internal communications.
Taking steps to improve internal communications can drive major benefits for your business. But what, exactly, are those benefits—and why are they important?
Let’s take a look at the top four advantages of internal communication for businesses:
Easier information sharing
At the core, internal communications is about creating a more efficient flow of information through your business; when information flows more efficiently, it empowers everyone within the organization to work more efficiently
And improving your internal communications strategy is a great way to create that more efficient flow of information—making one of the biggest advantages of internal communications for businesses better, easier, and more efficient information sharing.
For example, let’s say your company is rolling out a new software that employees will need to use to manage their workflow. Without a clear internal communications strategy, ensuring that every employee has the training, support, and information they need to implement the software will take a significant amount of time, energy, and resources. But with the right internal communications tool? The process is simple and straightforward.
For example, with Talkspirit, you could use the shared agenda feature, which gives access to other members’ calendars, to view employee availability—then instantly create a training webinar event and add it to your entire team’s calendars. You can then share that link across the organization on the newsfeed. And if there are employees that can’t attend for whatever reason, you can save a recording of the presentation on the drive (along with any relevant training materials) for those employees to access at a later date.
Everything you need to organize, schedule, manage, and share your software training is all available in one communications platform, saving time, energy, and resources—and making it easier and faster to share relevant, timely information across your organization.
Also read: Enterprise Social Networks : THE best way to improve your internal communication
Improved employee experience
As mentioned, more employees are leaving their jobs than ever—and if you want to keep top talent with your company, you need to make employee experience a priority.
And one way to improve your employee experience? Give your employees what they want—which, for many, is improved internal communication.
According to research from Robert Half, poor communication is the leading cause of low morale in teams—and employees want their organizations to invest in improving that poor communication. According to research from RingCentral, nearly half of employees (44 percent) want a wider adoption of internal communication tools within their organization.
Bottom line? Employees want their companies to create the systems and adopt the tools that empower more effective internal communication—and so, if you want to improve employee experience, improving internal communication is a must.
Also read: How to Reinvent the Employee Experience in the Era of Hybrid Work
Increased opportunities for innovation, collaboration and idea-sharing
If you want your business to thrive, employees need to be able to freely share ideas and collaborate on projects. Because it’s that idea sharing and collaboration that ultimately lead to innovation. But if employees are siloed and don’t have opportunities to easily share ideas and work with other team members, innovation is stifled—and your business suffers as a result.
But luckily, another one of the advantages of internal communication for businesses is that it creates those opportunities to share ideas and collaborate—and empowers innovation in the process.
With the right internal communications tools, employees can quickly and easily brainstorm, share their ideas, and collaborate with their team members—and then save and share that information with other teams, departments, and employees as necessary.
For example, let’s say one of your employees has an idea for a new product. Without the right internal communications strategy, that employee might share that idea with their manager—but if their manager is busy or isn’t involved with new product development, that idea might get lost in the shuffle.
With Talkspirit as an internal communications tool, that employee could take his idea and share it with other teams within the company that work on new product development. From there, interested employees or teams can schedule a brainstorming session And if the idea is something they want to move forward with, they can use the project management feature to map out the task and get the ball rolling.
The point is, the easier it is for employees to collaborate and share ideas, the more innovation will come out of your company. So, if you want to empower innovation, you need to empower easier collaboration and idea sharing—and improved internal communications is the way to do it.
Increased visibility and connection between team members
In today’s world of work, where so many employees are working remotely, many teams never get the opportunity to connect face-to-face. Their coworkers may be nothing more than a name on an email field.
That’s not conducive for feeling connected at work, which is essential for many employees. But one of the major advantages of internal communication for businesses, particularly in a hybrid work environment? It increases visibility and connection between team members.
With Talkspirit’s directory, employees can easily see all the other members of their organization—including their photo, contact information, and bio. Team members can also join relevant groups to connect with like-minded people within the company—and build relationships through one-on-one or group chats.
If you want your team (and business) to succeed, you need to foster a sense of connection between team members, no matter where they’re working. And the right internal communications tool and strategy offers a great opportunity to foster that connection.
Also read: Improving Internal Communication Across Chain Stores: PUR etc.’s Testimonial
Use internal communications to take your business to the next level
In today’s hypercompetitive labor market, you need to do everything you can to make your business a place your employees want to work. And understanding the advantages of internal communication for businesses—and implementing the internal communication strategies and tools that allow you to enjoy those advantages—is a critical part of that.
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Are you looking for a tool to improve internal communication within your organization? Check out our list of the 14 best software for internal communication:
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Author: Deanna deBara
