Recently, I connected with a journalist who had some questions about using instant messaging for business purposes (using tools such as Cisco Jabber or Skype for Business).
She wanted to know some tips about online chatting with workers, and the pros and cons of using real-time chat with teams in a business environment.
Here are a few of her questions, and my answers.
What are some of the pros of instant messaging for business?
1) Real-time communication: You can connect with team members in real time and get quick responses to questions. If you’re working on a technology upgrade, for example, it’s helpful to have all remote team members connected so that they can solve any potential problems quickly.
2) Reachability: You can reach multiple team members at once within the same chat message (i.e., you don’t have to reach out to every team member separately)
3) Archiving: You can keep your previous conversations saved so that you can go back to search for any information you need later on (including any documents that were sent)
What are some of the cons of instant messaging for business?
1) Distractions: The biggest issue with online messaging tools is that team members expect their colleagues to be “always on” and highly responsive. This causes constant interruptions and distractions if the team is trying to focus on accomplishing their tasks.
2) Information Overlap: Getting the same information or requests through online messaging tools, emails, meeting minutes, and other channels (information overlap causes confusion and frustration)
What are some examples of common phrases employees use that may be easily misinterpreted when using instant messaging for business?
1) Using acronyms/ abbreviations – To save time when they’re typing, some people default to using acronyms such as FTW (for the win), FYI (for your information), AOB (any other business), or IMO (in my opinion), which can easily be misinterpreted. For example, I recall a conversation once when someone on a messaging platform thought that “FTW” was someone trying to say “WTF” in a “polite” way 🙂
2) Using ALL CAPS – can be misinterpreted as yelling and should be avoided.
3) Silence – When two team members are chatting back and forth using an online messaging system, and one of them suddenly goes silent, their lack of response can be misinterpreted in different ways (e.g., they’re thinking, they disagree, they forgot to answer, they stepped away, etc. – I wrote a full blog post about that here)
How does instant messaging play out across generations?
Younger generations tend to be more text-oriented and are more in-tune with the latest internet acronyms than older generations. They also prefer text-based communication over audio conversations (i.e., SMS instead of phone calls).
How can people work to bridge cross-generational communication gaps via instant messaging?
By setting up a communication plan that defines how the team will communicate & what channel they should use so that there’s no confusion about expectations. The plan should also include a list of common acronyms and what they mean. Scheduling a meeting to talk about the plan so that the rules can be discussed is a best practice to help with intergenerational communication.
Can you share some tips or rules about instant messaging for business?
1) If someone’s status is set to “Do Not Disturb” then please do not disturb.
2) If you need to say something really important, use email instead of online messaging to make sure that everyone sees the message.
3) On group chats, send messages that are relevant to everyone in that group. If your message is directed at one person, then send them a separate 1:1 chat message.
4) Use one chat channel for funny updates/ articles/ random news, and another one for work. Don’t mix the two.
If you’d like to learn more about the tools you can use for instant messaging for business, I put together the ultimate list of virtual team technology tools here.
