When you’re looking for an employee engagement app, it’s remarkably easy to focus on the advanced features and overlook the fundamental function of providing an easy way for employees to access company information.
The company intranet
For those of us whose working lives started last century, the company intranet was THE place to log into for all business-related information, from employee directories and Health and Safety information, to detailed policies and procedures. We might even still have original bulky printed training or induction manuals ageing gracefully on our office shelves as well.
Equally, there was probably a section of the internal intranet devoted to the logistics of HR, including benefits information, access to payslips and a holiday calendar. There might have also been a job board advertising internal positions. Our intranet did an OK job, but it was probably never designed to be accessed on the move via mobile devices
Read Does Your Workforce BYOD (Bring Your own Device)?
How many apps does a business need?
In the rush to provide highly targeted employee apps that excel at a specific task, and work on a variety of devices, many of the fundamental functions of the intranet have been excluded by app developers. As a result, businesses may need to operate two or three separate apps to replace the most simple functions their original intranet, let alone all the advanced features that their intranet never provided.
This should simply not be necessary if your employee app is designed as a single access point for multiple channels of information. With this functionality, you can provide employees with all the information they require, from in-depth documents to short training videos. It’s all there ready to access via their own dashboard, in the palm of their hand.
Crystal clear information
To work effectively, however, a multi-function app must make it crystal clear how employees can access any type of information they need. This clarity of access is always top of the agenda for our app developers here at Talkfreely. We spend hours on end testing the clearest, most transparent ways to allow your employees to find the information they want, quickly and easily.
Equally, we spend considerable time ensuring it’s easy for you to upload all types of information into the Talkfreely app, and to categorise it as you wish. Our aim is simple, to make Talkfreely the only communications app you need, and the simplest to use.
Up to date, accessible and secure
Once these fundamental features are in place, you can be sure that all employees have access to the standard information they might require, day in, day out. You can keep it updated with ease, alert employees to important revisions and updates, and allow anyone within the business to visit this central knowledge base anytime they wish, regardless of location, time zone, desktop or mobile device.
Since information is held securely in the cloud, there is no need to invest in new software, infrastructure, security protocols or servers. Everyone in the company simply downloads our lightweight, customisable app onto their device(s), logs in and starts to work; no complicated transitions, no compatibility issues, no steep learning curve.
Read Internal Communication: Employee Intranet or Employee App?
And there’s more
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at the ways a comprehensive communications and employee app like Talkfreely can help your business better engage with employees through:
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Company Information
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Internal Comms
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Employee Feedback
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Employee Engagement
and more.
Employee communication apps: evolution in action
Many managers will say that the intranet is dead, but we say it’s evolving - with a little help from Talkfreely. If you’re struggling to find an app that combines simplicity of use with in-depth information, try Talkfreely - click here to sign up for a free trial. (No download necessary - we just need a couple of details to set you up, and send you a secure log-in.)
Topics:
Internal Communications
