The social aspect of workplace communication changed with the shift in the workplace setting. As the number of people working remotely increased, it was naturally accompanied by increasing demand for platforms that facilitate work communication. Remotely-based teams increasingly rely on technology and software to facilitate workers' communications and keep tabs on and share the latest business-related news.
Instant messaging makes it easy for work colleagues to communicate and stay on the same page. It's the perfect solution for instantly sharing data, participating in conversations, and finding solutions. There are a lot of business communication benefits of instant messaging. Boosting workplace productivity is just one of them. Let's explore in detail how instant messaging affects productivity.
Better Decision Making
When you communicate via an instant messaging app, you can do so on the go, which makes it more convenient for everyone involved - from workers to managers. You can work with your team to make better decisions together, consulting each other and, in most cases, almost instantly resolving an issue. Also, you can check the availability status of the recipient and stop wondering whether someone will see your message immediately.
Great for Employee Onboarding
Instant messaging can speed up the onboarding process in companies so that employees can reach their full potential faster. Collaborative chats aid the onboarding process by allowing employers to organize onboarding materials in specially dedicated chats.
Each employee can read the chat's history at their own pace and, while doing so, pick up on all the important info. They can also go back to these channels anytime and search for key information or jog their memory.
Reduces In-Person Meetings
Not all meetings are productive. If you want to avoid unnecessary meetings and save energy, internal instant messaging can be an adequate replacement. For example, it's easier to create a chat and post bullet points to keep all employees in the loop rather than to hold an unnecessary meeting. However, instant messaging is not without its flaws, so make sure you avoid Slack fatigue.
Limit Distractions in the Workplace
The biggest workplace distractions all companies experience are small tasks that pull the team's focus away from the important tasks. Add some unplanned meetings, emails, and phone calls to the mix, and the team will soon feel completely scatterbrained.
A direct line of communication will help you reduce or altogether remove communication noise and distractions from the workplace. Sending an instant message lets you communicate clearly and get the point across much faster. Plus, direct messages help build more personal workplace relationships, which increases co-workers' motivation and engagement. All of this positively affects their productivity and the quality of their work.
Providing Instant Feedback
Getting feedback on your work lets you know if you're going in the right direction. The best feedback is given at the right time so that you can improve your work on time. You can provide feedback using instant messaging. Both managers and co-workers can leave their feedback on assignments promptly and more efficiently.
Reactions are also great for getting instant feedback to ensure you're on the right path. Sharing a quick message in the office group chat and getting something as simple as thumbs-up or a heart emoji from your team will let you know you're going in the right direction. Use instant messaging to remove obstacles and bottlenecks, improving your work's quality and productivity.
Instant Messaging for Better Customer Service
Instant messaging is a great way to communicate with your clients and provide users with excellent customer service. Clients find it easier to chat than to phone customer support, as you can share files and data more easily. Use it to your advantage and improve your team's productivity by always keeping in touch with your clients via chat!
How To Use Instant Messaging To Ensure Productivity?
Yes, instant messaging can improve workplace productivity, but if you want to use it to its full potential, apply these tips.
Update Your Status Regularly
Updating your availability status in the messaging app will improve the efficiency of remote teams. Having an insight into everyone’s availability status will save valuable time if someone is AFK or busy working. Working from a remote office, you need a system you can rely on to check someone's availability and accessibility. Something as simple as availability status will increase the accessibility of the entire team.
When you are too busy to deal with more demanding tasks, set a "do not disturb" status, and don't get pulled away from important tasks at an inconvenient time. When your coworkers know your availability, they can manage their time better. It benefits everyone, helps to avoid wasting time, and improves task management.
Pick the Appropriate Communication Channel
There are different types of communication available for teams and suitable for different work environments. Knowing when to choose the right one is crucial.
Only some messages are suitable to send via chat. Sometimes you'll be dealing with a lengthy message that requires a more detailed explanation, in which case it is better to send an email or schedule a video call. You don't want the co-worker to scroll endlessly on your chat message or risk losing important info in the chat thread. In case issues in communication arise, use instant messaging to agree on which communication channel you should continue your communication.
Concise and Simple Chats
If the workers opt for instant messaging to get the message across, they should keep it short and to the point. Asking multiple questions at once, and getting only an ambiguous short answer in return, might result in more confusion. Use bullet points and straightforward questions to prevent receiving an ambivalent response and having to repeat the question more than once. In case issues in communication arise, use instant messaging to agree on which communication channel you should continue your communication.
Now that you know all the benefits of instant messaging on your workplace productivity, all that's left is to find the perfect tool. Feel free to try ActiveCollab, you'll see it has everything you need! Check out ActiveCollab's in-app chat feature that you can also use on your mobile, and always stay in touch with your team and co-workers no matter where you are.
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