Effective team communication is essential in any workplace no matter what industry they are in. Therefore, businesses must constantly find ways to ensure that their teams have efficient means to connect with everyone else.
In fact, a study by Mitel shows that 15% of employees’ total work time is wasted on inefficient team communication strategies. This makes them less likely to be more productive and responsive compared to those teams with effective communication processes.
Fortunately, the rise of technology has made it easier for you to interact with your teams in the most effective and convenient ways possible. It provides tools and platforms for effective team working and communication. It can help improve and streamline companies’ internal processes, which then increases the responsiveness of your employees and teams. This, in turn, can boost your business’ sales in the long run.
So, how exactly does technology improve team communication and responsiveness? Here are some of the ways.
Gone are the days of snail mail where you must wait for weeks to receive a reply from someone. You no longer have to wait on the other side of a telephone receiver for operators to connect your call. As technology continues to advance, communication processes have become faster, more responsive, and more direct.
The digital age has given birth to electronic mails and instant messaging apps that allow anyone to receive messages in just a few clicks. By connecting to the internet, you can talk to your teams in real-time via messaging, audio or video calls. This means no more waiting in between replies. You can hold a conversation or a meeting through your devices as easily and smoothly as when face to face with someone else.
Likewise, communication is further simplified by allowing the sender to contact the receiver directly. This means that there’s no more third-party involved in the interaction such as telephone operators, postal offices, or couriers. By letting the sender engage directly with the receiver, the message’s journey is cut short and instantly finds its way to the intended receiver without much hassle.
In an analysis by Global Workplace Analytics, businesses will have 25%-30% of their employees working from home by the end of 2021. With this, they must find ways on how to improve communication within a team despite the remote setup.
But thanks to technology, the world has become a smaller place to live in. Everyone can connect with anyone no matter where they are. They can talk to their team members from the comforts of their homes without worrying about delays in receiving messages. They can also coordinate with not only one person but with several all at once even though none of them are in the same location at the same time.
The emergence of many communication software and channels makes it easier for teams to work remotely especially nowadays with the virus still lurking. These tools can also ensure that your employees remain responsive even though they aren’t in the office and have no one else to monitor them while at work.
Technology has brought us many devices, platforms, and tools to make communication accessible to anyone. There are now smartphones, tablets, and laptops that can run different communication apps. Likewise, the internet offers countless kinds of software you can use for better team communication methods.
The diversity of channels and platforms makes it easier for you to connect with your teams. They can choose from different devices, applications, plans, and others. No matter what their needs and limitations are, technology has them covered.
Likewise, the portability of most of these devices means people can bring them anywhere. This allows you to contact anyone at any time and vice versa. The ease in which anyone can simply bring their means of communication also increases their responsiveness.
The convenience and ease of communication brought by technology mean your teams are more willing to engage with each other. They can simply shoot an email to the team when they have new updates or ideas. Likewise, other members can easily chime in and contribute their own opinions into the thread.
This also lets them reach out to their team members without much fanfare. They don’t have to look for one team member to another inside the office building just so they can share insights and analysis. They don’t have to book a meeting room just to get a project done. They don’t even have to coordinate schedules anymore. With just a few clicks, they can do collaborations anytime and anywhere.
There are communication apps now that foster such teamwork by integrating productivity tools into their system. This makes file sharing instantaneous and convenient. Likewise, it centralizes access to data so that the whole team can work on the project at any time. They can even work on the same document together via live file editing. As technology continues to grow, the potential for team collaboration seems endless.
Communication software and applications provide a centralized repository for all your interactions and messages with other people. The way it saves emails and instant messages into the system make it easier for you to go back to previous conversations and threads when needed.
You don’t have to keep boxes of letters to keep records of past conversations. Likewise, you don’t need those pesky tapes that you need to rewind just to get to previously recorded voice calls. Digital communications make it easier for you to access information anytime and anywhere.
This convenience allows you to make each new interaction with your teams meaningful and productive instead of circling back on the same topic again and again. Having a record of what has already been discussed means you can tackle a new agenda and smoothly transition to the next.
The benefits of team communication have such a tremendous impact on employees’ productivity and the organization’s overall performance. When members can communicate efficiently and effectively with one another, this can help streamline processes and avoid setbacks in the long run. This results in an increase in responsiveness and productivity within teams.
With technology, team communication is taken to a whole new level—specifically the digital level. Through the various platforms and tools available, teams can easily interact and connect with their members anytime and anywhere.
This is especially beneficial for businesses nowadays with the pandemic still in place. As more teams are forced to work from home, you must find ways to remain connected with the rest of your teams to ensure productivity despite the setup.
With the various technological advances in the field of communication, you don’t have to worry about delayed response time or fear that you can’t reach your members at all. All of you can continue work despite the situation while also reaping the benefits of working from home for your team’s productivity. You can even make your team communication more effective and efficient by using one of these remote worker accountability software for 2020.
There is still a lot in store for team communication when it comes to technological innovation. The potentials are seemingly endless especially now that businesses are better equipped to possess and handle such innovations. So, don’t let yourself get behind the times and see for yourself how the various technological tools can improve your team communication and responsiveness.
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