Without ensuring proper communication between team members, remote workers and clients, it can quickly lead to disastrous effects. Your precious man-hours are wasted and it can even lead to loss of revenue.
Not only does communication lead to the right information being passed on and tasks correctly completed, but it also has many other benefits.
Team building is crucial for any business, after all, if your staff are happy and comfortable with each other, then they will feel the same about their workplace.
It also gives everybody a voice, a chance to bounce ideas and opinions and lead to innovation within the workplace and lead to your company’s growth.
While it’s easy to talk about why we should be communicating, putting this into practice can be a lot tricker. Thankfully, there are a myriad of tools now at our disposal and modern technology has changed the way we work.
But with some of these new technologies available, what are the advantages? Businesses have survived for decades with the simple use of email and telephones, so why should you invest in any of these platforms?
1. The Environment
Every business should be making a conscious effort to reduce carbon emissions and waste wherever possible.
Now you don’t have to go extreme on the ‘green’ office but little changes can make a big difference. After all, the greenest paper is no paper at all!
There is the obvious advantage of using web-based messages to eradicate the need of sending any physical documents but that’s not the only plus side.
By making use of technology, there is virtually no need to travel for meetings anymore, whether that be with clients or joining teams together.
Video conferencing means you can connect offices, cities and different countries, reducing our carbon footprint significantly. If every meeting was turned into a video conference, imagine how much we could help the planet.
2. Security
Of course, when many of these platforms were first released there were some snags in security and this naturally put people off the idea.
Nowadays, these providers have learnt from previous issues and security has never been tighter. The use of encryption has been a huge benefit in the online world.
Now messages can only be read by the sender and receiver and not only does this protect you from potential hackers, but it also keeps private matters as they should be, private.
3. Speed
Using technology means everything is in real-time. You could be in the office, travelling or at home, you can receive and send messages instantly.
Businesses no longer need to rely on their office space for updates on anything. Using HR software that is in the cloud means everything is kept up to date no matter where co-workers are.
4. Remote Working
Team members may be working from home or have been relocated across the globe. No matter where they are, they are now contactable.
People can now be online no matter the location and their response is quick and easy. Even in different time zones where one team member may be asleep, messages can still be relayed awaiting their response until morning.
5. Improving Customer Relationships
What wasn’t too long ago when clients would feel the need to use providers locally. This means they can easily communicate with them and set up meetings.
While using local providers should always be encouraged to boost small businesses, the right supplier may not be in the local vicinity.
By using modern technology, businesses can still keep in close contact with clients, host virtual meetings and presentations all from their own location.
For B2C businesses, the valuable commodity is the use of instant messaging on websites. Customer service centres are notorious for being busy and not every customer has the time to sort out any issues that have arisen.
Instant messaging on sites, controlled by real people or bots, gives customers the service they are needing while reducing lost time trying to have this rectified.
6. It’s Simply More Enjoyable
If nothing else has convinced you, using modern technology is simply enjoyable for staff to use. It helps to build relationships across the business and provides a great platform for sharing light-hearted information.
The introduction of emojis can help relay the tone of voice of these messages and it gives staff the chance to catch up with each other throughout the day without having to leave their desks.
Email inboxes can quickly become cluttered and can be difficult to organise, these programmes make information more comprehensible. A clear virtual desk can help keep a clear mind. This looks after the mental health of employees while helping increase productivity in the workforce.
So now is the best time to look into new technologies to help you and your colleagues. There are plenty on the market, all offering different features, so it is worth taking some time to research into what you want.
Instant messaging, cloud HR software, online calendars and video calling all have their perks and if you are able, it is worth investing in at least one of each of these. Visit Cezanne HR to view their versatile hr software systems available.
If you are still reluctant to adopt any of these programmes, consider competitors, are they using these? You wouldn’t want to risk winning a new client or staff wanting to transfer over to them because they have implemented this easier way of communicating. Especially when there isn’t little reason not to do so.
