What are the best practices for selecting an email platform for internal communication?

Be wary of optimizing for platforms > people when it comes to choosing any internal communications tool, email included. Oftentimes, as internal communicators, we inherit a toolbox that predates us. We want to set our teams up for success, so we naturally want them to have the best tools. In my personal experience, I've found the more effective route to getting better use out of a communication platform is to understand what's unpopular about the current platform to begin with and start with making adjustments there first. You might very well find that you simply have an adoption issue (how are people using the tool), not a platform issue (what tool should we use)!

Ensuring you can measure that your audience is reading what you are putting out. Not only does this give you a clear view of who is engaged, but it also enables you to change tactics in order to achieve cut through.

Percebo que definir os objetivos principais, como comunicar, o tom que quer se dar ao processo de comunica??o, forma e quais meios principais s?o de fundamental importancia. Mas antes de qualquer a??o: ou?a seu colaborador! Ele te dará respostas sobre a melhor forma de receber: e-mail, ferramentas como intranet ou canais como slack, WhatsApp ou outras redes sociais… o seu colaborador saberá te dizer exatamente como gostaria de receber a comunica??o. N?o reinventar a roda é um excelente princípio!

O passo número 1 antes de qualquer decis?o que envolva investimento financeiro é saber claramente qual o seu objetivo real com isso. N?o adianta investir em algo que n?o atenda plenamente suas necessidades, assim como n?o compensa gastar rios de dinheiro em algo que você n?o use nem metade do que oferece. Resumindo: tenha uma estratégia clara de comunica??o com metas e resultados esperados. Entenda o tamanho da sua necessidade e dê um passo de cada vez. Com isso em m?os fica mais fácil de comparar as op??es e fazer uma escolha adequada.

It's important to specifically choose an email platform built for internal communications. From there: do you want to have more engaging designs, better analytics, and/or better management of your employee emails? A dedicated tool like Workshop syncs with your HR data so you can always have up-to-date distribution lists, and provides multi-channel comms options via integrations with Slack, Sharepoint, etc. Other solutions that you may run into in a search to solve your internal email needs may require overcomplicated packages and bloated toolsets; they often require you to opt for their employee app or company intranet as well as email, and those platforms are traditionally very expensive and result in very little adoption/engagement.

A intranet promove um maior engajamento dos funcionários, ao oferecer um espa?o para intera??es mais ricas e colaborativas. Ela pode ser personalizada para refletir a cultura e os valores da empresa, refor?ando o senso de pertencimento e comunidade entre os funcionários. Além disso, recursos como enquetes e caixas de sugest?o incentivam a participa??o ativa e o feedback dos colaboradores.

Recognising the age group and preferences of your audience is crucial for effective internal communication. Younger corporate audiences typically prefer for concise, visually engaging content. 1. Opt for platforms that allow for brief, to-the-point messages. Incorporate engaging visuals, infographics, or concise text to convey information rapidly. 2. Ensure that the chosen platform is mobile-friendly. Younger professionals often engage with content on the go, making it essential for the platform to provide a seamless experience across various devices. 3. Personalised communication is more likely to resonate with younger professionals, who appreciate content that feels relevant to their specific roles and interests.

We regularly consume engaging and immersive internet content during our personal time, and there’s no rule that the experience shouldn’t continue in our work lives. Find a platform that supports that philosophy and a modern web-like experience. And if you’re handcuffed with Outlook, don’t be discouraged, make it awesome. Pictures are still worth a thousand words, and they cut through cultural and language barriers if you’re addressing a global audience. Use a meaningful image or graphic to support your message and bolster engagement and message recall. Why do we click on certain headlines? Don’t be boring, push the boundaries and find your sweet spot, somewhere between The Wall St. Journal and TMZ.

Three questions that you need to ask yourself here before you can make a suitable decision: 1. How big is your company? If you're an MNC the you might want to consider communication on a department, or even team level, rather than a single communication strategy. 2. What kind of person works for you? Are they tech-savvy enough to open and read more dynamic content? Or do they prefer simple emails with easy-to-click links? No judgement, but you've got to know. 3. How do your employees communication with each other? Do they hang out? Send DMs? What kind of connection are they looking for? What would be most useful for them to know about and how would they share it with each other?

EXPLORE! Jump into discovery mode before implementing anything new. Make sure you understand what's working, and more importantly what's not! Consider your entire audience. Identify your hard to reach employees, and areas where you're struggling to communicate, and have impact. Think about what you need to bridge the gaps, improve reach, and build new connections. Now you're ready to start thinking about platforms that will help to solve the problems you've identified, and can deliver better outcomes. Bonus Tip: Think ahead. Be future focused in your planning and approach. Things change quickly, and no doubt you'll need to be agile and flexible to continue meeting the needs of employees as things evolve. Solve tomorrow's problems too!

One time at work, we wanted to select between Zoho and Google Workspace for use by the employees of the organization. We considered the annual cost, the integration with our other systems such as marketing and campaign systems, and also the accessibility of the support channels After testing and sampling the employee feedback, we selected Zoho as it is being used for our Ads and campaigns. Also, I wanted Zoho, because it is an opportunity for the employees to be proficient with using another communications platform.

Now that you've got an idea of what you're doing and who you're targeting, it's time to look at the options. Currently, I use Google Workspace, but in the past I've been on Teams too. There are plenty of options out there. Key things to compare: 1. Versatility Which platform gives you the most versatile options that would best benefit your needs? 2. Budget Let's face it, if you can't pay for it, then you can't use it. Remember to take potential company growth into consideration here! 3. UX/UI Is your team going to have a hard time learning how to use the platform?

Once objectives are set and the audience is understood, comparing email platforms becomes crucial. Factors like cost, security, scalability, integration, customization, analytics, and support play a pivotal role. Utilizing a comparison matrix or scoring system can help in assessing each platform objectively. Moreover, testing platforms firsthand or seeking feedback from employees and peers provides invaluable insights for making an informed decision. By considering these aspects, we can ensure we select the most suitable email platform to meet our communication needs effectively.

Com uma intranet, a informa??o é organizada de maneira eficiente e acessível. Diferente do e-mail, onde informa??es importantes podem se perder em meio a um mar de mensagens, uma intranet mantém documentos, políticas da empresa e atualiza??es importantes em um local central e de fácil acesso. Isso n?o só melhora a eficiência operacional, mas também garante que todos os funcionários estejam informados e alinhados com os objetivos da empresa.

Para organizaciones peque?as que no tienen alto presupuesto podrían optar por correo electrónico que está al alcance de todos. De una manera se mantiene a los colaboradores en constante comunicación.

Today with the advanced technology and the enhanced professional social media platforms in the workplace, emails might not be the only best platform for communication. Viva engage (Yammer) has played a huge role in internal communication to engage more with the employees and stay updated about their latest news in a timely manner. Visual communication tools also have an essential role in internal communication. Some companies' portal pages have short videos where employees can engage with each other and post stories about their day, recognition moments, projects achievements and other relevant updates that might be of interest to other colleagues in the workplace.

Uma intranet proporciona um nível de seguran?a e conformidade superior em compara??o às ferramentas de e-mail. Ela permite um controle mais rigoroso sobre quem acessa determinadas informa??es, além de oferecer recursos avan?ados de prote??o de dados. Isso é especialmente importante em setores regulamentados, onde a manuten??o da confidencialidade das informa??es é crítica.

Just keep it simple, avoiding confusing options that slow down users. And don't be afraid to get a second opinion from your team!

It's nice to have a fancy platform that encourages interpersonal and more informal communication, however, many times employees are not open for new platforms - quite often, they feel a certain resistance to adopt new technology or simply "yet another" channel for communication. Frequently, employees are overwhelmed and confused by additional channels and many are not sure which one to use for what purpose. Some even refuse to adopt new channels and insist on being contacted only via the established means (quite often email). So, one of the most important considerations is use friendliness and the willingness to adopt a new channel/tool.

If possible, this entire process should be done with a team. Ideally, a mix of individuals representing different departments. This is the point in the process that needs from various departments are leaned into.

One thing I’ve found helpful is to test how the message will look like for end users in different browsers either on desktop or mobile. Our team is more than 33,000 in 20 countries, and for the message to be effective I pay attention to how it will appear to them in their device of choice. I found this little test to maximise the quality of our messages.

Por fim, uma intranet fornece ferramentas analíticas que permitem medir o engajamento e a eficácia da comunica??o interna. Isso possibilita que as empresas ajustem suas estratégias com base em dados concretos, melhorando continuamente a forma como se comunicam com seus funcionários. Em contraste, as ferramentas de disparo de e-mails oferecem poucas op??es para análise detalhada do engajamento.

Concordo com os tópicos, mas destaco 4 fatores essenciais: - Op??es "recursos e ferramentas " oferecidas. - Otimiza??o de tempo benefício dos recursos a disposi??o. - Espa?o em disco. - E o compartilharmento de dados entre os colaboradores através dos e-mails.

Feedbacks das pessoas que foram diretamente impactadas é IMPORTANTíSSIMO, portanto, coletar essas informa??es na fonte podem ser muito poderosas para definir melhorias que ainda ser?o necessárias e corrigir o que pode ser possível.

Optimizing the performance of your email communication is an ongoing process that goes beyond tracking metrics. Effective communication requires a culture of experimentation and learning. I recommend conducting regular reviews to find out what works and what can be improved, always being open to adjustments and innovations.

Don't forget to engage with your IT colleagues on this journey. Loop them in from the beginning, as there are a lot of back-end security settings that could impact the results of your analytics. Is your open rate truly 100% or is your security system pre-reading emails before they hit inboxes? A great IT partner can help answer that question and set your team up for success!

Mesmo com o surgimento de outras formas de comunica??o, como aplicativos de mensagens instantaneas e redes sociais corporativas, o e-mail ainda é uma ferramenta importante e relevante para a comunica??o nas empresas. O e-mail é amplamente utilizado em contextos formais, como comunica??es oficiais, colabora??o em projetos e troca de documentos importantes, o que mantém sua relevancia no ambiente de trabalho.

It’s important to engage other departments in your decision. Your IT department is crucial. But don’t forget your HR department as well. They can be an added value in your internal communication plan.

I believe integration of the email platform is key. What tools are employees already using internally and how will this integrate with them? And what additional communication tools may you need in the future and how do they integrate. The last thing employees need is another tool to forget their password for.

Keep it simple, so the solution actually helps and brings real value rather than just adding complexity to the pre-existing need thus creating a new problem, user experience regularly can provide a set of specific metrics and criteria that are useful through this process