If it takes seven steps to set up a conference call, most people won’t do it. They’ll use an easier communication method.
The question is…which one?
Employees Gravitate Toward Certain Communication Methods
A bit of background here: We're an IT consulting agency that specializes in Skype for Business deployments. We've used Skype for Business internally since its “Office Communication Server” days (over 10 years ago, if you’re counting). We’ve installed Skype for Business, in Server and Hybrid deployments for many customers across California.
Now, Skype for Business is a full suite of communication services. But we noticed over time that our customers’ employees would gravitate toward one or two of them. More checks found that these were the same methods we used internally!
The Two Communication Methods that “Just Work”
By far, we see these two communication methods used the most, both internally and among our customers:
- Chat/Instant Messaging
- Voice Calls
Why? It's because they "just work."
Conferencing is available in most communications tools out there. But oftentimes it's not set up properly, or fails due to bandwidth issues. Instead, you can just open a chat window and start typing. Pick up the phone or headset. You're communicating.
We see this in the popularity of other communications tools, like Slack, Microsoft’s new Teams offering, HipChat, etc. Chat and Voice Calling are the centerpieces for all of them.
It makes sense, really. Since pretty much everyone has a smartphone, we expect text-based and voice communications every day. Skype for Business, Slack, and all the others have mobile apps. It’s the same amount of taps to chat on Skype as it is to text.
Chat and Voice Calls are Easy to Work into Daily Communication Habits
The easier it is to communicate, the more frequently employees will communicate. The more frequently they communicate, the more informed they are about their work…you get the idea.
Give your employees whichever communication tools you like. But make sure they have access to voice calls and chat. You might find they favor those over all the other tools!