How Internal Communication Apps Can Increase the Engagement of your Employees

21 Jul How Internal Communication Apps Can Increase the Engagement of your Employees

For team managers, one of the main day-to-day roles (other than ensuring project organisation and delivery) is keeping employees motivated and engaged in their work.

It’s no secret that employee disengagement comes at a cost, often causing absenteeism, low team morale and high staff turnover. As business leaders, it’s the responsibility of management to explore all the options when it comes to upping their team’s engagement levels.

In this blog post, we explain the ways that workforce engagement can be improved with internal communication apps. Read on to find out more.

Employee engagement—what’s the point?

At almost every meeting, yearly review and training day you’ll hear the word engagement mentioned at least once. It’s safe to say that employee engagement is up there with the top goals for every business, but why?

Employee engagement is something which is based on trust, commitment and communication between business leaders and employees. Done right, it can:

• Boost productivity
• Increase staff morale
• Reduce staff turnover
• Reduce absenteeism
• Increase brand advocacy

And much, much more which can positively impact an entire business. As such, keeping engagement levels up is critical to a company’s success. There are hundreds of employee engagement tools on the market, all offering something slightly different based on factors such as the particular area in need of development, the industry the business operates in and the team size.

So, what do internal communication apps bring to the table that is different from the other solutions available and how can they be used to increase staff engagement levels?

Internal communication apps

We’re living in a digital era, with an estimated 5 billion people worldwide owning a smartphone—a number which is only set to rise. With a huge proportion of the population in possession of a mobile device which can host app-based technology, it’s no surprise that there’s now an app for almost everything.

And one of those things is internal communications for business, otherwise known as an internal intranet app. These app-based solutions are growing in popularity with a range of workforce’s, from remote teams to office-based employees. Here are a few reasons why:

Anytime access

Unlike limited reach desktop-based programmes and old-fashioned notice boards, internal communication apps are housed on your personal mobile device and can be accessed by any user at any time.

This might seem like a small point to be making, but you’d be surprised about the difference it can have on user engagement. Think about it—if you had to be physically in the office to be able to access your internal communications platform, the only time you’re going to pay it any attention is when you’re at work, not much use if you are one of the 2.7 billion deskless workers (who may not even have access to a pc or laptop in their daily roles) that make up over 80% of the global workforce.

Having a convenient, simple-to-use app at your fingertips which employees can access with ease when they’re on the commute in, out in the field or on their lunch break encourages more frequent use, helps boost communication between colleagues and improves overall engagement levels.

More than just comms

Nowadays, these internally used business communication apps do more than just help teams to liaise on a one-to-one basis. With managers needing to reach anywhere from one to one thousand plus employees with messages and instructions quickly and efficiently, these platforms now offer multiple ways to do just that, but without falling into the trap of generic, unengaging “all staff” emails.

With built-in instant messaging, designated channels which can be used for targeted messaging to specific teams and projects, and quick to complete surveys that allow frequent and accurate temperature checks, internal communication apps offer a real-time view of your employees’ engagement.

Giving employees a voice

To be truly effective, communication needs to be two-way, but often managers slip into the habit of feeding information to employees and not hearing their thoughts, ideas or concerns. Keeping engagement high is all about attending to the specific needs of your team, and this isn’t something which can be a one-size-fits-all solution.

Mobile apps designed for internal communication give you and your employees the space needed to easily facilitate two-way conversations and keep the workforce engaged.

From more traditional instant chat groups where employees and managers can have their say to surveys which allow staff to voice their opinions, internal communication apps are levelling the playing field between managers and their teams, leading to a greater sense of staff empowerment and a boost in employee engagement levels.

About the author

This blog post was contributed by StaffConnect, a mobile employee app designed to give employees a voice and bridge the gap between deskless and office-based workers.