Why an Online Employee Directory is a Must Have for Your Business

Nowadays, everyone has a smartphone, which has become the most used tool in our day-to-day lives. With just the push of a button, we can connect with others like never before.

As a result of this technological advancement, 45% of Americans say that their phone is their most valuable possession. 

Well over a decade into the mobile revolution, we understand that there are still a few critical problems that prevent the smartphone from becoming the ideal solution for business. Problems include:

1. Employees must add, remove and update an employee contact whenever someone new joins the company, leaves the company, or changes their role or phone number.
2. Employees can’t find their contact information when they don’t know a coworker’s name. 
3. Employees keep all phone numbers and details of other employees even after leaving the company, which can be sensitive information you don’t want your employees retaining.
4. When a new employee joins the company, you want them to be up and running the same day instead of being bogged down with the manual entry of all his coworkers.

Many companies still try to tackle these problems with old methods like contact sheets, which are notoriously difficult to keep up to date. 

What’s the solution to the problems above?

An online employee directory app containing all employee contacts that’s easily searchable and updated in real-time.

What Are the Main Benefits of Using an Online Employee Directory Software?

• Employees can quickly and easily access any employee contact info from anywhere.
• The company directory is always up to date.
• Employees can easily do an advanced search by name, location, department, job title, or email.
• It’s secure, so when employees leave the company, they lose access to the employee phone list and all other details included in the directory.
• Only key information is shared, so you can prevent unwanted information from making its way into public records. 

Top 5 Advantages for Businesses That Use Online Employee Directory Software 

When you can put a face to a name, you are already closer to creating a better workplace relationship. Instead of having a paper directory or countless numbers on your phone (and not remembering who’s who), business directory software allows you to include photos, a biography, job title, location, department, and so on. This makes it simple to identify who’s who. A visual organizational chart mixed with a company directory creates a more human, social experience that encourages communication and connectivity.

When employees can source information themselves, they feel more empowered, and that helps boost employee engagement. Plus, company directory software makes it easier to quickly and easily find knowledge sources, data, and other departmental information without losing momentum by having to stop and ask others for contact information. 

When employees know how they fit in the company and the bigger picture, they can easily establish their identity and understand their purpose within the company. Using online employee directory software, you create a more personalized social channel that strengthens your company culture.

A company directory software is a great way to connect employees and make collaborating between teams or departments easier. For example, let’s say you want to set up a program to improve the onboarding process – with a company directory software, you can easily identify which coworkers have the relevant experience and knowledge to best help you organize your thoughts and achieve your goals. 

Whenever someone new joins the company, they are overwhelmed with all the new names and faces, and especially who is responsible for what. It can get embarrassing when you repeatedly ask a team member to help you remember who’s who. Using company directory software, you can reduce the risk of awkward encounters by putting a name to the face or vice-versa. All the new employee needs to do is check the organizational chart directory to know which employee is responsible for what, what their job title is, and so on, making onboarding a breeze.

There are so many benefits to using online employee directory software. We want to help you choose the right software for your company. Here we have listed the top three solutions in the market right now.

Top Online Employee Directory Software Solutions

Connecteam is an all-in-one employee app that is easy to use and has tons of features that makes team communication a piece of cake. If you have a large number of deskless employees, Connecteam is perfect for you.

Connecteam is beneficial for both managers and employees. Employees have access at their fingertips to an always-updated employee directory, where they can search for anyone by their name, birthday, location, job title, department, or any other information they add to their profile. They never have to manually add anyone’s phone number into their phone again, as everything is fully automated and updated. From within the employee directory, employees can call or message one another, send gifs, share forms, and send any other type of media. 

Managers benefit from never having to manually update the employee contact sheet ever again. Employees who work for your company will be active, and when they leave the company, their profile is deactivated. In addition, managers have full control over the information shared. If you don’t want every employee to access the CEO’s home phone number, you can hide that field (that goes for every employee and every field). 

In addition to adding employee contact information to the directory, you can also add third-party vendors, suppliers, and customers you frequently contact. 

Pros:

• Advanced search – quickly find who you’re looking for by searching via name, role, branch, department, location, birthday, or anything else in a user’s profile.
• Advanced settings – admins decide who appears in the directory and which profile attributes are visible.
• Chat – send in-app messages, make calls, send emails, or send text messages.
• Made for on-the-go – easily communicate directly from your mobile phone in seconds.
• Media sharing – send coworkers photos, gifs, documents, forms, and emojis. 
• So much more- Connecteam has more than just an employee phone list. It also has features like social posts, updates, surveys, a suggestion box, and more.

Price: For just $29/month, you can enjoy all the features that Connecteam offers. Or start with the free trial to test the waters.

If you have licenses for ALL your employees to Office 365, then Skype is a good solution for you as an online employee directory software. You can easily chat or call whoever you need via your mobile phone, desktop, or tablet. If you’re a high-tech company, Skype will work well for you.

Pros:

• Screen sharing – share whatever you need, such as presentations or photos.
• Record a call – you can always go back and listen to the critical information you may have missed or forgotten.
• Get a local number – you can pick a number in any country or region. This way, people not using skype can easily get a hold of you and your employees.

Price: When you’re calling a Skype user, it’s totally free. However, if you need to call landlines or mobile phones via Skype, it can cost around 2.3 cents per minute and has a 4.9-cent connection fee.

If you are an enterprise that uses SAP (systems, applications, and products) software, then this will be a good company directory software for your business.    

Pros:

• Decision-making – boost decision-making during a work emergency.
• Employee search – locate employee files and data from anywhere, even when offline. 

Price: In terms of price, you’ll need to request a demo to then be presented with a price quote.

The Bottom Line on Using Online Employee Directory Software

The most commonly used feature in your work phone is the directory. From government and state employees to small and large businesses, every employee needs to contact a coworker at one time or another. Online employee directory software allows you to do just that. It’s more than just an employee phone list; the software helps keep your company data secure while quickly getting you the needed information. 

Online employee directory software helps your team engage with one another, connect different departments, and allows new employees to quickly learn the company organizational chart.  

That’s why having easy-to-use employee directory software is crucial to your business.