Employee Communication Goes Mobile

Businesses have long pondered ways to keep in touch with their employees in a quick and efficient manner. Email is no longer the tool of choice; employee communication is starting to go mobile. By using applications that enable instantaneous messages to one or more people, you can ensure that everyone in the company stays on the same page.

Once upon a time, email was the most cutting-edge communication option on the market. Now, it can feel slow and clunky in comparison to some of the high-speed messaging apps on the market. Receipt of emails isn't always instantaneous, and efficiency depends entirely on whether recipients check their messages regularly. When it comes to time-sensitive employee communication, traditional email programs have too many shortcomings to be a useful solution.

Enter the mobile application. With text messaging, instant messaging and specialized employee communication apps, companies can reach their workers in a quick and less intrusive manner. Most apps enable users to have a running conversation, which is helpful for quick project discussions. Perhaps even more useful is the option to select individuals, specific groups or an entire mailing list. With a single message, a supervisor can alert the entire team to a new development.

The changing nature of the workplace is driving the need for communication apps. Workers are no longer staying in the office from 9 to 5 every day. Instead, they are working from home, on the road and around the world. In fact, 1.3 billion workers are expected to be mobile by 2015. Managers of dispersed teams can take advantage of their workforces' ubiquitous use of mobile phones and tablets to communicate effectively from any location.

Mobile communication need not be an expensive investment for cash-strapped companies. Free tools such as Google Hangout and G-Chat allow easy employee communication with minimal set-up time. Employees can share calendars across each of their devices, making scheduling a breeze. The same applies to Apple's products, which enable easy updates on any device.

Free employee communication tools aren't an appropriate fit for every business. Companies that deal with sensitive client information may find the security risk to be too high for comfort. Sending financial details and confidential data over a standard app, particularly one that caches information, may put a business at risk for legal action. In light of recent high-profile data security breaches, many companies are wary of public humiliation. In these situations, customized secure applications are a convenient mobile communication option. The higher price tag is often an appropriate cost for peace of mind.

As smart phones become smarter, employee communication is expected to continue its mobile-bound trajectory. By adopting an app that works for your company, you can start training your workforce to communicate quickly and efficiently.

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