Business communication tools

When communications within your business are easy, your workplace will thrive. Long gone is the era when walking to someone’s desk or calling them is necessary. Today, there’s a range of tools and preferred methods available. If you want to improve the way you communicate in your office, it’s time to learn about some key tools, as well as their pros and cons.

Slack for instant messaging

As a popular instant messaging app that’s good for collaboration and team messaging, Slack is used around the world. In addition to sending and receiving messages, you can engage in safe file sharing, video calls, and audio calls.

You can try Slack’s Freemium package and benefit from a 10K message history and 5GB storage allowance. If you choose a Slack Plus Plan, you’ll pay $15 per user and enjoy a generous 20GB storage allowance.

Slack’s biggest pro is that you can create separate conversation rooms for each group of users. This makes it easier for you to ensure that everyone receives information on a need to know basis. There’s also a search feature, which proves useful when tackling uploaded documents.

Arguably, the biggest con to Slack is the 10K messaging limit. When you’re using it for a large organization that depends on remote messaging to function, that could prove tricky to work with.

Microsoft Teams for easy collaboration

You can start using Microsoft Teams as part of your Office 365 package if you have one. Instant chat plus audio and video via Skype are available. If you use Microsoft Office 365, you can integrate the software with many of its tools.

If you’re one of Microsoft Office’s 155 million users, adding Microsoft Teams to your repertoire could prove convenient and useful. The software will feel familiar, and it’ll segue well with your existing tools. Another big pro of taking this route is that you’ll enjoy 1TB of storage space per user, which is much higher than Slack.

As for the cons, you may find the interface is tricky to use at first. You can overcome that with practice, but it’s less than ideal when you’re trying to convert your organization to a new software tool.

Zoom for video conferencing

Whether your business exists across several sites or you have employees who telecommute, finding a reliable form of video conferencing software is advisable. Video conferencing is essential for making sure employees can participate in an alternative to in-person meetings. When you find the right software, you may cut some of the costs associated with traveling for meetings. As 3.7-million employees work from home at least half the time, having reliable video conferencing software is advisable.

One software tool for you to consider is Zoom. Zoom allows you to include up to 100 active video conference participants. You can also include up to 10,000 view-only attendees. Screen-sharing is available, too, which is pretty much essential when you’re working on projects across several locations. As 94% of businesses that use video conferencing say it boosts productivity, it makes sense to incorporate dependable technologies into your offices.

The biggest benefit of using Zoom is the high number of active participants allowed. Zoom makes it easy for the participants to join in as all they need to do is click onto the webinar link that’s shared with them.

The only big con to using Zoom is that the customer service can be a little slow. When you’re managing a small business and integrating new software for the first time, this can soon make your life frustrating.

When you try to sharpen your business’s communication tools, other areas of your day to day operations improve too. All you need to do is find the right technologies for your organization. If you have any further questions concerning how technology can empower your business, feel free to reach out to us at Imagis. We’d be happy to help.