5 Types of Internal Communication Tools Every Business Needs to Thrive

Communication is a vital part of running a business and pushing projects forward. Strong internal communication can mean the difference between a productive, future-focused organization and a stagnant one.

But with more employees working remotely today, it can be difficult to maintain open lines.

Internal communication tools help teams stay focused and collaborative. In this blog, we'll cover five types of internal communication tools every modern business needs to thrive.

The Best Internal Communication Tools

There are hundreds of internal communication tools on the market, and it can be hard to determine which ones your company should adopt. Here are five types of internal communication tools every business should add to their collection of applications:

1. Chat

Chat tools like Slack, HipChat and Microsoft Teams are incredibly useful for small group communication and quick one-on-one discussions. They make it easy for you to reach out to someone when checking on a project, rather than having to comb through long email chains or try to schedule a phone call.

Chat tools make it easy to gain feedback or shoot quick notes to your teammates. But while they let you share documents back and forth, chat tools are not the best place to stay organized. That’s where document sharing and library tools come in.

2. Document Library and Sharing

Your company probably works on a lot of documents, spreadsheets, videos, presentations and other types of content. With more employees working remote today, documents need to be shared and worked on across devices and teams. To manage these files, you need a cloud-based document library.

A document sharing service enables you to keep all your files in one easy-to-access place, manage permissions and maintain version control. Popular tools like Google Drive, Box and OneDrive all offer such features so you can have peace of mind knowing a document won’t be lost in the shuffle.

3. News

You need a news tool to help your organization stay up-to-date with company announcements, goals and priorities. A good news tool helps everyone feel more connected to leadership, gain answers to their questions and understand the context around new initiatives rather than feeling lost.

A solid news tool will let you send out announcements to certain departments, too, so you don’t bother different teams with news that doesn’t apply to them. Jostle and SharePoint are examples of internal communication tools that include a news feature.

4. Task Management

Balancing a ton of tasks can overwhelm your team members. Luckily, there are a ton of task management tools available to help you assign, manage and check off activities.

Tools like Trello, Asana and Basecamp are a few popular task management tools that help teams manage projects and deadlines. Many task management tools have calendars that can help your marketing and software development teams stay on track as they roll out new initiatives. Some tools also allow you to make comments and subtasks along with due dates.

5. Collaboration

SharePoint and Microsoft Teams have already been mentioned on this list – and for a good reason. Both platforms allow your employees to easily communicate and collaborate within one convenient tool.

Collaboration tools encourage dialogue between interdepartmental teams and small groups. They enable your employees to ask questions, make revisions or communicate about a particular project in real-time through comments and online discussions – without ever having to schedule a phone call or in-person meeting.

These collaboration tools are especially useful if your team members are in different time zones. While tools some do have chat features, the commenting tools allow your teams to communicate without the pressure of responding immediately — especially when the conversation doesn’t warrant a full discussion.

Need Help Implementing Internal Communication Tools?

As a modern-day organization, you need internal communication tools to keep everyone in your organization productive, collaborative and happy. But if you haven’t implemented one — or any — of them before, you might not know where to start.

If you need help identifying and implementing the right internal communication tools for your business, contact KMicro. You can set up a call with one of our IT experts or give us a ring at 949-284-7264.