With the amount of quality internal communications tools increasing every year, it’s no surprise that a number of free (or freemium) options have become popular for companies looking for Yammer competitors. Why pay for software if you can get it for free, right?
The answer is actually a little more complex than at first sight. Internal communication software varies significantly with regard to their purpose and the problems they solve. For example, Yammer is primarily used as an Enterprise Social Network (ESN) to share updates and results of projects with co-workers. Beekeeper, on the other hand, is an internal communications app that enables instant, effective mobile communication and with an analytics suite to measure employee engagement.
Here are some more differences between Beekeeper and ESNs like Yammer.
Yammer Cost: Free Can’t Be Customized
With free ESNs like Yammer, your organization cannot customize it to your needs, other than changing the standard settings.
For companies that require more advanced solutions, an customizable app can match your organization’s specifications. Even more, your company’s branding assets are fully utilized in order to give your employees a seamless solution, which is important than Yammer’s cost.
Does the Yammer Software Fit Your Employees?
While ESNs like Yammer software is created for today’s knowledge worker, the Beekeeper app was created with the non-desk, blue-collar worker in mind. For industries like hospitality, manufacturing, and retail, software that was built with cubicle dwelling employees in mind doesn’t meet needs of non-desk employees that work the floor.
So with Beekeeper, flawless instant communication via enterprise messaging and segmented campaigns allow workers on the go to easily send updates and fix issues. Even more, activity streams allow for live feeds for certain teams or company-wide updates.
Yammer vs. Email
One key to effective internal communications tools is that they don’t compete with your other modes of communication, but instead add value to your organization as a whole. While Yammer works for synchronous communication like messaging, it’s own employees say it’s biggest competitor is email. With Beekeeper, employees don’t even need an email address or phone number to login into the app. Instead, you can onboard employees by simply assigning them an employee ID.
This is a big reason why companies who have implemented Yammer have found their employees not engaging with the app. Increasing employee engagement is a big reason for using internal communications tools in the first place, as Beekeeper partners like Hyatt hotels have found.
Improving Communication Doesn’t End with Installation
Each one of Beekeeper’s clients work with our customer success team to ensure they reap the rewards of elite internal communication. From developing your communications plan to onboarding, on-site training, and measuring your KPIs, Beekeeper’s continuous support is a game changer. Client success is Beekeeper’s mission, working with our clients to take their employee engagement and company culture to the next level.
Instead of fighting with email, Beekeeper was built to be the first digital communications solution for blue collar workers. When considering internal communications software for your company, it’s important to focus on finding a long-term solution that your company can grow with, instead of choosing a solution that might not meet the needs of your company for very long.
The cost of asking your employees to switch software solutions is high, and the costs of them not engaging with the solution you choose is even higher. Just as in business and life, be careful not to be pennywise, but pound foolish when it comes to choosing your internal communications solution.
