Internal communication tools for small businesses

Effective communication between employees in every company is considered as the key to success, which is completely understandable. Caring for the relationship between the management and the teams through communication ensure that both sides are on the same page.

 Due to the fact that it is an all-day-ongoing process, it boosts teamwork and efficient delivery of the projects. Everyday operations and a lot of tasks can lead to misunderstanding, forgetting, or, simply, not hearing something important to you or to the person who transferred some info. If communication fails, it can be harmful to the management, employees, the client, or the whole company. A lot of different tools are now available on the market, for free as well as paid. These tools can be used as file-sharing tools, chat, and video conferencing tools, calendar, and planning tools, etc. 

Nowadays, all economies across the globe are facing a new way of working, already known as hybrid work. The hybrid work is considered as a flexible working structure when some employees are working from the office and some employees are working remotely. It is up to the employees to decide if they prefer to work from home or from the office. In these working conditions, it’s quite simple to conclude how important communication is. Working tasks should be planned, delegated, explained, brainstormed… Also, it is mandatory not to forget the human moment when all employees want to see someone for a small talk or need to be a part of the team meeting. Everything mentioned above is possible in terms of the hybrid work with, for example, clicking on “Join the Microsoft Teams meeting”. 

The most popular internal communication tools are listed below.

Microsoft Teams 

First, it keeps people connected with instant messaging. Groups of people who are currently working together on the project/department or in the team are called “Teams” and it is easy to manage and speak with all of them at the same time. Also, within each team or department, it is possible to create “The channel”, as the main spot of team communication. The difference between the channel and the teams is that the channel keeps conversations organized per, for example, topic or importance. It is important to mention that Microsoft Teams has video conferencing functionality where the host can host the meeting with an option to mute, remove attendees, and designate presenters. The “Calendar” section is very handy and helpful when it comes to organizing tasks, setting reminders, or scheduling meetings. There, all planned activities per date and time are listed, and, directly from there, it is possible to join Microsoft teams meeting. Teams is included in Microsoft 360 Business or Enterprise plans.

Infographic created by Team Bonding, an in person team building activities business

Zoom

 Zoom was popular before the pandemic hit the world, but now it is more widely used. The platform has almost the same functionalities as Teams, except organizing the conversations like on “the channel”. With Zoom, the user can call or receive the call from anywhere and on any device, chat, group chat, attach files, share screen, schedule meetings and RSVP to meeting invitations, record meetings… The video conferencing option is possible through “Zoom Meeting”. It is hosted using Zoom, but attendees can join with a webcam or phone. “Zoom Room” refers to the complete hardware setup – meeting room equipment, camera, microphone, which enables the company to host Zoom Meeting from the physical conference room.
Zoom lets anyone join the meeting without downloading any software. The sign-up is quite simple. The free version enables to host up to 100 people for a maximum of 40 minutes.

Slack

Slack, as a very popular tool, enables the user to chat with colleagues, participate in meetings, share files or track the project. The same as Microsoft Teams, Slack also lets the user create channels for some specific project, the group of people, the management team or for the other teams, in order to keep everyone updated and collaborative. Slack increases work efficiency because everything happens on one channel – the user does not need to switch the tabs. The user can follow all updates for the topic, project or the team, on dedicated channels. 

Google Drive

Google Drive, as a file-sharing platform, is a cloud storage service that enables the user to save, share or work on files. Since Google Drive is automatically integrated with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides it is possible to work with the team members together on one file or document.
Also, Google Drive has the “Shared Drive” option where team members can store, find, and access to the drive content. All content on the shared drive does not belong to one person, but to all team members.

SharePoint

SharePoint is a cloud-based service. It allows the users to create “sites”, for example per department. Sales site, Marketing site, Finance site… Depending on the document or file, it can be stored in the site (folder), so the users can easily find them. All permissions are manageable in terms of who has access to the files, who can add files, view files, or edit files. SharePoint is suitable for small businesses, but also fits the needs of big enterprises.

Collaboration tools are especially important to keep the team aligned, even if they are working remotely or from the office. Tools can simplify communication, task management, organizing meetings, and other processes. Internal tools ensure secure communication while keeping all confidential and bringing everything under one roof.