There are so many useful group applications on the market designed to help improve business communications. Office UC allows you to work from any location, with an internet connection, see who is available and send instant messages as well as make phone calls. It is now common place to see a team IM or WhatsApp group, used in combination with emails, phone calls and face to face meetings. They offer a wide range of benefits to business users and a few draw backs. When thinking about implementing a new app within your organisation, it is useful to consider the following:
Purpose
What are you planning to use it for? If it is not clear what the group was set up for, employees may not want to use it. Outlining the purpose of the group, and communicating the group members will help the tool to remain effective. Using a group chat to share solutions to problems and share knowledge, is an excellent way to gather data. This information could be taken and added to processes or shared with customers via an FAQ.
Rules
Define appropriate content. Employees need to know the rules to feel comfortable using a new tool, especially when senior management are included. Don’t be tempted to limit social content, as relationship building can often lead to better teamwork and sharing of information. Adding social channels to the general business communications policy, will often cover this.Lead by example
As leaders of the business you can set the tone, frequency and quality of content to be shared. By being involved in multiple channels of communication, you will have improved visibility of questions, ideas and improvements from employees as they arise, to help improve both employee and customer satisfaction.
To learn more about Office UC and UC Team, contact Jola.
