Business Communications

Hello and welcome. My name is Aaron (Rin), and I currently attend Sheridan college at the HMC campus. I'm majoring in marketing and this is blog is going to be for Business Communications. This blog is specifically going to be about one particular topic: Instant Messaging in the Workplace.

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Here is a video of an expert explaining the use of Instant messaging in the workplace.

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12 tips for Instant Messaging in the Workplace

IM is the latest and fast growing form of business communications. IM is a great tool to help communicate more efficiently. Here are the 12 tips for instant messaging in the workplace:

1. Be brief and quick. This is used by public speakers, yet it fits perfectly with IM as well. IM is as the name implies, an “instant” message. It is not intended to replace e-mail, nor is IM is intended to be kept over time.

2. Introduce Yourself. This should be no different than when you meet in person. Let the recipient know who you are. Give a brief greeting such as, “Hello. This is Sydney from the sales department.

3. Respect a person’s time. When the system shows IM is available, the recipient may not be at his or her desk. Ask if the person is present or away, you’ll know if you don’t get an immediate response.

4. Be on the same page with all team members. Get updated with all the features your IM system provides. Everyone is expected to know how to use the system to its best advantages.

5. Don’t barge in. Whenever you see a “Do not Disturb” alert, you should not send a message. Like of it like barging into someone’s room when they are busy. You should wait until they are available again.

6. Stick to one subject. IM is intended for quick messaging. It is not intended for long and drawn out conversations. The messages should be purposeful and it should cover one subject at a time. If you have several subjects and questions, you should use e-mail instead.

7. Write in complete sentences. This isn’t texting. You should always use proper capital and lowercase letters. Make sure your spelling and grammar is correct. You should limit yourself on using emoticons because it isn’t very professional.

8. Use line breaks. Do not send one long run-on paragraph. You should separate the text with blank line breaks.

9. Be careful about distribution. Take time to review the distribution list before sending an instant message. This is to ensure everyone is or is not intended to see the messages that you send.

10. State how fast you need a reply. Waiting one or two days for a reply on an email seems pretty reasonable. People expect you to reply on IM as fast as possible. But, to keep everyone happy, state how fast you need a reply. If you receive a message and are too busy to reply, let the sender know.

11. Cover your bases. If you want to send important information, IM is not the best to do so. Sensitive information that is forgotten easily should be sent on e-mail.

12. When and how to end: It is not always clear when a conversation on IM is over, unless you or the person you are typing to ends with a “goodbye” or “thank you”. Once you receive a reply, it may not be necessary to continue the short conversation (Seid, 2014)

Question for you: “What have you learned after reading this post? Be specific in detail. Have your thoughts about instant messaging changed after reading this post? If yes, explain.

Source:

Seid, S. (n.d.). 12 Tips for Instant Messaging in the Workplace – International Business Protocol and Social Etiquette. Retrieved February 27, 2016, from http://www.advancedetiquette.com/2014/06/12-tips-for-instant-messaging-in-the-workplace/

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Best Practices for Instant Messaging and Texting in the Workplace

Aside from digital marketing, IM and texting can help save plenty of time and simplify communication with customers and co-workers. Before using IM on the job, be sure you have the permission to do so. Do not download or use any sort of software without checking with your supervisor. If your organization happen to allow IM, you can use it professionally by follow these simple guidelines:

- Use proper spelling and good grammar.

- Keep in mind of jargon, slang, and abbreviations. They may reduce keystrokes and save time, but they can be extremely confusing and unprofessional.

- Keep your presence status up to date so that people who are trying to reach you don’t waste their precious time. Make yourself unavailable to IM when you need to meet a deadline.

- Avoid unnecessary chitchat, and know when and when not to say goodbye. Try to keep personal messaging to a minimum.

- Organize your contacts to separate business contacts from friends and family.

- Don’t IM or text while driving a car, it is very dangerous to do so. You can pull over if you need to read or send a message.

- As with e-mail, don’t type anything that could possibly damage your reputation or that of your company.

- Be cautious about the appropriateness of videos, photos, and art that you forward.

- Make sure your messages are fear of harassment and discriminatory content against classes that are protected by law (colour, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, etc.)

- Do not use IM to uncover sensitive information: company, customer, financial, employee, or executive data.

Follow company policies at all times, this includes: the code of conduct, ethics guidelines, and harassment and discrimination policies (Guffey, 2016).

We discussed about the practices of instant messaging in the workplace, here is the link to another blog discussing the practices of instant messaging in business. 

http://blog.officechat.com/instant-messaging-business-best-practices/

A question for you guys: How many of these guidelines have you followed according to this list? Can you tell the difference between instant messaging and texting? Explain and reblog.

Source:

Guffey, M. E., Rogin, P., Rhodes, K., & Loewy, D. (n.d.). Business communication: Process & product.

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The Cons of using IM in the Workplace

There are a few drawbacks for using instant messaging in the workplace. It does carry potential negatives in the workplace. Here are the major cons of instant messaging in the workplace:

Information Retention

Employees may find it difficult to keep an organized record of the information gathered through IM. Organization information sent through IM can be a huge challenge since it can be all piled up without dates. Emails are generally easier to save and organize in various folders. This allows the employees to display specific messages quickly to find the details they need (Frost, 2016).

Legal Issues

Unlike in-person conversations, IM leaves a written record of everything the employee typed. The casual nature of IM causes some people to type content that is not appropriate that could cause legal issues. Conversations may lead to legal issues that include discrimination or inappropriate information about clients or employees (Frost, 2016).

Security  

IM systems aren’t completely secure, they are vulnerable for hackers to intercept the messages. Sensitive information about the business or clients is at risk when they are exchanged through IM. Information leaks threatens the privacy of the staff, clients and the business itself (Frost, 2016).

Personal Use

Having access to IM may tempt employees to use it for their own personal use. This may include messaging people who don’t work for the company or engaging in unrelated conversations with colleagues on the system. This may lead to decreased productivity during work hours (Frost, 2016).

Here is an interactive poll. Vote on what poll is the worst for the workplace.

http://goo.gl/6r3ps0

Source:

Frost, S. (n.d.). The Cons of Using IMs in the Workplace. Retrieved February 27, 2016, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/cons-using-ims-workplace-11858.html

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The Pros of using IM in the Workplace

There are some benefits of using instant messaging in the workplace. Instant messaging allows workers to chat amongst each other quickly and privately. The technology is similar to email but IM does not require the recipient to access a personal inbox to read the message. The messages immediately appear on the recipient's screen. Here are the major pros about using IM:

It helps Improve Communication

IM is more efficient than emailing your co-workers because it allows messages to appear immediately, thus saving lots of valuable time. Workers can endure in constant with one another in case problems emerge that requires immediate assistance. Managers will have the ability to work and actively communicate with team members as if they were in the same place working (Scott, 2016).

Reduces Interruptions

Instant messaging can be used as an alternative to email or personal visits. Instant messaging are generally less time consuming than emailing or other forms of communications. Workers can communicate with IM while continuing to perform their current tasks. IM does not require you to stop work to have a face-to-face conversation or to answer the phone, the technology helps reduce workplace interruptions (Scott, 2016).

Improves Customer Service

IM allows workers to give real time information to customers. If a customer service issue were to require immediate attention or the manager’s approval to complete the request, the employee can request feedback or information from the manager without leaving their desks. This method reduces customer hold time and ensures a high quality customer experience (Scott, 2016).

Cost Effective

IM saves money in travel expenses, especially for large businesses that collaborate between locations frequently. IM allows companies to handle meetings, create presentations, and send applications online without the need to travel. It also helps users make corrections in documents instantly, saving in printing and distribution costs (Scott, 2016).

Here is a poll for you to vote on which pro listed above benefits the workplace the most.

http://goo.gl/fF91PY

Source: 

Scott, S. (n.d.). The Pros of Using IM in the Workplace. Retrieved February 26, 2016, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-using-im-workplace-10534.html

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Instant Messaging in the Workplace

Should your business use Instant Messaging?

Instant messaging (IM) used to be viewed primarily as a secret language used by adolescents. Today, instant messaging is turning into a very viable tool for communicating in small businesses. IM is currently gaining momentum in the modern workplace. According to the The Second Annual Messaging Trends Study, a good portion of IM users now communicate via instant messaging at work. 27 percent of workers use IM at work and there has been a 71 percent increase over 2003. IM is quickly catching on because it offers many benefits for small businesses. There are a couple of drawbacks and risks as well, but we’ll discuss more about that later. Now the question is, is IM right for you? If used properly, IM can be extremely useful and it can be a major communications tool for your company. Taking advantage of IM reduces time and effort and it can help your business acknowledge the new challenges, competition  and customer requests (Alexander, 2005). During this year of 2016, I’m pretty sure there are more than 70 percent of workers using IM at work.

What is your opinion about using Instant messaging in the workplace? Do you support it or oppose to it? Feel free to add a caption to the post and reblog about your opinion.

Source:

Alexander, P. (2005, November 13). Should Your Business Use Instant Messaging? Retrieved February 26, 2016, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/81050