vCTO Secure Blog

vCTO Secure has been serving the Seattle area since 2011, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

5 Tips to Maximize Value from Your Instant Messaging Application

5 Tips to Maximize Value from Your Instant Messaging Application

Instant messaging is a solution that has picked up in the business world, and for good reason. While email allows for more passive communication, instant messaging allows for more instantaneous communication, similar to a phone call in its urgency. But are you using instant messaging in the proper way?

Establish a Usage Policy

Just like with other technology solutions, your company should have a policy in place that governs how your employees use it. This means that you must establish clear guidelines for appropriate use of instant messaging. For example, having a group chat for a department is perfectly fine, but having a group that is exclusively for sharing distractions is a problem that can lead to too much wasted time. 

Keep It Professional

You should always use greetings when sending instant messages, similar to the way you would if you were using emails. Using a salutation such as “Hi Name,” rather than opening the conversation with a question can make a world of difference. You should also try to use similar professional language in your IMs as you would in an email.

Keep It Short, but Keep it Clear

As we previously mentioned, the big difference between IM and email is that IMs are designed for instantaneous responses and quick conversations rather than long, drawn-out, detailed messages. The best way to use IMs is to use this to your advantage and to not use it like you would an email. If you expect someone to respond to a long IM that requires a detailed and analytic response, then it may look like the user is ignoring the message until they can find time to respond to it in the way that you expect.

Still, you’ll want to make sure that you are conveying thoughts and ideas clearly, but instant messaging is a great place to encourage questions to prevent communication gaps.

Respect the Status Message

Most instant messaging applications allow the user to set their status. This might be something like Available, Away, In a Meeting, Busy, etc. If the user is anything but available, you should reconsider sending the message until the user is indeed available to take your message. Otherwise, there is a solid chance that the message will slip through the cracks.

Try to Encourage In-Person Communication, Too

All of that said, an instant message is not a substitution for a good old face-to-face conversation. Whenever possible, you should make an effort to have in-person conversations with your coworkers and staff. This helps you avoid instances of messages being taken out of context as well as establishes that you can make time in your busy day to make connections in this way. It’s just good to remind your coworkers and employees that, yes, we are still people, even if half the time our communications are done from the other side of a computer screen.

vCTO Secure can help you implement the best instant messaging platform that suits your company’s needs. To learn more, reach out to us at (206) 895-5595.

3 Really Good Reasons to Prioritize Data Backup
Should Your Business Consider the Four-Day Workwee...
 

Comments

No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment
Guest
Already Registered? Login Here
Guest
Thursday, 28 March 2024

Captcha Image

Mobile? Grab this Article

QR Code
Dark Web Monitoring

When you visit the Internet, you are more than likely sticking to the pages that can be accessed by typing an address into your browser, or by clicking on a link in a search result.

Find Out More
Contact Us

Learn more about what vCTO Secure can do for your business.

Seattle, Washington

Call us: (206) 895-5595

Protect Your Reputation

With human error causing over 92% of data breaches, we understand the importance of focusing on the weakest link by empowering employees through self-improvement, personal protection, and engaging training that is relate-able, not demeaning.

Find Out More