Email and phones have long been the primary sources of workplace communication. However, with the advent of employee communication apps, that is no longer the case. These apps provide a convenient and efficient way for employees to communicate with each other, regardless of location. In addition, employee communication apps allow for real-time collaboration on projects, which can be a key advantage in today’s fast-paced business world.
While email and phone communication are still important, employee communication apps are quickly becoming the new standard in workplace communication. If you’re looking for secure instant messaging apps for business, this blog will help you choose one that suits your needs.
The 7 Best Employee Communication Apps
AttendanceBot
AttendanceBot facilitates employee communication on your favorite platforms like Slack, Teams, and GChat in different ways:
Top Features
1. Time Off Workflows:
Employee communication apps facilitate streamlined communication between employees and managers. By eliminating long email threads, employee-manager communication becomes less time-consuming and more efficient. With multi-level approval features, employee communication apps enable managers to approve or reject requests with a single click. In addition, employee communication apps provide a platform for employee feedback and discussion, which can help managers identify areas for improvement. As a result, employee communication apps can play a vital role in improving employee-manager communication.
2. Company and Team Wide Announcements:
Employee communication apps help disseminate information quickly and efficiently. The ability for employees to see who is working and who is on leave helps with planning and collaboration. Additionally, the Attendancebot app sends a summary of everyone who will be on leave in the next week which helps with scheduling.
This feature is beneficial because it allows employees to plan their workweek around those who will be out of the office. employee communication apps are vital for cohesive workflows and AttendanceBot is one of the best on the market.
3. Shift Management:
AttendanceBot provides a lot of features that make it easy to manage employee communication. For example, you can use the app to create employee shift schedules, send notifications about changes in employee schedules, and track employee clock-in and clock-out times.
4. Employee Directory:
With AttendanceBot, businesses can easily keep track of employee contact information, performance metrics, and more. And with the @profile command, businesses can quickly and easily find out basic information about any employee in the company. This is a great way to get to know your coworkers and build stronger relationships within the company. And because the employee directory can be customized for each business, you can be sure that you’re seeing the most relevant information for your company.
5. Hybrid Work:
The modern workplace is constantly evolving. With more and more employees working remotely, it can be difficult to keep track of who is working from where. This is where Attendancebot comes in. With its hybrid work feature, employees can notify their manager about their work status and location, and company announcements can be made automatically. This way, you’ll always know who is working from where, and you can stay up-to-date on all the latest news from your company.
Pricing
- AttendanceBot offers a 14-day free trial
- Standard: $5/user/month or $4/user/month (billed annually)
- Pro: $7.5/user/month or $6/user/month (billed annually)
- Enterprise: $15/user/month or $12/user/month (billed annually)
Slack
Slack is a well-known business communication app. Many companies have turned to Slack in order to communicate better and more efficiently with team members. Its use has grown so much that it is possible to find apps that integrate with this program and allow you to do everything from creating a calendar, responding to marketing campaigns, or assigning tasks.
Top Features
Slack is one of the best employee communication apps used by millions of people globally to communicate effectively. It has several features that make it an indispensable tool for businesses, including real-time messaging, searchable history, and support for the creation of private channels with specific users.
As opposed to MS Teams, Slack has a casual atmosphere that would engage the employees rather than make them feel like they’re at work. It allows for gifs and images to be sent, which is great for communicating quickly without having to type out a long response.
The slack app has evolved into a complete communication solution for teams thanks to its flexibility:
- Messages can be sent individually or in groups.
- You can create public channels (where anyone in your company can see what’s being discussed) or private channels (where only certain people can join).
- Integration with other software such as Dropbox or Google Drive so that files shared on these third-party services are automatically posted within Slack.
Pricing
Slack offers the following plan:
- Freemium | $0
- Standard |$6.67 per user, per month
- Plus ($12.50 per user, per month)
- Enterprise Grid Plan
MS Teams
Employee communication apps have come a long way since the days of clunky emails and group chatrooms. The best employee communication apps are now intuitive and super simple to use.
Microsoft Teams is one such app designed to help you stay connected through chat and video calls with your coworkers. It also offers file sharing and customizable tools to let you create a workspace that fits your team’s needs (and not the other way around).
Additionally, Microsoft Teams integrates with some of the most popular work management apps on the market today, making it a great option if you’re looking for something that will save you time by bringing all your communications into one place.
Top Features
MS Teams is worth looking into if you’re already using Office 365 as it comes bundled with it. Its interface is similar to Slack’s, but its focus on threaded messages makes it better suited to large groups where there are often multiple conversations happening about the same topic. It also has excellent video calling features that integrate with Skype for Business.
With Microsoft Teams, you can:
- Send messages to your team members at any time,
- Organize conversations into channels and share files with one click.
- The app has cloud-based voice calling so team members can call each other with the click of a button, even if they’re not in the same room or country.
- The Notes feature allows users to take notes during meetings and refer to them later as required.
- You can also record meetings if required
If you’re looking for internal communications apps, Microsoft Teams is a great choice. The platform allows employees to communicate in groups and collaborate on projects through the use of channels.
Pricing
MS offers three paid plans:
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
$5.00user/month
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
$12.50 Microsoft 365 Business Standard $12.50user/month
Office 365 E3
New price $20.00$20.00 user/month
GChat
Google’s strong point is its interconnected ecosystem — especially when it comes to business. The same goes for Google Chat (formerly Hangouts Chat). It is one of the best employee communication apps for businesses that are already using Gmail as their email client.
If we talk about free employee communication apps, GChat is one option. It can be used at no cost for people who have google accounts, It’s a simple employee communication app and you don’t need any technical knowledge to use this tool.
Top Features
Google Chat is worth it if your team uses Google services like Docs and Sheets on a daily basis. It’s easy to switch between threads and conversations to chat with various teams or individuals. There are also integrations available with other Google services so that you can use them without leaving the app.
The best part about Google Chat is its ability to create shared rooms where multiple people can be added and have an open discussion on a particular topic or project. It also comes with bots that help make the workflow smoother by responding to commands and sharing information in the background.
Pricing
Starts at $6 per user per month
Discord
Today, businesses are more distributed than ever. Employees are scattered around the world and are increasingly working remotely. This creates a challenge for organizations wishing to foster collaboration, cooperation, and culture — all of which are much harder to cultivate within a remote workforce.
Enter Discord, the popular voice and text chat app designed for gamers. Discord has quickly emerged as the go-to communication tool for remote teams in need of a central hub to keep in touch while they work.
You might know Discord as a platform for gamers to chat with their friends while playing their favorite games. But the truth is that Discord can replace Slack for internal team communication. In fact, it’s already being used by hundreds of thousands of businesses around the world.
Top Features
Discord is packed with features that make it easy to talk to your team in real-time or store important conversations and files in one place. It also has voice chats and video calls built-in which makes it super easy to stay connected with your team members even if they’re not online at the same time as you are.
Discord also has an app marketplace where you can find apps and integrations to customize your server and make your life easier.
Pricing
- Discord is free with all its features. Users can pay for Nitro and unlock features like more custom emoji and bigger upload sizes.
WebEx
In the digital era, you need a platform that can support all types of communication. Webex is an intelligent staff communication app, for messaging and meetings.
Top Features
It offers a secure workspace where teams can communicate and share information. With built-in team messaging, persistent spaces, file sharing, whiteboarding, video meetings, content sharing, and integration with other tools, it has all the capabilities for effective communication in any type of work environment.
WebEx is perfect for groups of employees who work remotely. It’s also ideal for businesses that want to host large meetings or give presentations to clients.
The WebEx platform lets users share desktop screens with each other and collaborate on documents in real time. It also offers voice over IP (VOIP) teleconferencing, which means that users can talk directly over the computer, rather than using a traditional phone connection. This makes it easier for participants to dial in if they’re not located near a landline phone.
Pricing
The free version of the tool allows users to make one-on-one video calls and send unlimited messages to any user in the world. It also allows small groups to host video meetings with up to 50 people. The paid version starting at $13.5 offers advanced features such as screen sharing, file sharing, and more. It also offers enterprise security features such as end-to-end encryption and call locking when using shared devices.
Yammer
Yammer is a social networking service that allows employees to communicate and collaborate in a simple way. It’s very much like Facebook, but it’s only accessible by your employees.
Top Features
Why opt for Yammer? What features really make it stand out? Here are a few reasons why Yammer is a great employee communication app:
1) Easy Sign Up With the seamless integration with Microsoft Office 365, you simply need to click on the ‘Yammer’ icon on your Office 365 Dashboard. It automatically creates your account and fills in your personal and department details, so you can start sharing content instantly.
2) Interactive Interface The intuitive interface makes it easy for users to navigate around the system. The front page always displays your company’s news feed, so you’re always up-to-date with what’s happening in your organization. As soon as you start exploring the site, you’ll notice how simple yet effective everything is designed. For example, if you want to post a new update all you have to do is type it into the box on top of the news feed and click ‘Send’…it’s as simple as that!
The app lets you create public or private groups within your company, where you and your employees can share files and documents, have discussions about work and other topics, create polls, and more. Yammer also provides a central place for all of your team members’ contact information, as well as their bios.
Pricing
Yammer doesn’t offer a free plan and isn’t available for purchase outside of Office 365 Business Suite. So, you’ll need to buy one of the Office 365 plans to use Yammer:
- Basic Business Plan at USD$5.00/user/month
- Standard Business Plan at USD$12.50 /user/month
- Premium Business Plan at USD$20.00/user/month
When deciding on a software solution to handle employee communication, there are a few factors that you need to consider before deciding which one is best. The size of your company and the way it operates will play an important role in your decision-making process.
