Strong Internal Communications Can Bring Major Benefits

Internal communications are remarkably important for a business with multiple moving parts. In a world with many choices for communication, how does your company keep in touch? We’ve put together five great ways that your company can take advantage of today’s networking technology to create an infrastructure meant to help your employees stay connected to one another and promote organizational cooperation.

A Social Intranet
When we talk about an intranet solution, what we really mean is a unified way of staying connected to your staff and internal resources. You can think of it like a sort-of portal which connects your employees to just about anything that they need access to during the workday. This includes direct connections to online resources, assets, and any important contact information for personnel or services that your company takes advantage of. Some examples of services could include your managed service provider or help desk number.

Instant Messaging
Sometimes there are pressing matters to attend to that can’t wait for a response to an email that could take all day. In cases like this, instant messaging helps you get the signal across that what you’re requesting is urgent and cannot wait. Aside from this, instant messaging is important in that it allows your employees to communicate in a moment’s notice, cutting down on time wasted due to miscommunications during project implementation. Some features to look for in an instant messaging system are the ability to create group chats and private rooms.

Internal Blogs and Documentation
Your employees want something to look at that can help them effectively do their jobs. Some companies have internal blogs available through their intranet solutions that explain certain concepts more in-depth for users to examine at their leisure. The same can be said for documentation regarding more complex procedures. This saves your supervisors from spending more time than necessary on training.

Discussion Boards
In much the same way as internal blogs and documentation, discussion boards can be used by your team to brainstorm ideas and engage each other in a less formal environment. This can be in the form of asking open-ended questions regarding workflow or simply getting feedback for an upcoming project. Either way, discussion boards can be used with the intention of making information both more consumable and more accessible.

A Ticketing System and Help Desk
Let’s say that your company experiences technology issues that your employees don’t necessarily know how to fix. Instead of wasting time trying to get in contact with someone who can help, you could implement a ticketing system put in place by a managed service provider like Directive. You can then have your employees submit a ticket when they need help. The MSP would then respond as per your service level agreement, eliminating the majority of downtime caused by technology troubles.

Ultimately, communication and your intranet are going to rely on a collective sharing of knowledge within your organization. Are you ready to implement these types of strategies for your business? Get started by calling us at 607.433.2200.