Tony Nicholls
Whether you are working from home, out and about or stuck in the office, keeping in touch with colleagues and clients is vital to the success of your business. There is a need to keep in touch 24/7 nowadays and downtime whilst you run and catch that train to a meeting is no longer a luxury we have. We need to stay in contact with each other at every turn, whether this is to stay ahead of the game, or to keep ahead of competitors, or just to keep your start-up going, keeping in touch is vital.
Communication is as easy as 1,2,3
Technology allows us to do this no matter where you are or what time of the day it is – there are a host of services available:
1. Email
We recently conducted a survey that found, unsurprisingly, that email was the most popular method of communication amongst employees and clients, with 89% of respondents, saying this was the most common form of communication they used.
Email is fundamental to business, and to think that only 20 years ago we didn’t even have it, how did businesses operate before?! It is now at the heart of all communications, but is it the most effective?
2. Mobile
As people’s inboxes become packed with marketing, advertising and sales emails what other communications channels are effective for speaking with colleagues? Well, our survey also found that 66% of people favoured mobile as the most effective form of contact. This is a great tool that since the 90s has revolutionised how we stay in touch with each other. Not only does it allow us to interact whilst on the move, but with the advancements of smartphones and tablets we can do almost everything that we could do in the office.
3. Conference Calls
Conference calls are a great way to address groups, if you have a large meeting, a conference call allows you to communicate to multiple people at once, and is also cheaper than a face-to-face meeting and a lot greener as no travel is needed.
4. Video Conferencing
Tied in with this is video conferencing, which is becoming ever more popular. This has all the same great benefits as conference calls, but also allows you to see who is talking, adding the benefit of visual cues and the personal development that comes from seeing people face-to-face.
5. Instant Messenger
Something of a surprise to us in our recent survey was the percentage of people that said instant messenger was one of the main routes to stay in touch. It is quick, easy, simple to use and allows for instant response from colleagues or clients. It is easy to stay in touch… you know when someone is available or not, and can often be conducted across multiple platforms.
So, there really is no excuse for not staying in touch and as we move towards more technological advancements and great developments within technology, communicating with people will only become easier. It isn’t a case any more of which channel is most effective at keeping in touch with each other, in our opinion it is about using the communication channels available in a collaborative way to get the most out of them.
Shaz Manelli
