Internal Emails: Why, When, and How To Use Them

Over the past few years, sending internal emails has been a hotly debated topic. With lots of alternative internal comms channels to choose from, such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, employee apps, and intranets, is there still a role for internal emails?

Not every piece of communication needs to be sent via email. But there are definitely some benefits to using this channel as part of your internal comms strategy. Alongside social communication tools, employee apps, and employee intranets, internal comms professionals should understand when it makes sense to send internal emails.

Here are 5 reasons why you should use internal email:

An illustration explaining that more than 265 billion emails are sent daily. — More than 265 billion emails are sent every day.

1. Email has greater perceived importance

In general, employees perceive email communication as being of higher importance than messages sent via other comms channels. This could be due to it being a more traditional method of communicating or because it’s easy to save or store messages for future reference.

For internal communicators, email is a great tool to use in conjunction with other comms channels, particularly when spearheading important updates, company announcements, or process changes. Employees will keep opening your emails if you keep using the channel exclusively for these important messages. However, as soon as you start sending “fluffy” emails, employee engagement will decrease.

2. You can segment your emails for specific employee groups

Using audience segmentation is one of the easiest ways to avoid digital overload and spamming your employees with irrelevant “blanket” communications. Emails can be targeted to different employee groups based on attributes such as job title or location. By ensuring your comms are relevant, you consequently increase the likelihood that your employees will read and engage with your messaging.

An illustration stating that 62% of all emails are unimportant. — 62% of all emails are unimportant.

3. It’s easy to understand how your internal emails are performing

If you send your emails using a provider such as HubSpot, MailChimp, or Staffbase email you can track the success of your comms. This includes data such as open and click-through rates. Reports can be created to show how different groups of employees are engaging with your emails. Such information can help inform future email campaigns, allowing you to continue improving your communication.

4. You can use internal branding to promote employee advocacy

Creating engaging and fun emails with your internal branding and aligning them with your company values is a great start to any employee advocacy program. Alongside other comms channels, internal email is a great tool to use to share company messaging and ensure it resonates with your employees.

An illustration reporting that 28% of the workweek is spent reading and responding to emails. — 28% of the workweek is spent reading and responding to emails.

5. Email pulse surveys create two-way dialogue with employees

Employee feedback is essential when improving and developing internal company processes. You can embed pulse surveys into emails and share them directly with your employees. This allows you to get direct feedback on what you’re sharing and to find out what’s really going on in your organization.

Discover more about the importance of internal emails

If you want to learn more about how to use email as an effective communication channel, check out our eBook Re-think Emails.

Staffbase is your mission control for strategic, secure employee communications.

Learn more now!