All work we do is online now even if we are in the office together. We interact, collaborate, and get the real work done in the digital space. But even the way companies are communicating digitally is becoming outdated and inefficient. We can definitely do better. The companies who are switching to more modern communication tools are seeing huge increases in productivity and better quality work.
Old ways of communicating like email is stealing up to 6.3 hours of employees time each day. The way you communicate shouldn’t be so inconvenient that employees spend more time organizing communication than doing the actual work. There are new internal communication tools that are simple, intuitive, and support focused work.
Internal communications tools eliminate the pain points of outdated methods like email to boost productivity and save time
Bridge the gap between talk and action with internal communication tools:
Email is just a digital snail mail. It’s more or less a one-to-one communication method and does not support real-time, intuitive conversation. Information gets lost in email threads and it’s hard to connect the dots about what needs to get done with multiple people and threads. Email is ok for general announcements but doesn’t lead to any productive action beyond conversation. There are no tasks to follow up on or accountability. Replacing email with a faster and more intuitive method of internal communication like company chat is more effective. You can scroll, search, and invite as many people as necessary to a chat stream so everyone is included and no information goes lost. It’s much more organized than disconnected email threads. Hibox is a great option for a company chat tools because you can create tasks directly from your chat stream to turn plans into work.
Make real time collaboration possible unlike in email:
With email threads, there is not a lot of collaborative group work that happens despite everyone working online. Work is very segregated. Versions of files go back and forth as users make updates and comments. It leaves a lot of room for mistakes, missed versions, confusion, and wasted work. Using collaborative documents like Google Drive combined with company chat is more collaborative. Your team can edit documents and add comments via chat without confusing versions. Everyone is up-to-date with the latest and can contribute their thoughts. It speeds up the approval and finalization process so work happens faster, leaving your team to move onto what’s next.
Use internal communication tool and eliminate your employees biggest waste of time: email:
Email has become more of a distraction than an internal communication tool. Every time an employee gets an email notification, it can take up to 23 minutes for them to refocus on a task. That amount of time just a few times a day can be a big hit to productivity for your team. The focus should be on the actual work, not communicating about the work. Getting rid of internal email and saving it for just external communication helps keep employees focused and communication organized. Replacing email with company chat helps people stay focused on work. They can respond quickly and intuitively to different questions and comments via chat and get back to work without having to scroll through threads and empty their inbox.
Switch useless meetings or conference calls for group video calls:
Whether you’re in office or a completel remote team, you are all still likely on your laptops individually working the majority of the day. Meetings are another outdated office protocol that is costing employers more time. Employees report that they spend hours a week getting ready for “update” meetings that don’t amount to steps forward. Meetings are also generally not collaborative. They’re usually just a manager speaking and many people half paying attention. Give this time back to employees to put towards real work by using internal communications tools like Hibox where you can easily jump on a group video call to discuss details and updates in minutes. It’s more efficient to have calls when a question or problem arises than wait for a weekly meeting. Everything can move much faster this way. Combined with chat to follow up, discuss details, share files, and assign tasks, this is the most efficient way to “do meetings”.
Even some of the largest companies with impressive track records will start to fall behind if they don’t update how their teams are working together so they can perform faster and better against competitors. The internal communications methods of the last 15 years are quickly becoming outdated, despite being the norm for many offices. Making a few changes in the internal communication tools you’re using can make a huge difference in how productive your team is. Try Hibox for an all-in-one solution to better internal communication and collaboration.
