Last week we defined the concept of Internal Communication Within a company and we listed the different tools that could be used for this purpose, this week we are going to explain each of them communication tools to be clear about its role:
- Regular meetings, lunches, breakfasts, events. These meetings are usually held on a regular basis among the employees of a department or among all employees (in the case of a small company). They are usually informal meetings where issues of day-to-day concern to employees are discussed.
- Employee handbook / welcome handbook. This is a document that should be created as soon as the company hires its first employee and is usually handed out on the first day of work. It can be physical or online and contains the rules and procedures of a company, as well as all the information about the company that may be useful to employees.
- Newsletter/ bulletins. These are documents that are sent or given to employees on a regular basis and contain relevant or additional information about the company.
- Mailings or circulars. They are usually sent from the Management, the Communication or Human Resources department and contain official information that may be of interest, such as a new incorporation, a new product or service, etc.
- Corporate magazine. This type of tool is usually used in large companies, it collects periodically (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly...) the economic data of the company, agreements with other companies, promotions, new incorporations...
- Quality circle. They are a group of employees who meet to try to discuss internal organisational problems and try to find solutions to them. At the end of the meeting, they hand over minutes of the outcome to their managers.
- Notice or news board. It is a tool that serves not only to inform workers of the latest news, but also to involve them in the company. It is a unifying tool, as workers feel informed of what is constantly happening. For it to be effective, it must be located in a strategic place.
- Intranet. These are computer tools used to share information, operating systems, programmes, etc. between employees within a company. There are a multitude of programmes for this purpose, and each company uses the one that best suits its needs.
- Social Networking. Social Networks have various uses and one of them is to serve as a form of internal communication through their groups. Facebook and Linkedin are widely used to disseminate news of interest and relevant content among the employees of a company in a private way. In addition, there are other SSRs such as Twitter, Google + and Facebook that allow both the employees of an organisation and the general public to make queries, questions, suggestions...
- Suggestion box. These are mailboxes located at strategic points within the company, used to collect all the ideas, improvements, questions... from employees anonymously. It is very useful for managers, as it can provide them with many ideas for improvement.
- Videoconference. These are tools used to hold meetings between people in the organisation who are not in the same geographical location with minimal investment.
- Satisfaction surveys. They are used to find out and evaluate the opinion of employees anonymously. It is a tool similar to the suggestion box, with the difference that it is usually done periodically.
- Open door visit. It is normally held one day a year, where the company's doors are open to welcome schools, associations, other companies, employees' families, etc., in order to show them the company's facilities and organisation.
- Other channels of communication. Nowadays, other more convenient and faster channels of communication between employees are used, such as instant messaging tools like WhatsApp or Line. WhatsApp groups are often used to transmit information between employees without having to wait for the next day.
What is the communication tools Do you use any other tool that we haven't mentioned? As always, we would like to know your opinion about our post or about any other question you would like to share with us.
