Employee communication software improves your internal communication and your bottom line. Here are our top picks for the best platforms currently available.
Any business needs to have a reliable, central way to communicate with their employees. Otherwise, you risk delays and miscommunications that cost time and money. It can be even harder to communicate properly with employees who may be spread across multiple job sites and shifts.
Employee communication software makes it easy to communicate with your staff, no matter where or when they’re working. With features like secure chat, employee directories, knowledge bases, and more, they help simplify and streamline your business’s internal communication so everyone can get more done.
In this article, we look at the 10 best employee communication software solutions in 2023 to help you choose the right one for your business.
If you don’t have the time to read through our research, jump down to our quick comparison table.
Our Top Picks
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Best all-in-one employee communication software
Learn more -
Good for building company culture
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Good for integrating communication with Microsoft Teams and Office
What to Look For in a Employee Communication Software
When choosing an employee communication platform, here are some features to consider.
- Instant messaging. Group and individual chats allow you to keep in touch with employees in real time during work hours.
- Knowledge base. This provides a central location to store and access key organizational documents like policies, forms, and your employee handbook.
- File sharing. Employees should also be able to send and share documents via the app. This is especially important for deskless workers who need an easy way to share documents while on a job.
- Employee directory. An employee directory lets employees quickly find who they are looking for and understand the organizational hierarchy.
- Surveys and polls. You can use these to canvas your employees’ opinions, building engagement.
- Newsletters. A regular company newsletter is a great way to keep your employees up to date and share news items. It can also provide a source of motivation and inspiration for your employees.
- Notifications. Push notifications ensure you and your employees never miss a message or essential update, such as a new hire or schedule change. At the same time, an app should let you disable notifications outside of work hours.
- Intuitive interface. Make sure the app has an easy-to-use interface that won’t present a steep learning curve for your employees.
- Mobile app. A mobile app like Connecteam’s ensures all your employees can access it, regardless of where they connect from.
- Integrations. Check whether the app integrates with other software you already use, like time tracking or scheduling tools. It’s even better if the software is part of an all-in-one solution like Connecteam, which features tools like scheduling, task tracking, reporting, and much more.
The 10 Best Employee Communication Softwares of 2023
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Connecteam — Best all-in-one employee communication software
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Connecteam is an all-in-one work management solution and powerful employee communication tool that makes internal communication quick and easy. This includes features such an intuitive chat, a knowledge base, an employee directory, and so much more.
These features centralize your internal communications, reducing the risk of miscommunication. Connecteam replaces the need for multiple communication platforms or devices and removes the need for email, making it an ideal solution for managing deskless teams.
Let’s look more closely at Connecteam’s standout features.
Stay in touch with group and one-on-one chats
Connecteam’s Chat makes it easy to stay in touch with your employees, wherever they are. Set up one-on-one and group chats to communicate with your team in real time and ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to a job or project.
Connecteam’s Smart Groups let you automatically add contacts to a specific chat group according to their characteristics, such as their position, department, time at the company, and many more.
Your employees can also organize their own conversations, pinning important ones or archiving past ones. This helps them easily keep track of relevant updates and information.
Connecteam’s Chat lets managers and supervisors create channels to broadcast one-way messages. This is ideal for sending out important updates or messages to the whole organization or team, as it stops them from getting lost in large group chats.
Read receipts make it easy for managers to see who has read messages and updates so you can follow up if needed. Send notifications to staff who haven’t yet read and confirmed an important update to ensure everybody’s on the same page.
You can also use the chat feature to easily send and share images, videos, or files.
Easily find and connect with employees
Connecteam’s Employee Directory ensures everyone on your team can quickly find the person they need and get in touch with them. This encourages collaboration and information sharing, improving internal communication.
Employee Directory is easy to use. Employees can find colleagues by name, department, job title, location, or email. Since details are stored in a central location, any updates to contact information are immediately available organization-wide.
Don’t want the contact information of certain people to be visible to the entire company? Set viewing permissions to fine-tune exactly which employees see what information. Once a member of your staff leaves the company, revoke their access to your directory with the tap of a button and keep your company data safe.
Key documents at your fingertips
Connecteam’s Knowledge Base lets you store important company documents that your employees have access to the information they need.
Rather than asking a manager for the information, employees can access the most up-to-date company documents themselves. As with the directory, once an employee leaves your company, you can revoke their access to information with the tap of a finger.
Find out what your employees want with surveys and polls
You can also conduct employee surveys and polls using Connecteam. These allow you to collect employee feedback or concerns when making organizational decisions. This demonstrates that you value your employees’ opinions and makes your employees feel included.
Create and promote employee events
Connecteam also lets you create and share team events in a few clicks. Whether it’s a birthday celebration or a safety inspection, you can easily provide your employees with important event details. This increases employee participation in events as well as overall engagement.
Integration with other app features
Connecteam is an ideal all-in-one solution for improving internal communication. The above features aren’t separate apps—they’re fully integrated with each other and the platforms’ other features.
For example, you can directly message employees from Connecteam’s time clock or schedule. This means you save valuable time and don’t have to jump back and forth between different apps to manage your staff.
Protect your information
Connecteam prioritizes information security. When an employee leaves your organization, they lose access to the platform.
Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
Connecteam is designed for busy managers. It’s intuitive and simple to use, with a clean interface that’s easy to get familiar with.
With a full-featured mobile app, employees can access Connecteam from any device, and it doesn’t require a corporate email to log in. This makes it ideal for companies with deskless employees, frontline workers, or seasonal workers.
Key Features
One-on-one and group chat
Employee directory
Knowledge base
Share surveys, polls, and events
Full-feature mobile app
Former employees lose access to the app
Pros
Fully integrated features rather than separate apps
Notifications so employees never miss an update
High-level chat organization features
Free plan
Cons
Additional integrations in development
Pricing
Starts at just $29/month for the first 30 users Free 14-day trial Free plan available
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Start your free trial -
Workvivo — Good for building company culture
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Workvivo encourages employee engagement through communication. A company can broadcast live streams, publish news articles that workers can comment on, and create podcasts. The platform’s activity feed works like social media, letting everyone post images, memes, comments, and shoutouts. Workvivo also features Spaces, small digital communities to connect people on a project or team members with common interests.
You do need to contact the company to get pricing. Another potential drawback of Workvivo is that it features many social elements, and the focus on social interaction can distract employees from work tasks.
Learn more about WorkvivoKey Features
- Company directory and organizational chart
- Events calendar for company meetings and celebrations
- Podcast to let teams learn about the company
- Push notifications for important messages
Pros
- Schedule posts
- Internal news articles employees can comment on
Cons
- You need to contact the company to get pricing
- The social element can be distracting
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No
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Staffbase — Good for integrating communication with Microsoft Teams and Office
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- Mac
Staffbase lets teams communicate through a business’s intranet software. The app features the Staffbase Experience Studio, where managers and other users can plan, build, schedule, and publish content for employees. They can then measure engagement with the messages and track responses to the content they’ve created.
Staffbase lets you send targeted email blasts and company newsletters. It also enables you to chat with teams or individual employees. Templates and design elements such as images are available to build content.
Learn more about StaffbaseKey Features
- Templates for publishing news articles
- Add design elements, such as images and color, to content
- Available to all employees, even without a company email address
- Users can search past messages and company news
Pros
- Integrates with other platforms
- Change how the app’s logo and colors appear to match your brand
Cons
- You need to contact the company to get a price quote
- Surveys are only included with the Business plan
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: Yes — 30-day Free Plan: No
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Workmates — Good for companies who want to create an employee recognition program
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Workmates is an employee communication platform that enables a company to send notifications, emails, and newsletters. You can send announcements and let workers react or comment on each company news article. Managers can see who has and hasn’t read a notification, so they can send a follow-up if an employee misses important information.
You can also separate employees into channels by projects or by department, organizing internal communication for each worker.
Employees can use Workmates to send each other virtual “kudos.” Each time a worker gets a kudo, they get points they can redeem for corporate gifts or gift cards.
Learn more about WorkmatesKey Features
- Content management system to store work files
- Polls and surveys to seek feedback from workers
- Employee directory and organizational chart
- Channels to organize content
Pros
- Create messaging campaigns for onboarding and other events
- Schedule messages for birthdays and other recurring events
Cons
- You need to contact the company for pricing
- No free option
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No
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PeopleOne — Good for teams already using Microsoft SharePoint
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
PeopleOne is a mobile intranet app, creating an internal network so your team members can connect. You can use this employee communications software solution to reach workers one-on-one, or send team-wide or all-company messages and notifications. Push notifications and alerts let you inform your team of anything important or urgent.
Designed to work with Microsoft SharePoint, PeopleOne lets you create discussion forms organized around roles or interests. Activity feeds keep teams aware of what’s going on at the company, while surveys and polls let you get feedback from your workers.
Learn more about PeopleOneKey Features
- Ability to create channels for different teams
- Works on Microsoft SharePoint
- Content management system to create and store communications
- Employees can contribute news articles for the team
Pros
- Easily search for team members to contact
- You can attach documents to communications
Cons
- Only available in English
- Pricing isn’t transparent unless you contact PeopleOne
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No
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Bee Keeper — Good for multilingual teams
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- Mac
BeeKeeper is an employee communication platform that allows companies to send messages to teams or individual workers. File sharing and document storage in the system lets managers refer to specific policies or the information needed for a project or task. They can also easily attach files to messages.
This employee communications software has a news stream that employees can access to see what’s new at the organization. BeeKeeper also features collaboration tools like voice messaging, chat, and in-app translations of chat texts.
Learn more about Bee KeeperKey Features
- Polls and surveys to gather employee feedback
- File sharing
- Daily virtual stand-up meetings
- Create video updates
Pros
- Inline translations of chats
- Chat with teams without sharing phone numbers
Cons
- Phone support only available at Professional and Enterprise tiers
- Standard plan has limited features
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No
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SnapComms — Good for in-person and remote teams
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
SnapComms is an employee communication platform that lets companies send messages and notifications to employees. You can classify messages as an emergency or priority, so they’re ready right away, or as social, for more casual communication.
The platform’s template library includes images and pre-written content for different types of messages. You can send videos, newsletters, desktop alerts, RSVP invitations to company events, surveys, and quizzes.
SnapComms is more geared for remote or in-person teams. It allows you to send messages to employee desktops and digital signs in the workplace, for example, which isn’t useful for deskless teams.
Learn more about SnapCommsKey Features
- Employees can see which messages are new and unread
- Over 60 templates for different messages
- Ticker communications scroll at the bottom of workers’ screens
- Video messages and text messages
Pros
- Create very visual messages and newsletters
- Lock-screen and on-screen messages for urgent communication
Cons
- Some features are for in-person or telecommuting workplaces
- Newsletters and surveys only available on the Engage Plan
Pricing
Starts at $40/year + $40/user Trial: Yes Free Plan: No
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LumApps — Good for multinational companies
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
LumApps is an employee communication and engagement platform that integrates with other programs. You can send messages to individuals, people with specific roles, or even to workers in specific regions of the world.
LumApps’ Campaigns feature lets companies create scheduled messages. For example, if a team is leaving for a company retreat, Campaigns enables managers to set up automated reminders about passports and travel dates.
The employee directory lets you find team members by skills, location, names, or roles. You can also use the search toolbar to look for messages, news, and communications in the app.
Learn more about LumAppsKey Features
- Communities for employees to discuss projects or interests
- One-on-one and team discussions
- Monitor which messages employees engage with
- Check to see which communications are read
Pros
- Video meetings
- Available in six languages
Cons
- Designed for remote and hybrid work, not deskless workers
- No free version available
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No
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Blink — Good for workplaces that want a social-media-style communications system
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- Mac
Blink is an internal communication software that lets you send updates, forms, timetables, and files to employees or teams. You can start conversations with workers in chat or set up meetings through integrations with Zoom and other meeting software.
Users can highlight messages they want to read later. You can add employees to channels that are specific to teams or projects. Blink’s software even enables employees to share their location with their coworkers. Plus, managers can mark messages as “must reads” to confirm that the appropriate people see important communications.
Learn more about BlinkKey Features
- GIFs and emojis to create a social-media-style experience
- A news feed for sharing company information
- Users can choose to receive only important notifications
- Employee surveys
Pros
- Priority messages stay open until they’re read
- Get analytics on every post to measure how your notices are received
Cons
- Digital forms not available on the essential plan
- News feed can become distracting
Pricing
Starts at $3.40/user/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: No
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Happeo — Good for larger companies with multiple departments
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
- Mac
Happeo is an employee communication app that allows companies to combine information from multiple sources into one hub. Workers log into Happeo and see schedules, forms, company updates, and more.
The system lets employees and teams communicate with instant messaging and notifications. You can set up news channels so workers in specific roles or on specific teams and projects can chat and communicate through one news feed.
Happeo also lets workers search across multiple integrated platforms. Employees can look for a specific piece of information in Slack, Google, and other platforms with one search from within Happeo.
Learn more about HappeoKey Features
- Can include links, videos, images, and files within messages
- Multiple channels help manage communication flow
- Analytics show whether a message was read
- Searchable company directory
Pros
- Messages can be drafted and reviewed internally before sharing
- Permissions settings control who sees what news
Cons
- The app’s focus on collaboration isn’t best for desktop teams
- Multiple paid add-ons and no free plan
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: No Free Plan: No
Compare the Best Employee Communication Softwares
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| Pricing |
Starts at just $29/month for the first 30 users
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Contact vendor for price
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Contact vendor for price
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Contact vendor for price
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Starts at $40/year + $40/user
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Starts at $3.40/user/month
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| Free Trial |
yes
14-day
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What is Employee Communication Software?
Employee communication software helps your team engage and share important information and updates on the go. It’s especially important for deskless teams, since it gives companies a central, virtual space to stay in touch.
Employee communication platforms are designed to be one-stop platforms that replace email, social media chat, and other options. Instead, employees can log into one internal comms platform to get push notifications, chat with coworkers, and get company information. Part of an employee communication strategy, apps help ensure no important news slips through the cracks.
How Does Employee Communication Software Work?
Communication platforms for employees work by providing one secure place for organizations to chat and share information. These internal communication tools may include features such as:
- Real-time notifications to alert employees of important and urgent information.
- A news or activity feed, listing information such as new hires or policy changes.
- Newsletters to regularly update teams about company news.
- Scheduled notifications, so a new hire, for example, can be guided through onboarding with a series of messages containing the information they need to know.
- Individual and group chats.
- Video and voice messaging options, which leadership can use for big announcements.
- Analytics, so managers can see whether employees have read important messages.
Together, these features can help companies build a communication strategy that gets the right information to workers at the right time. This type of communication can be especially important for deskless teams, who rely mostly on digital communication.
The Benefits of Employee Communication Software
Employee communication software is essential to productivity. It ensures your employees have access to the information they need when they need it. For example, an employee could message a manager and ask how much leave they’re entitled to. Or, they could use employee communication software to access the company’s leave policy in its knowledge center.
Making internal communication easier increases efficiency, avoiding wasted time due to miscommunication. It provides a central platform that allows for real-time communication without the need for employees to be in the same place. This is especially useful for deskless workers based across various job sites.
For example, if there’s a safety incident at a work site, an employee can report it immediately through an internal communication app. Their supervisor can respond right away and provide any necessary instructions, even if they’re in a different location.
An employee communication app encourages open communication and collaboration in the workplace. It gives employees immediate access to their colleagues and management. In turn, this builds better workplace relationships.
Connected employees are more engaged employees. And higher employee engagement has a direct effect on your bottom line.
Communication is also key to a positive company culture. Providing employees with a way to share updates, events, and surveys helps build your company culture.
How Much Does Employee Communication Software Cost?
Some employee communication tools are priced per month, based on the number of users and the features an organization needs. One of the drawbacks with other employee communication platforms is that pricing is only available upon request.
This lack of transparency can make it hard to compare platforms to choose an employee communication app. Many employee communication platforms also don’t include a free trial or a free plan.
Connecteam is the best all-in-one employee communications software partly because of its affordability. Not only does the platform offer HR, communications, and operations tools that add value, but it’s also transparent about pricing. Connecteam’s Small Business Plan is free for life for teams of up to ten people. Paid tiers start at just $29/month for the first 30 users and $0.50 per month for every additional user.
FAQs
What is an employee communication program?
An employee communication program encourages employee engagement and improves the employee experience. It’s a form of communication that allows companies and workers to share news and get the information they need to do their jobs.
What are the different types of workplace communication?
In some workplaces, workers communicate through in-person communication, body language, phone, and written communication like emails. Deskless workers rely on text, video, voice messages, and visual information such as images or emojis to communicate.
What is the most used form of communication in the workplace?
Many people still use phone calls and emails, but private messaging, texts, and video are becoming the most common options for effective communication.
The Bottom Line On Employee Communication Software
Employee communication software lets companies reduce phone calls and lengthy emails and instead use more effective ways to stay in touch. Sharing information through employee communication apps is secure and allows deskless workers to access their workplace from any mobile device.
Connecteam is the best all-in-one employee communication app and so much more. It allows you to chat securely with individuals or teams without sharing contact information.
Easily send and exchange files, checklists, images, and more. You can hold team meetings and send push notifications to your frontline staff quickly. Connecteam even enables you to set up custom video training for onboarding or for skill updates.