I received a message from a friend today.
She told me that the company she works for were removing Instant Messaging (IM) access for all employees as of June 1st, ?due to employee abuse (they currently use IM as their internal communications platform).
What made it funny was that she used MSN Messenger to tell me ? you have to admire the irony.
Yet it then got me thinking. The company she works for is one of Canada?s largest business communication solution providers. They have approximately 6,000 employees and revenue of over $2 billion.
They service some of the most forward-thinking companies in North America today by providing some truly leading edge communication tools. So why so poor at internal communication?
I can see why they?d remove an external instant messaging service. Productivity could be impacted as well as there being security issues. But to not have any kind of internal messaging system apart from email? This doesn?t seem like effective business practice, particularly for one whose core business is in the business communications field.
It?s not as if there aren?t a host of options available.?Yammer is an excellent Twitter-like option that?s ideal for business use. There’s also?Jabber , which I used during my time at FedEx and again this was a great way of instant communication. These are just two ? there are many others offering even more solutions, like?Socialtext for example.
Email is a great tool, but in today?s business place it?s fast being superseded by instant messaging services. Faster response time, multiple users, less compatibility issues with networks ? these are just some of the key benefits of using IM.
For anyone not using some kind of IM service for their business, perhaps it’s about time you start, and look at the benefits. And for my friend?s company?
Perhaps you should communicate with each other as well as you do with your customers.
photo credit:?Victor Bezrukov