Team communication platforms are all the rage these days, and no wonder! With outsourcing, freelancing and remote employment getting bigger by the day, communication also has to evolve as to be able to adapt to different time zones and management tasks.

Need we say that communication is absolutely essential for long-term success?

We thought not.

Well, the challenges of remote employment lie in arranging different communication tools for different needs. For example, there are general meetings and then there are team and individual tasks. Also, it is important to set proper channels through which employees can reach whoever they need to reach instantaneously.  

It’s a jumble, and make no mistake!

Fortunately, there are plenty of tools that keep making communication easier by the minute by adapting to customer feedback and evolving needs of the modern business environment.

As is the case with all recommendations, however, it is important to understand that different tools will suit different people’s needs, so best do your research and try a demo version or two before you decide on the best tool for your business needs.

Types of Team Communication Tools

Broadly speaking, communication tools can be grouped by the purpose they serve and are divided by the number of people they serve. I.e., IMs may be great for one-on-one communication, but not necessarily for group meetings.

Commonly used communication platforms include, but are not limited to:

·        Collaboration tools

·        Intranet

·        Online meeting tools

·        Chats

·        Instant messengers

·        Conferencing tools

·        Forums

·        Social media groups

·        Planners

These are only some of the most popular examples, mind you. Different businesses use different tools to suit their purposes best.

How to Plan Communication

Before you even begin to think about which communication tools to use, you need to plan the actual communication.

And though every business without exceptions uses email communication to an extent, leaving all communication to be handled in this way is unsustainable and messy. Think in terms of countless replies and messy inboxes multiplied by the number of recipients. Not good...

Emails can be used for sending newsletters and invitations (for corporate celebrations, for example) and for various announcement but by no means for business planning and task delegation.

Of late, Slack has been the tool of numerous businesses’ choice, as it basically incorporates the best of email and the best of IMs, but also allows for group chats. Did we mention tagging, channels and email notifications?

Another useful tool for company-wide announcements is ContactMonkey. The platform sends newsletters (which are the best choice for announcements!) and collects employee feedback by enabling anonymous replies. The tool integrates with Outlook and Gmail and allows for embedding pulse surveys, emoji reactions and star ratings.

Finally, using an intranet is a great way to keep employees informed at all times and also to boost communication, especially in large companies. There are various intranet tools out there, two of currently popular ones of which are Namely and Jostle.

Via an intranet, you will be able to post updates on pretty much anything, and every employee will be able to respond, in a pretty much same way as in social media groups.

Speaking of which, social media groups are also popular for internal communication within a business, but have yet to reach their full potential.

Using Videos

Although not everyone likes to use videos, they can come in handy on several occasions.

For one thing, there is a whole industry built on video communication, such as are online language lessons tremendously popular at the moment, especially in Asian countries.

Another useful occasion is an employment interview. Actually, this function of the video remains strong, especially within companies employing people from around the globe.

Video conferencing is also an option, although it may prove difficult for large meetings. In such cases, usually only the presenter will be displayed.

Another creative way to use video is to create a YouTube channel. As a matter of fact, many businesses use this strategy to keep their customers informed, but it can also be used to keep employees engaged.

Finally, video is the first choice for how-to tutorials, which are extremely useful to new hires. Webinars and similar are gaining popularity and for a good reason. With even the largest of universities turning to video lessons available to students worldwide, it is only natural that businesses would tap into the opportunity.

Special attention should be paid to video conferencing, which has been going strong for quite some time. Remote teams scattered across the globe use it all the time, not only because it is faster to speak than to write, but also because video conferencing comes packed with a couple of handy features, such as is, e.g., screen sharing.

Zoom has been popular of late, although some older apps (such as Skype) are still being used in many companies.

As you can see, “team communication” is far wider than the term implies, at least at first glance. It also means that sky is the limit when it comes to opportunities. The number of apps aimed at enhancing communication is growing rapidly, with each new trend being implemented as to ease the communication process.

As mentioned above, it is necessary to draft a communication strategy and test the hand-picked tools to come up with the best ones. After all, the tools are there to make everyone’s life easier and help online teams get to know themselves better. It’s that simple!