Dive Brief:

• According to a new survey of more than 250 communications professionals, nearly half (48%) said that as employers seek higher employee engagement numbers, their employers need to rethink digital workplace communications.
• The 2016 Digital Workplace Communications Survey, conducted by the PRSA Employee Communications Section and APPrise Mobile, creators of theEMPLOYEEapp, looked to discover what technology solutions are being used by employers to communicate and engage with their employees, as well as which are the most effective.
• The survey found that 97% of employers still use email as their primary means of digital communications, with company intranets second at 78%. Other favored digital communications tools included mobile apps (14%), social collaboration tools (45%), messaging (35%) and social media (38%). Of course, there are overlaps as most employers surveyed use more than one strategy. 

Dive Insight:

While the survey confirms that communicators are taking advantage of different digital solutions, they are not necessarily maximized to their fullest potential, Ally Bunin, chair of the PRSA Employee Communications Section, said.

Jeff Corbin, CEO and founder of APPrise Mobile, added that as the workplace evolves and younger workers – aka millennials – continue to grow into their role, the importance of communicating with and engaging employees grows with them.  

"There is definitely a shift taking place from ‘old school’ and legacy communications solutions like email and corporate intranets to newer, more mobile friendly tools," he says.  He added that even with new technologies emerging that boost efficiency, it's clear that email and intranets are not going away anytime soon – nor should they. 

In fact, the survey reflects that "one size does not necessarily fit all" and different scenarios dictate different solutions in distributing the right information to important employee groups.