Taking your company to the next level relies a lot on people being on the same page. This is especially true during transition periods, when major updates happen so frequently. It also keeps your employees from feeling out of the loop, in addition to helping maintain healthy employee engagement. This is why you need effective tools to keep your workforce updated as soon as possible and as frequently as possible.

Keeping employees updated is all about properly relaying information. We came up with a list of useful tools that you can use to disseminate updates quickly and effectively:

 

  1. Mobile Communication App

While not everyone has a laptop they can bring at all times, almost anyone has at least a smartphone or two to check on stuff every now and then. This makes internal communication apps a great alternative to slow email announcements that may even be left unread until the update is no longer relevant.Great company communication apps also have some of the other tools mentioned in this list integrated into them as extra features. A good example is the Beekeeper app, since it provides both real-time and normal messaging functions,as well as other communication essentials.

 

  1. Company Blog

A company blog is the perfect way to announce changes in your company, as long as you frequently keep it updated. Updates that go on the company blog don’t always have to be about your products and services; you can also include updates on company-sponsored events, parties, and other activities.

You also don’t have to update the company blog every single day. You can have announcements about once every week, unless you have immediate matters to communicate to the blog’s followers. Fortunately, most blogs today are easily accessible via smartphone, so anyone with authorized access to your blog can keep themselves updated as long as they have internet access.

 

  1. Scheduled Meetings

Having regularly scheduled meetings allows you to create a more personal approach to keeping your employees updated. You have two main options: schedule conventional meetings in person, or use internal communication channels to hold video conferences that even non-desktop employees can participate in..

Keep in mind that you have to be careful when scheduling meetings.Holding too many meetings may keep your employees in the loop, but they also use up more time that your employees can better spend working.

 

  1. File Repository

Sometimes, employees would want to know more details about certain updates that they might have missed during the initial announcement. Instead of having to repeat yourself again, you can just set up a file repository where employees can access files containing info for certain projects.

A file repository does more than keeping detailed information; it can also be used to host certain documents such as leave form templates or company calendars that employees can download anytime, either through their mobile app or on their computer.

 

  1. Social Media Page

Most people today spend a lot of time on social media, so why not take advantage of it by setting up a dedicated company group or page? Company-related updates will pop up along with other social media updates when your employees are browsing their devices during their free time, so anything you post on your page will be highly visible to those subscribed to your channel. You can either set up a private group or a public page designated specifically for your employees.

By making sure your employees are always in the loop, you can expect better coordination between departments and management. Using these tools are crucial to achieving more efficient operations and more potential for company growth.

 

By Chakraborty

Dr Chakrabarty is the Chief Innovation Officer of IntuiComp TeraScience. Earlier she was Assistant Professor of Delhi University, a QS ranked university in India. Before that she has held research positions in IIT Mumbai, IIT Chennai and IISc Bangalore. She holds 2 patents and over 20 research publications in her name which are highly cited. Her area of research is in smart technologies, integrated devices and communications. She also has a penchant for blogging and is an editor of Business Fundas.