Top 4 Platforms For Communicating With Employees?

With the pandemic that is the COVID-19 still ongoing and developing, there is no immediate end to the rise of this virus. 

As school pupils are being homeschooled and employees are discovering what it is like to remote work, employers and bosses are discovering the challenge that is keeping on top and communicating with staff.

As colleagues continue with their daily routine, finding a platform that colleagues can all use to communicate with can seem like a challenge, but it doesn’t need to be.

Our aim of this blog is to highlight some of the most popular platforms available and for you to discover best, how to communicate digitally with colleagues online.

 

Benefits of regular communication with colleagues? 

There are many benefits to regular and frequent communication with colleagues. From the checking of the progress of an ongoing problem, sharing and fixing flaws within a current task to the formation of healthy, working relationships, there are many benefits to communication.

A vital aspect within business, through the use of regular communication and by taking time to discover how to communicate digitally with colleagues online, strong working relationships can be formed and maintained through this daily communication. 

Along with the development of working colleague relationships, communication and the inclusion of employees can help bump up morale. This boost in morale can be often seen in the performance given by employees through their added motivation. 

How to communicate digitally with colleagues online?

When it comes to how to communicate digitally with colleagues, there are a handful of different options. 

 

1- Emails

With the traditional and trusted option being that of sending emails. Emails are a fantastic way to communicate and update colleagues on the ongoing developments within a project. With the addition to attach images and different files, as well as, links. If you are communicating with a client and wish to blind copy a colleague in, through the addition of bcc, you can send a copy to your teammates email, allowing them to view the email thread. 

 

2- Video conferencing

When it comes to remote working, staff and colleagues can quickly become lonely and isolated whilst working alone in their spare room.  Through the addition of video conferencing, you can catch up with colleagues. By being able to see, hear and communicate with colleagues, you can maintain a semi-normal existence.

This form of communication is ideal when conducting a team meeting and when catching up with clients about an ongoing project on their account.

With a large collection of software available, through the rise in such useful technology, you can even be able to share your screen with the other participants 

With services such as Zoom, Google Hangouts and EzTalks, you can effortlessly communicate face to face with colleagues. 

 

3- VoIP

Another useful feature and a feature that can allow you to continue running your business as you did before and that is through the addition of VoIP.

A handy feature, VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and is a software that allows you to use your internet connection to make telephone calls. Turning your laptop into a phone connected with your work number, you can continue to call and contact clients and colleagues. 

 

4- Collaboration software

Another top way to communicate with colleagues during COVID-19 and that is through the addition of collaboration tools. With software available to be downloaded for a small fee, you can run entire projects within these software, chat and communicate before sharing the completed task with clients. 

With a range of different sites available to be used, here are some of the most popular in 2020.

 

Slack

A popular platform that is used by millions of companies around the world, Slack is a reliable tool that brings all elements of your day together. Able to be accessed on both mobile and desktop devices, Slack can send both direct messages and emails to a large number of colleagues as well as organise conversations into a range of channels. With the ability to also complete video calling and share files that you are working on, you can see why Slack is so popular. Did we mention that they had a free version?!

 

Flock 

Another equally impressive software and one that is similar to Slack. For those employees that are not as technically savvy, Flock is a recommended tool.

Offering the ability to communicate with the team or one to one, through the use of Flock you can share files, make video calls and send daily messages to catch up and communicate with colleagues. 

Through the addition of being able to connect Flock to third party sites like Google Drive and Twitter, Flock is also free to use but comes with only 5GB worth of storage. Ideal for smaller businesses or those not yet ready to invest and take the plunge. 

 

Trello

Not just a communication software, but also a software to help you to organise all projects, Trello is a project management tool that you can count on. 

Available to be used on both mobile and desktop, through the use of Trello, you can communicate and work on projects alongside colleagues. Through the ability to create and delegate tasks amongst colleagues, you can even write comments and share your feedback with others within the team. 

Trello even allows you to integrate alongside Slack and Google documents. It even comes with a free version for those wanting to test and try it out. 

 

Conclusion

With many different ways to effectively communicate digitally with colleagues, trying to regain some normality with colleagues is easier more so than ever before. 

Whether you prefer to pick up the phone, send an email or communicate with clients through video conferencing, there are a number of exciting ways that you can continue to function and work as effectively as possible. 

If you are a business owner looking for the ultimate platform where you can message, delegate and run projects all in one handy place, now is an exciting time to be looking for your next collaboration software to bring the team together.

With multiple options available and with software available for a range of different budgets, finding a platform best suited to your needs has never been more achievable.

What do you think? Have you experienced any difficulties when it has come to communicating with both clients and colleagues? Perhaps you use a collaboration software that we have not featured? If so, comment below and share your thoughts and your experiences of how you have managed to communicate digitally with colleagues online.