Tips on how to better communicate through several business chat tools.
If your team is still playing phone and email tag, you could be losing more than a few minutes per day. Ineffective internal communication could be robbing your team of hours of productivity, plenty of solved problems, and innovative new ideas. Strong internal communication is key to keeping a growing company productive and agile in the face of a constantly changing business terrain.
A sweeping trend in internal communication that has shown incredible results – for teams of any size within any industry – is business chat. There are plenty of enterprise instant messaging tools on the market to choose from. Your team can easily implement a business chat tool for improved communication and plenty of other benefits that go beyond just chat.
Forget the most popular business chat tool: internal email
Email is likely your team’s biggest internal communication and collaboration enemy. According to recent studies, 40% of employee’s time is spent dealing with internal email, most of which amounts to no added value to the business. Business chat tools can rid your team of the email problem for good, giving that time back to focusing on the work that matters. Instant messaging sounds like a potential distraction, but with organized streams of conversation, it can make communication between groups fluid and collaborative, in a way that email can’t.
Improved brainstorming:
One of the biggest benefits to using a business chat tool is the sheer number of people you can involve in one conversation. Large email chains and conference calls don’t allow for a large number of participants. Plus, they often end up making sense to only a few team members. In-person brainstorming has its own problems that may hinder your top talent from sharing their ideas. Business chat opens the door for brainstorming with a larger number of participants and less bias.
Centralize planning to get the most out of your business chat tool!
One of the most difficult parts of planning projects and long term deadlines across an organization is limited and disjointed communication. Lost emails and multiple versions of documents floating around different departments is time-consuming and causes expensive mistakes. Business chat allows you to centralize planning and discussions around projects in real time. Everyone, no matter where they are, can participate and access the latest information right away. The most beneficial part of business chat tools for this purpose is recorded and searchable histories. All conversations are saved in a central location where everyone has access to everything that was discussed, so no details fall through the cracks.
Flatten the communication structure:
One of the reasons startups excel is due to their ability to move new ideas and solutions through the communication chain and to fruition quickly. This is because most startups don’t have a complicated communication structure to pull the trigger. Companies of any size can help “flatten” their communication structure by implementing business chat tools. Business chat tools allow employees at all levels to be a part of the conversation and reach the decision makers with ease. It also provides upper management with a way to communicate in real-time with the employees on the “front line”, who often have some of the greatest insights into the company’s biggest problems and opportunities.
Without updating internal communication methods, very few companies stand a chance against new startups and companies who are utilizing new technologies like business chat tools. There are so many business chat options for companies to choose from that are easy to implement and use right away. For maximum productivity, it’s best to find a business chat tool that provides everything you need for collaboration and communication in one. Hibox is a great way to get your team working in the digital age right away.
