Comparison of Internal Communication Tools:
Which One to Choose for Your Business?

Internal communication is one of the pillars of a company. Communication actions aimed at employees (downward communication), interactions between employees (cross-functional communication), and gathering feedback from teams (upward communication) all contribute to improving your organization's performance. According to a 2023 study conducted by Harris Poll for Grammarly, 72% of executives believe that effective internal communication increases team productivity.

Why? Because good internal communication strengthens company culture, enhances employee engagement, improves internal collaboration, facilitates the onboarding of new employees, and streamlines crisis communication management. Conversely, a lack of internal communication can negatively impact employee performance, as they waste hours searching for the information they need to work efficiently. It also harms internal cohesion and can even lead to conflicts between employees.

With the ongoing digital transformation of businesses, various digital solutions have emerged to boost internal communication within organizations. Social intranets, collaborative platforms, project management tools, and enterprise social networks (ESNs) all offer potential solutions. So, which internal communication tool should you choose for your organization? In this article, Mozzaïk explores the topic in depth. Enjoy your reading.

The Best Internal Communication Tools for Businesses

Collaborative platforms, corporate intranets, project management software, and internal social networks are the four main types of digital tools designed to facilitate internal communication within organizations. These solutions address different needs, so it's essential to choose the ones that best meet your company's requirements. Here is an overview of the best internal communication tools available.

The Best Collaborative Platforms to Optimize Internal Communication

Collaborative work platforms are digital workspaces that centralize the information and communication channels employees need to work as a team. These tools improve the employee experience while boosting both individual and collective productivity. They allow employees to seamlessly navigate between different conversations and resources, ultimately saving time and increasing workplace comfort.

Today, the best collaborative platform, the ones we believe deserve your attention, are:

Microsoft Teams, the internal communication platform included in the Microsoft 365 suite. It combines instant messaging, video conferencing, and voice calling. With Teams, a department or project team can create communication channels to organize discussions, share files in real time via OneDrive, and collaborate on Word or Excel documents without leaving the application. In short, Teams is an internal communication tool that seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft ecosystem software and centralizes interactions to boost employee productivity.

Slack, another collaborative communication platform that includes chat, audio and video calls, and file-sharing features. It integrates with other tools such as Trello and Google Drive, allowing employees to collaborate without leaving the interface. Similar to Teams, Slack enables conversations to be organized into different communication channels, making internal communication more structured and readable.

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Google Chat, the collaborative communication tool in Google's suite. Like the previous platforms, this solution allows employees to communicate easily via instant messages, audio, or video calls. On Google Chat, employees can also send files, mention colleagues, or use emojis to react to messages. Once again, interactions can be structured into different communication channels to clarify exchanges. Naturally, Google Chat integrates seamlessly with other Google suite tools such as Calendar, Google Drive, and Google Gemini, Google's AI assistant.

The Best Corporate Intranets to Centralize Information and Streamline Internal Communication

A corporate intranet is a private IT network accessible only to a company’s employees. This solution is typically used to store and share internal information easily. It allows teams to access their documents from anywhere and edit them either simultaneously or asynchronously. Even better, a modern corporate intranet brings together all the applications, tools, communication channels, and resources that employees use daily to interact, stay informed, and work all within a single interface. The result is a true Digital Workplace that offers a seamless and fluid user experience, ensuring optimal productivity.

According to us, the four best intranet solutions that businesses should seriously consider are:

SharePoint, the Microsoft 365 suite tool designed to create intranets, team sites, and communication sites. SharePoint enables companies to share internal information with employees securely and efficiently. With this solution, employees can store and share documents in an organized way and co-edit them in real time. Fully integrated with other Microsoft tools (Teams, Outlook, Power Automate, etc.), SharePoint is also used to automate workflows. Ultimately, SharePoint centralizes information, facilitates its flow, and enhances internal collaboration. However, SharePoint has some limitations in terms of design and user experience. Without native extensions or specific developments, it alone is not enough to provide a truly modern and engaging corporate intranet. It serves as a solid, secure foundation perfectly integrated into your work environment, on which advanced communication and collaboration features should be added.

Mozzaik365, a natural extension of Microsoft SharePoint, enhances internal communication, collaboration, and knowledge management within a SharePoint intranet, creating a fully functional and seamless interface. With Mozzaik365, companies can target internal communications to specific employee groups, organize internal information using a tagging system, aggregate social media feeds to boost employee advocacy, create email campaigns with the Newsletter feature, and design visually appealing intranet pages. The AI-powered content creation assistant helps internal experts easily share their knowledge. Fully integrated with Microsoft 365 applications (SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, etc.), Mozzaik365 centralizes all the tools and conversations employees need to work productively and comfortably, whether on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

LumApps, a collaborative experience platform designed to improve internal communication, knowledge sharing, and employee engagement. LumApps enables businesses to create collaborative intranets that centralize information, conversations, and the software employees use daily. LumApps integrates with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 suites, as well as applications like Slack and Salesforce.

Staffbase, a communication and employee engagement platform integrated with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other applications. Staffbase allows organizations to create personalized intranets where employees see relevant news, links, and pages. Staffbase also features an AI-powered content creation tool that helps communication teams craft effective messages for employees. Finally, with its mobile intranet application, Staffbase is particularly well-suited for frontline workers, facilitating communication with employees who work in the field.

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The Best Project Management and Internal Communication Tools to Facilitate Teamwork

As the name suggests, a project management software is a digital tool specifically designed to help teams organize, oversee, and successfully execute their projects. These solutions allow teams to plan, assign, automate, and track tasks collaboratively, allocate resources, and monitor project progress using performance indicators (KPIs).

According to us, the best project management and internal communication tools on the market are:

Asana, an AI-powered project management platform that enhances communication and collaboration, helping employees and leaders achieve their goals more efficiently. Asana’s key features include task creation, responsibility assignment, priority setting, and deadline tracking through calendars. It also enables project teams to create workflows to optimize productivity. Available across multiple devices, Asana integrates with various tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams.

Trello, a project management tool based on the Kanban method. Trello is a highly visual solution that uses boards, cards, and lists to help teams organize tasks and collaborate efficiently. With Trello, users can set reminders, share attachments, create checklists, and automate processes to streamline teamwork. Ultimately, Trello enhances internal communication by providing clear visibility into each team member’s responsibilities, priorities, and project progress. Naturally, Trello integrates with numerous software solutions like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Monday.com, a project management platform that provides teams and leaders with full visibility over their projects. Monday.com offers different visualization tools such as Gantt charts, Kanban boards, calendars, and timelines. This solution also allows users to automate processes (approvals, reminders, etc.), saving valuable time. Finally, Monday.com synchronizes with various applications (Zoom, Slack, Teams, etc.), facilitating seamless communication among project team members.

The Best Enterprise Social Networks to Boost Internal Interactions and Strengthen Team Cohesion

An Enterprise Social Network (ESN) is a private social network, similar to Facebook or LinkedIn but exclusively for employees within a company. This type of internal social platform allows employees to interact and network in a more informal manner compared to collaborative platforms. It also simplifies access to internal information, which can be shared and highlighted on a personalized news feed. Ultimately, an ESN enhances corporate culture, strengthens team cohesion, and boosts employee engagement.

Among the best enterprise social networks, three stand out:

Viva Engage, an internal communication platform developed by Microsoft and integrated into Microsoft 365 and the Microsoft Viva employee experience platform. This solution replaces the Yammer enterprise social network. Viva Engage enables employees to build relationships and share knowledge easily with colleagues, fostering a strong sense of belonging and company culture. Employees can engage in discussions, join communities, share stories, and ask questions to receive insights from internal experts. The AI assistant Copilot supports content creation on Viva Engage and helps users find relevant information or contacts. Additionally, the internal communication team can use Viva Engage to launch targeted campaigns and analyze their impact.

Happeo, a platform designed to centralize all the information and tools employees need to work effectively and stay engaged. Happeo features a powerful search engine for quickly finding relevant information, employee profiles to foster connections, and communication channels where employees can discuss projects or common interests, share posts, links, and documents, and engage with targeted content. Happeo integrates with a wide range of applications, including Slack, Gmail, and OneDrive.

Jive, an employee engagement platform that includes an enterprise social network designed to connect employees across different locations through networking features. Jive offers social functionalities such as discussions, status updates, comments, mentions, and follow features. Employees also benefit from a personalized activity feed that displays only relevant information. Additionally, Jive includes an AI assistant to help users access the right information quickly and integrates with numerous applications like Jira, Salesforce, and SharePoint.

How to Choose the Right Internal Communication Tool for Your Business?

There are many internal communication tools available. So how do you choose the one that will boost your organization’s productivity? Here is a step-by-step approach:

Define your key objectives for internal communication. You won’t necessarily choose the same internal communication tool if your goal is to streamline project management, enhance employee engagement, optimize internal information sharing, strengthen team cohesion and sense of belonging, or improve employees’ digital experience.

Define your key objectives for internal communication. You won’t necessarily choose the same internal communication tool if your goal is to streamline project management, enhance employee engagement, optimize internal information sharing, strengthen team cohesion and sense of belonging, or improve employees’ digital experience.
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Look for an internal communication tool that integrates with your existing solutions. To ensure your teams adopt the chosen software, it must be simple and intuitive to use. It should seamlessly integrate with your current applications. If your company works with the Microsoft suite (Word, Teams, Excel, etc.) or Google suite, opt for an internal communication tool that synchronizes easily with this ecosystem.
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Choose an internal communication tool suited to the size of your organization. A small structure may only need a simple communication channel and a basic information storage platform. However, a company with many employees must be able to structure its communication plan, for example, by targeting specific groups in its campaigns.
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Determine the budget you want to allocate to your internal communication tool. This budget must, of course, align with your company’s financial capacity. You should also consider the return on investment (ROI) associated with each solution. The ROI of a Digital Workplace like Mozzaik365, for example, makes this type of solution a profitable investment.
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Analyze the features of different internal communication tools that match your requirements. Each solution has specific features that may or may not align with your employees’ habits and use cases. To ensure a tool’s relevance to your internal needs, consider requesting a demonstration.

Internal Communication Tools Comparison: Key Takeaways

To ensure effective corporate communication, your internal communication tool must be comprehensive. It should function as a collaborative work platform (like Teams), a corporate intranet (like SharePoint), a project management tool (like Asana), and an internal social network (like Viva Engage). Indeed, it is impossible to prioritize one aspect of internal communication over another. Collaboration, internal information sharing, team project management, and informal interactions all contribute to organizational performance.

If your company operates within the Microsoft ecosystem (Teams, Excel, Word, etc.), the best solution to improve internal communication and boost productivity is to opt for a modern intranet that integrates all the functionalities mentioned above (collaboration, information storage, etc.).

This is precisely the case with the Digital Workplace Mozzaik365. As a natural extension of Microsoft SharePoint, it is ideal for creating a tailored internal communication strategy. It allows you to set up an engaging and functional interface that consolidates all the features your company needs. Social media walls, news feeds, targeted information distribution, simply select the modules you want to integrate into your employees' dashboard, and you’re all set!

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Comparison of Internal Communication Tools: Which One to Choose for Your Business?

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