12 benefits of instant messaging for business
Instant messaging is an increasingly important tool in the business communication toolbox. But How can it help your organization? We take a look.
What is instant messaging for business?
According to a recent study, around 43% of employees are now using instant messaging at work. In the age of Covid-19, Instant Messaging is essential for many businesses as it’s the equivalent of employees being able to communicate with each other at their desks. It allows users to “chat”, both about work and informally, which helps with collaboration and productivity.
Now that we have moved that out of the way, let’s focus more on the plus side. Discover below the top 12 benefits of instant messaging for business:
Untangle work with Workplace
From informing everyone about the return to the office to adopting a hybrid way of working, Workplace makes work more simple.
1. Efficiency
One of the biggest advantages of instant messaging for business is that it’s exactly that – instant. With live chat for business, you can get straight to the point. No need for any of the polite conversation that comes with a phone call, or the formality of an email.
This makes IM perfect for fast-moving projects where you need to communicate quickly and make decisions on the hoof. Transferring information at speed means people can act on it immediately. And that gives you an instant boost to productivity and efficiency.
2. Gain more insight
It can give you access to more insight without having to copy lots of people into emails or attend face-to-face meetings. Instead, people can bounce ideas off each other using tools like Workplace that enable live chat for business, with instant responses sparking more creativity and helping to hone ideas.
3. Provide instant feedback
According to a survey by Futurestep, millennials need more feedback at work than other generations. IM makes this easy – you can give instant responses to work and sign off with a simple thumbs up. You can also answer quick questions and give support whenever it’s needed.
4. User friendly
Whether it’s Facebook, WhatsApp or just texting on their mobile, most people are familiar with using some sort of instant messaging system in their personal lives. The familiarity of an IM interface means people will feel confident about using it straight away, and won’t have to learn something new in order to communicate effectively. This can drastically reduce roll-out or implementation costs of full company-wide deployments.
5. Data security
One issue organizations often overlook is security. Companies that fail to provide staff with the work tools they need may start seeing employees using personal consumer tools to solve work issues. This ‘shadow IT’ can leave businesses with less control over the security of their data, their IP, or who has access to it.
6. Boost democracy
In an IM group, everyone is on the same level. People can have the same access to information as the rest of the group, and the same right to contribute. This means organizations can benefit from ideas from people who might not otherwise have felt they could take part in the conversation. With IM, there’s no need for anyone to feel excluded.
7. Encourage creativity
IM is great for encouraging the rapid flow of ideas. The ability to throw something out to an IM group when brainstorming can inspire people to contribute.
8. Working Remotely
With workforces scattered over geographies and time zones, many organizations are grappling with the issue of how to reach and bring together all their people. Instant messaging for business can provide the solution when people are working remotely.
9. It's mobile
It’s accessible from anywhere, and mobile-optimized platforms mean people can use it on the move. Video chats provide the face-to-face contact that otherwise would be impossible to arrange.
And it doesn’t have to be an internal tool. Using Workplace, you can also connect securely with suppliers, customers and external partners with instant messaging chat in Multi-company groups.
10. Speed
Need to reach your whole organization fast? IM is the way to do it. Rather than relying on people checking a company intranet or their emails, you can get information to all your employees as quickly as you need to.
11. Know who’s available
No more spending time composing an email only to get an out of office message. With IM you know who’s online so you can time your communications for when you know there’s someone to receive them.
12. Focus on what's important
With around 269 billion emails sent every day, it’s not surprising that employees complain of email overload. While there’s always likely to be a place for email, IM can reduce at least a little of the huge strain on your inbox.
Which might be reason enough to deploy an enterprise-ready IM solution at your organization…
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