Best practices for online communication
Managing your own business is never an easy task. To ensure the continued prosperity of your company, you need to carefully balance the demands of the market with the needs of your employees. That means securing lucrative contracts and partnerships and delivering on them to the best of your abilities is just as important as creating a convenient and organized environment for your people to thrive in professionally.
Incidentally, both of these goals would be virtually infeasible, or at the very least difficult to achieve, without proper methods of communication. Gone are the days when about the only way to do that was with dozens of ringing telephones and constantly screeching fax machines. Now we have proper online communication practices like VoIP services, dedicated teleconference tools, specialized message chats, dedicated multipurpose platforms like Google Workspace, and even chatrooms with VR capability. Read on and learn how to transform your company with these cutting-edge technologies.
Use dedicated VoIP services
As much as we’d love to believe otherwise, in this day and age, it’s not easy to make a living by running a single brick-and-mortar business. Even if you manage to secure a spacious office in the heart of the city, you still need to rely on a reliable telecommunications system that can accommodate hundreds of employees at once without slowing down or dropping their calls.
If you are looking for a way to ensure that your business is accessible 24/7, you should consider switching to an affordable VoIP services provider. Using services like VoIP phone services from Weave, you’ll be able to enjoy unlimited local and long-distance calling, advanced call routing capabilities, advanced call recording, auto-attendant, IVR menus, text messaging, voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, and so on.
Go for dedicated teleconferencing tools
For most companies having just one centralized place where you can hold online meetings is not enough. It’s also important for every employee to have individual space to discuss project-related issues with their colleagues.
To accommodate that need, many companies end up renting out more than one conference room. This means more expenses and less efficiency. Instead, you should consider investing some money into a multipurpose teleconferencing solution like Skype for Business. These services provide virtually any number of participants with audio and video calls that can also be recorded for future use. They also offer great collaboration tools such as screen share and a supplementary chat feature.
Utilize message apps for business communication
In the same way that classic message boards and bulletin boards offer a lot of conveniences to businesses, modern messaging apps like Slack also offer a lot of benefits for employees and employers alike. For example, these apps can be used for online project management and collaboration as Slack integrates with dozens of third-party services that can help your team collaborate better.
You can integrate your project management software with Slack to get notified of updates and changes or use it as an alternative to traditional email-based communication with your clients. With Slack, you’ll get notifications of new messages directly on your desktop and get notified when someone else replies or adds something new to the conversation.
On top of that, using a dedicated customer support app like Zendesk or Freshdesk is excellent for businesses because it allows them to interact with clients in real-time. You can use instant messaging to answer questions from customers, use the built-in ticket system for tracking bug reports and feature requests, add images from screenshots directly from your phone or tablet, and more.
Always use a dedicated collaboration platform
If you want to ensure that your employees can always collaborate with each other and get things done, then you should consider using a dedicated collaboration platform such as Google Workspace. This service provides you with easy-to-use apps that let you create and share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. It also allows teams to communicate with each other using message boards and video calls. Since Google Workspace is so easy to use and integrate with your other tools and services, it will be the perfect addition to the previously mentioned solutions.
Use VR for simulated face-to-face communication
Instant messaging and online communication tools are useful for communication within a team or between colleagues who are working remotely. However, if you want to get everyone together in the same room at the same time without the risks associated with a physical meeting, then you should consider investing in a virtual reality communication platform like Bigscreen. With Bigscreen, you’ll get a dedicated space where multiple users can meet online and interact with each other using their avatars. You can even use this platform for remote training and education sessions and enjoy the benefits of collaborative work in a virtual environment.
Practice proper online communications etiquette
Communicating online has many advantages over in-person communication, but it also has some disadvantages. For example, it’s much easier to be misunderstood when sending out messages via business communication platforms or emails instead of talking to someone directly. This is why it’s essential to apply proper etiquette when communicating online.
First of all, choose words wisely and always indicate when you’re joking or being sarcastic. Also, never respond to any kind of sensitive issue or topic without thinking about what you’re going to say first. Sticking to the agenda during virtual meetings or issues discussed in work chats without going into personal details is essential for communicating effectively with team members and other colleagues. So finally, you should always strive to be respectful and professional when communicating with others.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many ways to improve your business communications and secure your company’s success in the long run. All you have to do is examine your current methods of communication and assess their strengths and weaknesses. Then you can pick the right solution for your needs and implement it properly. No matter whether you decide to go with a dedicated VoIP service or implement a new message app, if you do it right, you’ll see your company grow and prosper like never before. Good luck!
