Internal communication has never been so important. The current economic and social context, as well as widespread remote working, has created new challenges for companies, as they strive to maintain a link among employees, between managers and employees and between the organisation and employees.
Good internal communication serves a number of purposes, that all directly impact a company’s performance. Whether to promote engagement, motivate employees or maintain corporate culture with shared values, internal communication plays a key role in building employee loyalty and attracting new talent. In other words, it helps consolidate employer value proposition.
Today, many organisations are matrix-based and change frequently. A lot of content is generated by different parts of a company. Meanwhile, the current health crisis has created distance and managers have been forced to break down silos and favour a cross-functional approach, while remaining close to their operational teams.
There is a wide range of internal communication tools available, whether physical or digital. However, they should all respect be accessible, consistent/transparent, and participatory.
Read on to find out how internal chatbots are particularly effective in these 3 areas.
Accessible by nature
Chatbots can be accessed from any device – PC, laptop, tablet or mobile phone -, and via multiple channels – intranet web pages, apps, instant messaging, etc.
They can also be accessed anytime: chatbots are available 24/7.
Users can chat in their own language and conversational style. Bots don’t care about imperfections: spelling mistakes, abbreviations, a to-the-point or literary style, etc. They require very little user effort and meet digital accessibility standards (RGAA in France) for people with disabilities and can be vocal (voicebots). Their NLP, or natural language recognition engine, means that technology adapts to humans, and not the other way round.
Transparent and consistent
Chatbots provide answers for everyone, no matter their role, status, seniority or ranking within an organisation. They display the same eagerness for everyone – immediate answers!
And the same level of service: the same tone according to the personality you chose for your bot (formal or familiar, friendly or direct, serious or funny, via the pre-defined social base), the same answer and the same level of detail.
Participatory
Although chatbots are automated, they exchange with the user, unlike an intranet where users have to do their own research, or a newsletter. In fact, the questions asked by employees reveal their needs and concerns. Continually adapting the bot according to user questions is a great way to stay connected to employees.
Chatbots are also good for passing on information (via the welcome messages or main questions – Top 3 -), and they can continually adapt to current events or situations: announcing an annual convention, informing about a major development, reminding employees about an event, etc. Chatbots are particularly flexible tools, that can instantly relay company news. This flexibility is particularly useful during difficult periods. In fact, 83% of HR decision-makers and chatbot users reported that they were “even more useful during a crisis” (Chatbot Observatory – April 2020).
Support for managers
Companies are increasingly reliant on managers to pass on all kinds of information to their teams. But this can often add to their workload, in addition to their operational objectives, during rapidly changing times. Chatbots can support managers by answering recurring questions and communicating on any changes that may affect individuals or the organisation as a whole.
In comparison to traditional tools, chatbots are permanent, transparent, and supportive. They can become a key part of your internal communication strategy. You can make sure that it is relevant and adopted by employees, by involving a representative sample in its implementation.
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