Team communication is critical for employee productivity and business continuity, especially when teams work remotely. Since employees cannot simply walk up to their co-workers’ desk when in doubt or set up quick face-to-face meetings, having a dependable team messenger is critical.
The real business challenge however is when employees start using personal messaging apps to communicate for business purposes. It is understandable- these apps are easy to use, everyone has access to these right on the phone and the messenger marked as ‘business messengers’ are bulky, latent and just not the right fit when instant messaging is expected.
But that’s not all. For businesses that realize the need to replace email or any other conventional communication channel, especially for remote working, they are overwhelmed with options. And hence, we’ve put together this quick guide that can help you in making the right choice while choosing a team messenger.
Here’s a list of things to consider before picking the right team messenger:
1. One that’s available for all platforms
This is crucial. Workplace mobility is highly diversified and especially if your company policy supports BYOD, device fragmentation is inevitable. Ensure you choose a team messenger that fits the bill for cross-platform support and is available for the diverse device and OS types. The messenger should be well-supported on iOS and Android devices since they are the most common type of devices used by mobile teams.
2. One that offers seamless collaboration
Apart from the ability to connect over messaging and calling, the team messenger needs to have the provision for employees to collaborate. An ideal team messenger aids the exchange of files, images and voice notes so as to ensure that employees have access to the latest business resources with ease.
To fully leverage the collaboration features of a team messenger, providing your employees with step by step instructions on how to use these features effectively can be very beneficial. This includes guidance on file sharing, setting up group chats, and using collaboration tools integrated within the messenger.
3. One that enables secure communication within business contacts
You don’t want to add distractions to your employees and a generic team messenger that can be used to communicate with personal contacts opens up the possibility for the same, not to mention the security concerns that are ushered in by exchanging business documents within a messenger that has non-business contacts. Choose a business messenger that extends contact management and the communication can be controlled and limited to invited users.
Also Read: NuovoTeam, communication app that is best for remote teams and non-desk workers.
4. One that facilitates broadcast messaging
Frontline employees or employees working remotely need to be kept in the loop at all times, especially during crises or emergencies, such as a pandemic. Sending updates and alerts over email is obviously out of the question and business leaders need to have access to a channel that enables them to send out messages to the entire workforce. Individually sending out messages is of course not feasible. And hence having a team messenger that facilitates message broadcasting comes handy when important updates are to be shared quickly.
5. One that paves the way for group communication
Ensuring employee engagement, especially during an era of indefinite remote working is crucial. Employees need to be reassured of the team spirit and need to have easy access to everyone in their respective teams for any information handover or collaboration. An ideal team messenger enables group chats for teams, subteams and also promotes organization-wide group communication to bring teams closer together.
Summary…
The right team messenger can make or break it for an organisation’s employee productivity and engagement. Invest in the right team messenger considering the points mentioned above and drive efficient team communication for your business with ease.
