12 Resources for Improving Your Internal Communication

Internal communication is an important part of any organization. Along with Dustin Hostetler, Gary Thomson and Mike Sibley, I was proud to deliver a presentation recently on How to Make Internal Communication a Cultural Must-Have.

We compiled many suggestions from the session as well as some new ones to share with you. Below are a list of suggested resources to assist you in your internal communication efforts.

Video

Video is an engaging way to rollout important messages. Capturing video and editing video are two separate items. A lot can be done yourself with a little knowledge and the right software. For those that don’t like to do it yourself, many companies exist to this for you. Two options we like include:

• Camtasia– this is great for recording screencasts. This would be ideal for training, because it would allow you to record training of specific software in small bites.
• Animoto – Used to create a video collection of photos. For instance- when we do a firm-wide program such as our firm-wide food drive, we collect photos from all of the offices and announce the results via a video created using Animoto.

Intranet

Intranets are an internal website for your company. These are most often used to provide employees a central location to gather information. Most companies post policies and important information information for employees. However, most sites can be customized (at a cost) to do so much more.

• Sharepoint – Self-hosted intranet option. Used widely among companies, but can be costly to build.
• Ishade– not a self-hosted solution. Simple version that allows you to create a private account under your company to post and share documents. It also provides a place to post discussions.

E-Magazine

E-zine software can be used to digital magazines. In the case of internal communications, it is being used to deliver strategic plans, state of the firm documents and annual reports. Below are two software programs suggest by our speakers and panelists.  Many others do exist, some of which are free and others require a subscription.

• Indexx iPub Viewer
• Joomag.com

Web Presentation Software

Commonly used to deliver webinars, web presentation software is now being used in all aspects of the firm. Internal meetings, large company announcements and even client meetings can now be held using this software. Much of it also now comes with video options. These are just a few of the more popular options.

• Go ToMeetings
• WebEx
• Join.me

Instant Messaging & Other Software

Instant Messaging, Screen saver messages and other information pushed to users on their computers or mobile devices is another way to communicate with your employees. Below are a two recommended resources.

• Yammer– is an enterprise social network that can be used privately within your organization to better collaborate real time. It works similarly to instant messaging, but has many more capabilities beyond just that.
• SnapComms-desktop alert and screensaver messages

Recommended Reading:

You Can’t Not Communicate by David Grossman- It is a great intro to internal communication for leaders. Quick read with great stats to back the importance of communications and engagement.

What are you using or reading to help with internal communications?

 

Related Content

Webinar Recording: Making Internal Communication a Cultural Must-Have