The management of internal communication in organisations has gone through different stages in terms of technology. If at first companies focused on information intranets, shortly afterwards, environments designed to self-manage basic functions of the relationship with Human Resources, such as holiday requests or the management of sick leave and training courses, became available. This was followed by internal social networks, which sought to foster communication between the company’s professionals. This gave way, some time later, to internal communication platforms, which combine the best of each of the previous models. But why should we consider implementing such a solution? We are going to give you five reasons why.
What is an internal communication platform?
Before looking at the first, it is important to specify what an internal communication platform is today. A tool of this type is a cloud-based environment that concentrates, in a personalised portal, various informative, operational and relational functionalities. The former have to do with the dissemination of news of interest about the company; the latter, with management tasks or the development of the user as a professional; the third, with the interrelation with colleagues in the organisation, regardless of whether they are in the same physical location or in a different one. This is what happens in the case of decentralised entities or multinationals.
Este tipo de soluciones, por lo tanto, tiene especial sentido en compañías con un volumen suficiente de empleados y, por lo tanto, con unos requerimientos particulares sobre lo que es y lo que aporta la comunicación para sus miembros. Una micro pyme podrá sacar poco partido a estos entornos si buena parte de sus funciones pueden llegar a cubrirse de manera directa, es decir, cara a cara.
Now, on to the five promised reasons:
1. Simplify corporate communication
An internal communication platform is, in the end, a node where functions are concentrated that, in most cases, are distributed among specific and specialised tools. For those who manage it, it is similar to having a single control panel for publishing news, registering dynamic formats or managing content repositories. For the user, it becomes a single point of access that can be used not only from a computer, but also from a mobile phone. Most dedicated platforms have a mobile version and, if they are provided by solid and reliable providers, they are constantly updated to correct errors, incorporate improvements and new functions, and connect with a greater number of third-party applications with which synergies can be established.
2. Increase possibilities for interaction between employees.
The great interest in corporate social networks was, at the time, to establish ways of connecting employees in the hope that a better flow of information would improve internal knowledge. Over time, some of the assumptions surrounding corporate social networks proved to be incorrect, to say the least. They were not used in the same way as conventional social networks, nor was there an explosion of postings and interrelationships. As with the popular networks we know, there was a tendency for a few to monopolise the generation of content, while the rest became mere spectators. Internal communication platforms do not seek to generate parallel networks of contacts, but they do open up similar channels of communication through interest groups or through the publication of reactions to shared news. Without the pressure to bring such environments to life, these platforms prove to be more effective and realistic in achieving the desired engagement.
3. Optimise content consumption
An internal communication platform represents more than an information panel or an event timeline. It is a living repository of content in which formats are not an obstacle, but a way to enrich the user experience. The consequence is that they facilitate the activation of tactics to increase the consumption of content and extend its useful life.
4. Experiment with new communication formats
It is not only about the text-video dichotomy. We can also insert audio pieces, podcasts, multimedia elements, rich-media surveys, animated infographics… An internal communication platform must also evolve at the same pace as the content contexts, so that the experiences generated will be progressively bigger and better.
5. Detailed statistics
This is something that I think is critical. If you have a complete environment where all the company-employee interactions take place, you should also have a control panel from which you can see the figures of those interactions: How many people connect frequently? Who interacts? Which contents are more effective? Which are less effective? How many reproductions are achieved? At what time and on what day of the week is the consumption of content higher? All this will help us to apply a strategy with clear objectives, to correct where necessary and to reinforce what works. Demand that your internal communication platform provides you with as much information as possible.
So, do you need more reasons to professionalise content management for your employees? If not, it is time to analyse which tools and technologies will best suit your needs.
