3 Tech Tools Your Office Needs for Better Communication

It’s often said that communication is one of the most important skills you’ll need throughout your career.

It’s one all the recruiters are looking for. And yet, it’s hard to educate yourself in communication. Every company has distinct communication norms, and each team may have its preferences too. In many ways, communication is even more important today, as more employers are offering remote and hybrid work. Tapping a colleague on the shoulder to get an answer isn’t always possible now as teams are working from home and sometimes across time zones too. 

Without the proper communication tools in place, it can be easy for employees to work in silos. A miscommunication error here and there can lead to substantial negative effects. These include everything from increased stress and frustration to decreased productivity, damaged relationships, and conflict. Fortunately, the rise of technology has increased the number of communication tools available, and those can help bridge the gaps caused by remote and hybrid work environments. Here are three tech tools your office can utilize to improve internal communication:

1. Digital Calendar

Your entire company — from marketing to sales to HR — should be set up on one standardized digital calendar platform. Calendar software can allow for better time management, therefore increasing productivity and efficiency. And since everyone will be using the same system, it will mitigate confusion among teams and teammates. Scheduling meetings will be much easier and simpler when everyone has a purview of how others’ times are scheduled.

This tool works best when individuals select to share their calendars with others, such as co-workers and managers. A quick search of “how to share Outlook calendar,” will give you the steps you need to share your calendar in minutes. Sharing calendars can occur across most platforms as well, including Microsoft, Apple, and Google. In addition to scheduling, other benefits of a shared calendar include improved coordination and transparency. 

An executive assistant can look at his manager’s calendar and help coordinate meetings with clients. Teams who share their calendars also know what others are working on, providing a transparent working environment. Everyone sees what weight they have to pull on a specific project. Because of this, they may feel motivated to work harder with the understanding that their work ladders up to the larger whole. Regardless of which digital calendar your company selects, utilize its capabilities, including calendar sharing, for improved communication. 

2. Internal Messaging Platform

Internal messaging platforms are like the text messages of the workplace. They’re good for quick, casual conversations between coworkers. Sometimes you need to communicate something quickly to a colleague or ask a question that doesn’t warrant an email. When you send a message on one of these platforms, you’re typically looking for a speedy response. 

Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, and Hive are all popular internal messaging platforms. They all have their strengths, increasing collaboration and allowing for quick internal communications. You can start a direct message with a co-worker or create channels that are team-based or project-based. This allows for centralized communication as everyone working on the same team or assignment is invited into the channel for collaboration. These channels can be set as public or private; you may want a company-wide announcements channel to be available to everyone but an executive leader channel to be invited only. 

Many of these platforms can be integrated into other commonly used applications, such as SalesForce, Workday, Asana, and Google Docs. This provides for better efficiency as you don’t need to constantly switch back and forth from one platform to the next. Files and documents can be pinned to channels so everyone can find and refer back to them easily. With instant communication, everyone feels like part of the conversation in real-time. 

3. Video Conferencing

Before the widespread adoption of video conferencing, workplaces relied heavily on in-person meetings. Conference rooms were the central hub for team discussions, strategy sessions, and decision-making processes. While in-person meetings foster strong team interactions, they often require coordinating schedules and physical presence, which can be challenging and time-consuming, especially for hybrid or geographically dispersed teams. Video conferencing, on the other hand, eliminates the need for everyone to be in the same location

It’s easier than ever to bring together team members from different places without the logistical hurdles of travel and scheduling. Setting up a video meeting is as easy as adding the link to the calendar invite. Whether you need to chat with teammates working in various locations or present to a client, video conferencing makes it easy. You can share your screen, ask questions via the chat feature, and record the meeting. For those unable to attend, a recording can ensure they are up to speed and on the same page as the rest of the team. You can even use an AI notetaker to summarize the discussion.

Similar to everyone having access to the same digital calendar, everyone at your company should download the same video conferencing system. The most commonly used include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Webex, and Skype. When deciding on a central platform, be sure to consider all factors from cost to security measures. As your team expands, you want to ensure that the app can expand with you too. 

Takeaways

Without the proper tools, communication in the workplace can quickly go by the wayside. As remote work becomes more standardized, it can be more challenging to get everyone on the team aligned. Thankfully, technology has advanced how everyone communicates and has revolutionized internal and external workplace communication. Leverage the tools mentioned above to ensure that you and your employees can convey messages and disseminate information easily.