As an Internal Communication consultant, I’ve seen exponential growth in iComms technology platforms that help organizations connect with their employees. From email enhancement platforms like Bananatag, Contact Monkey and Poppulo to integrated intranet and mobile app tools like Staffbase, Sparrow Mobile, Workplace by Facebook, Dynamic Signal and Social Chorus, these platforms allow for easy dissemination, targeted delivery, enhanced features like polling and the ability to measure engagement and activity. They are powerful tools in an internal communication professional’s toolbox.
The early adopters who made the investment and launched tools prior to our CovID19 Crisis, are definitely justifying their investments. Many organizations are seeing exponential downloads of the mobile apps and increased traffic and readership as they try to connect employees who are working from home or remotely during the crisis who now are waiting for updates amidst disruption.
Internal Communications professionals, without enhanced tools at their fingertips, are simply doing their best with what they have. The truth is, our present circumstances may be the perfect opportunity to make the case and create adoption of new platforms. Some companies are also making it easy by providing deep discounts, free options and quick implementations to help make communicating with staff and leaders easier.
Here’s a list of those organizations who have reached out to me:
Prohabits: Thrive Remotely (FREE)
Do your leaders and staff lack the skills to work efficiently from home? I’m a little excited about this tool and have been testing it myself. The free platform built specifically to support teams and individual during this CovID19 crisis, provide participants with a micro-action once per day to help them thrive during remote work.
Now more than ever, the micro-actions of leaders will create macro-impact on wellbeing and the mindset of teams across the globe. And it’s a bonus that it is available at no cost to you or your organization.
I’ve been fascinated by this organization’s philosophy of using the neuroscience of habits to turn strategies into behaviours. I think this would be an important test to observe what works and what doesn’t from a leadership perspective.
Just click here to register.
Vevox sits along your webinars and virtual town halls to make them more engaging. Vevox allows your staff to participate in live polls, surveys and Q&A. In fact, they are finding that their clients are using their Q&A for anonymous questions during the current situation.
Right now, they are offering six months of free access to the tool to my network.
Simply contact: neil.vanpiggelen@vevox.com
Sparrow Mobile is offering its mobile app license free for the next three months to help companies communicate with their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. Sparrow Mobile includes mobile apps, administration portal and analytics.
The only cost is a $5K implementation fee to setup and train the organization on the platform. At the end of three months, you can stop using the platform with no penalties.
This solution can be up and running in most organizations in two days. With the solution, you can:
- Share compliance posts/policies and associated reports
- Share mandatory posts
- Provide public posts that your employees can share in social media
- Secure site - invite channel only – for your leadership team or crisis management group
- Multi-lingual support
- Analytics around readership
- Centrally managed comments from a cloud based secure admin portal, and the
- Ability to communicate with any user in your organization (internal or external)
Just click here to talk to an expert.
Staffbase Now can get a mobile solution up and running for your employees in as little as three days. With quick delivery and waiving administration fees, your employees can download a branded news app onto their personal devices.
ContactMonkey is offering a 14-day free trial and competitive flexible pricing on their email newsletter solutions. They can help;
- Design. send and track employee newsletters
- Provide Same day implementation for sending employee newsletters from Outlook or Gmail
- Help to ensure that all messages are delivered as expected
I will continue to build this list as other companies contact me. I truly believe that if there was ever a chance to make a business case, it’s now. Tools will make your jobs easier.
Here are a few ways to work with Inner Strength Communication as well:
- Join our Coffee Chats for free: A group session takes place twice a week – Wednesday 9AM ET and Friday’s 12PM ET. These sessions are simply there to help you connect and get advice from me, other experts and fellow practitioners around the world.
- Mentoring and advice: We can help you with messaging, employee communication support and leadership advice. We’re happy to provide the first 60-minute conversation for free. Contact us at Priya.bates@innerstrengthcommunication.com.