Constant emails, never-ending meetings, and miscommunication can leave employees feeling overwhelmed and disconnected—whether you have a remote or an on-site workforce.
But what if there was a better way to communicate? That's where modern employee communication tools come into play.
In this article, we'll discuss some of the best internal communication tools for employee engagement and how they overcome the challenges that traditional communication methods face.
What are employee communication tools?
Employee communication software facilitates seamless communication within an organization, allowing employees to share information, collaborate on projects, and stay connected, whether they’re working remotely or on-site. Think of instant messaging, video calls, and company announcements, for example.
This wasn't always the norm. Historically, companies relied on emails, memos, and maybe even carrier pigeons. But those methods were slow and clunky. Modern employee communication tools make interactions faster, easier, and considerably more engaging. These tools are also more convenient and bring your team closer in a way that wasn’t possible before.
But an employee communication tool doesn’t refer to a single solution. There are several types of employee communication platforms, and each makes a difference in an organization in its own way.
Types of employee communication tools
There's a whole toolbox out there to enhance communication in a workspace. Some popular options include:
1. Asynchronous messaging apps
These apps are perfect for quick communication, immediate collaboration, and informal conversations.
Instant messaging apps like Slack and online screen recording platforms like Loom are perfect examples. These tools make team communication a breeze and create a more navigable digital workspace for individual team members. What works for one employee also works for your entire organization.
Take this scenario, for example: you've got something to explain to your team, but typing it out feels like writing a novel. Instead, you can record a quick Loom video and post it to your Slack channel to provide clear, visual explanations or updates without lengthy walls of text that get lost in the chat.
2. Employee intranets and social networks
Imagine a social networking site that’s just for your workspace.
Intranets are internal communication tools for sharing company news and celebrating achievements that fuel a sense of community and culture within the organization. You can also use them as virtual suggestion boxes. Examples include SharePoint, Yammer, and Workplace by Facebook.
3. Project management and collaboration tools
These internal communication tools are the powerhouses of teamwork. Platforms like Asana, Trello, and Airtable allow teams to assign tasks, track progress on shared objectives, and share files in one central location.
They also help you assign clear roles and responsibilities, set deadlines, and keep everyone informed about your internal strategy.
4. Video conferencing tools
Remember the days of expensive video conferencing equipment and complicated setup procedures? Thankfully, those are gone, too.
Now, you have video conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet to help you conduct virtual meetings, webinars, and face-to-face discussions with your teams. They’re especially helpful for ensuring seamless communication within distributed teams and remote workforces.
Where traditional communication methods fall short
Workplace communication is at the heart of any organization.
But with changing times, the ineffectiveness of traditional communication methods like company-wide emails and never-ending meetings are increasingly apparent. They encroach on your employees’ busy work schedules and often prevent them from entering the “deep work” zone.
Common challenges that remote and hybrid workspaces face include:
Feeling disconnected: Without water cooler chats and quick hallway discussions, remote employees feel isolated from their colleagues.
Information overload: Remote work means more emails and virtual meetings, even for little things, which might overwhelm employees.
Time zone differences: Communication across different time zones can lead to delayed responses and decision-making.
Miscommunication: Nonverbal cues can result in unwarranted misunderstandings.
Common challenges that on-site workspaces face include:
Endless meetings: A barrage of meetings can lead to exhaustion and may eat away at productivity.
Information asymmetry: Important updates might not reach everyone, creating confusion and frustration.
A one-size-fits-all approach: Not everyone learns or absorbs information in the same way, which might leave some employees feeling left behind.
With modern employee communication tools at your disposal, you can sidestep most of these challenges.
Take Loom, for example. Our modern screen recorder and instant video messaging platform bring new life and efficiency to your communication. Instead of relying on email threads to explain a simple concept, you can now record a Loom video of your screen while narrating the concept yourself via webcam.
Videos are async, so viewers can watch them anytime without disrupting their workflow. At the same time, facial expressions and tone of voice prevent the misunderstandings that plague text-based interactions.
The best employee communication methods for long-term impact
Provide transparent leadership communication
Employees feel more valued and trusted when companies inform them about their goals, challenges, and tough decisions.
For example, Salesforce's V2MOM (vision, values, methods, obstacles, and measures) process involves employees in setting and understanding company goals. This approach ensures that daily actions align with long-term goals while enhancing business transparency.
You can also use town hall meetings or newsletters to regularly communicate important updates and achievements with your employees. Then, follow up with a Loom video from the CEO or leadership team to reiterate key points and address potential concerns. This level of transparency builds trust and fuels a positive work environment.
Give employees regular feedback
Regular feedback is essential for maintaining open lines of communication between employees and management.
It’s not just about addressing performance issues, though. Here's how feedback empowers your team:
Growth mindset: Regular feedback helps employees see how their work aligns with company goals, motivating them to learn and grow.
Aligned efforts: Feedback ensures that individual contributions move the company forward.
Statistics back this up. When managers provide daily feedback, employees are 3.6 times more likely to feel motivated to excel in their work.
But remember, feedback isn’t supposed to focus solely on the negatives. Balance these with the positives by recognizing achievements while addressing growth areas and providing constructive feedback.
Loom offers a unique way to deliver this balanced feedback. Since you can record yourself and your screen simultaneously, Loom allows you to visually point out areas for improvement, which mimics an in-person conversation and ensures clarity.
Here’s an example of Loom’s former vice president of marketing sharing feedback with one of our designers on a few website updates:
Video feedback through Loom also reduces the likelihood of miscommunication, which is common in text-based interactions.
Offer training sessions
Remember that time you aced a new skill after a workshop? Training sessions are like that for your team—a chance to boost their knowledge and take on new challenges. These sessions also lead to better performance and productivity.
Here are some tips for offering training sessions for your employees:
Remember that training isn't one-size-fits-all: Assess whether your team needs to develop a specific skill set and create training sessions accordingly.
Set clear goals: Clearly define each training session’s objectives so your team understands the final outcomes.
Use appropriate communication tools: Don't just throw a textbook at your team and call it a day. Use a mix of presentations, interactive exercises, and even Loom videos to make your employee training sessions clear, concise, and engaging.
Remember to follow up after the training. You can send a Loom video that summarizes the key takeaways and gathers feedback from participants to improve future training sessions.
Celebrate wins, both big and small
People crave recognition. Don't wait for a promotion to acknowledge a job well done—use a company-wide chat platform to give shout-outs to employees who go the extra mile.
Record a quick Loom video from a satisfied client thanking a specific team for their amazing work. Public recognition motivates employees and reinforces positive behaviors.
Use a variety of communication tools
Everyone learns and absorbs information differently, so don't rely solely on emails. This is particularly true if you’re looking to improve collaboration in cross-functional teams, where diverse perspectives and skill sets require a more tailored communication strategy.
Mix things up. Use written reports for complex updates, Loom videos for explaining new processes, and infographics for key data points. Cater your communication style to the audience and the message.
Our favorite employee communication tools for easy, intuitive communication
1. Loom
Best for: Asynchronous video messaging with instant screen recording and sharing
Not everything has to turn into a virtual meeting. Meetings can be exhausting, and sometimes, they’re even a waste of time. In fact, statistics from Forbes’ State of Workplace Communication show that 60% of remote employees experience burnout due to a constant stream of digital communication.
Enter Loom—a new-age video communication platform designed to record your screen, camera, or both. It’s perfect for creating tutorials, presentations, and feedback videos.
For example, if you want to explain a simple feature or give quick feedback, you can record a video and send it to your employees via a shareable link.
Loom also automatically stores all your videos, allowing team members to refer back to them whenever necessary.
Key features:
Instant sharing: Use Auto Message Composer to craft the perfect share message and instantly share your videos with a link or embed them in emails, Slack messages, and more.
Interactive features: Viewers can react to your videos with emojis and leave time-stamped comments.
Integration: Loom integrates with other communication tools like Slack, Gmail, and Microsoft Teams, which enables you to easily incorporate Loom videos into your existing workflow.
Automation: Loom leverages AI to auto-generate video summaries, titles, chapters, tailored messages based on your videos, and calls to action.
With Loom, you don’t have to interrupt your team or encroach on their workday for what could have been a simple Loom video.
2. Pumble
Best for: Affordable instant messaging and collaboration
Pumble is an all-in-one team communication and collaboration app for modern workspaces. Some of its features include instant messaging, file sharing, message history, and video and audio calls from right inside the chat.
Key features:
Instant messaging: Pumble provides instant messaging for one-on-one and group conversations, allowing your team to communicate in real time.
Channels and threads: Pumble allows you to create channels and threads for specific topics or projects.
Video meetings: You can create meeting links and start video conferences with your team directly from Pumble. It also allows screen sharing and voice calls for effective collaboration.
Pumble is similar to Slack in that its features include channels, instant messaging, and audio and video calls. However, it's a more affordable option with fewer features and integrations.
3. Trello
Best for: Visual project management and task organization
Trello is a visual project management tool that simplifies task tracking and workspace collaboration.
It helps you keep your entire team in the loop by organizing projects into visual boards. Each board can have lists (such as to-do, in progress, and done) and cards for individual tasks. Cards can hold all sorts of information, like descriptions, attachments, deadlines, and comments.
Key features:
Collaboration: You can invite team members, assign tasks, and leave comments.
Labels and tags: Trello allows you to further prioritize and categorize tasks within boards by adding specific tags and labels.
Due dates and reminders: These features help you and your team meet deadlines and stay on track.
Integration: Trello offers native integrations with other major communication and business tools like Google Drive and Slack.
Think of Trello boards as your go-to place for handling every detail related to a particular task or project.
4. Figma
Best for: Remote teams working on test designs
Figma is a collaborative design tool for employee communication. It’s especially helpful for teams that are working on design-heavy projects or that need visual collaboration.
Key features:
Design collaboration: Your team can collaborate on designs in real time using whiteboards.
Prototyping: You can create interactive prototypes to visualize and test designs.
Vector graphics editing: Figma's vector graphics editing tools make it easy to create and edit high-quality designs.
Integrations: Figma integrates with other communication tools like Slack and Jira to help you collaborate more effectively.
Overall, Figma is perfect for teams looking to build and maintain design systems for better consistency across projects.
5. Guru
Guru is an AI-powered intranet and search engine for your workspace. This internal communication tool can serve as your company’s knowledge base or a central library for best practices, FAQs, how-to guides, and overall knowledge sharing. This allows your employees and clients to find answers on their own without having to ask you repetitive questions.
Key features:
AI-powered suggestions: Your viewers can receive AI-powered suggestions to help them find information more quickly.
Knowledge cards: Guru stores your information in bite-sized pieces so your clients and team can access what they need.
Integrations: Guru integrates with other employee communication tools like Slack and Google Workspace, which makes it easy to streamline workspace communication.
Guru is a great option if you want to create a centralized repository for storing and organizing everything related to your company.
6. Slack
Best for: Centralized team communication and collaboration with organized channels and real-time messaging
Imagine a digital water cooler where everyone can gather, chat, and collaborate—that's Slack in a nutshell. Slack is an instant messaging app for workspaces where you can create dedicated channels to organize communication by topic or team.
Need a space to brainstorm marketing ideas? There's a channel for that. Want a channel to share funny cat videos? Slack's got you covered.
Besides sending messages to a group in Slack channels, you can also message individual team members.
Key features:
Integrations: Slack supports native integrations with tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Zoom. Imagine collaborating on a document in real time while chatting with your team in Slack.
Push notifications: With push notifications for every message, you can rest assured that nothing will fall through the cracks.
Voice and video calls: You can make audio and video calls directly from Slack, which is helpful for quick meetings and catching up with your team.
File sharing: You can also share files, documents, and images within conversations.
All in all, Slack is a convenient communication platform for staying connected with your team.
7. Zoom
Best for: Synchronous video conferencing for meetings, calls, and presentations
Zoom is a go-to video conferencing platform for face-to-face virtual meetings that many organizations use. It can host up to 1,000 participants, which makes it suitable for businesses of all sizes.
Key features:
Screen sharing: You can share your screen while on a video call with your team and point out complex topics in real time.
Whiteboard: This feature allows you to draw, annotate, and highlight elements on your screen.
Breakout rooms: You can divide participants into smaller groups for focused discussions.
To keep your team engaged, you can also use interactive features like polls and the hand-raising feature.
Choosing the right employee communication tool for your workplace
Whether your team is remote, on-site, or a mix of both, you need to find a way to make communication within your workspace smooth, convenient, and seamless.
Now you have all the prominent employee communication tools for your workspace, from the asynchronous convenience of Loom and Slack’s organized collaboration to project management tools like Trello.
With its asynchronous video messages, Loom can be the game-changer your team needs to circumvent outdated communication methods. Enhance your team's communication with Loom and transition to a more engaged and connected workspace.