Texting in the Workplace and it’s pros and cons
Allowing employees to send and receive text messages in the workplace is a practice that is becoming more common. This practice has its advantages and its disadvantages. Before you make the decision to allow your employees to use text messaging as a form of business communication, you should take a moment to consider what it could entail.
Advantages
Sending a Text For Business purposes is convenient and easy to do. Instead of having to pull up a contacts number, go to a phone, and dial the number, employees can simply use text messaging. It also allows employees to work on the go. If an employee has to run around the office and will be away from his desk phone and email, they can send a text message. Text messages are also advantageous, because they can be sent and received silently. No longer do your workers have to be distracted by another employees voice or conversation details. Text messages can also be sent in conference form. Instead of having to repeat yourself and having to convey other peoples responses, you can set up a group chat which allows a number of employees to communicate at once.
Disadvantages
Text messaging can often be considered as an unprofessional method of communication. When employees send text messages they tend to use text message slang which can be confusing and very unprofessional..If the employee is communicating with a client, this behavior can make your company look bad. It is also difficult to convey the proper tone through text messages. Unless you are speaking with someone who knows you well, you have the risk of your message coming off wrong Text messages cannot be monitored as easily as a phone conversation or email. Because of this, employees could be sending text messages to their best friend and you wouldn’t even know it, unless you checked it on a regular basis. Text messaging can be distracting for an employee as well. Having to constantly check and reply to messages as they are received is time consuming. If the employee is working on an important task or project, being distracted can provide poor results.
How to Incorporate Text Messaging
Incorporating text messaging into your methods of communication is quite simple, but there are a few things to consider. You should plan on having a small training session with employees so that you can go over the guidelines for use. Let the employees know how you expect them to behave, and warn them of the consequences. Make sure that your employees know how to send out text messages with the chosen device. These few steps will go a long way in preventing confusion or mistakes later on.
Using text messages as a form of communication can have positive results, and it can have negative results. You know your employees best. If you feel that your employees can act responsibly and efficiently with text messages, then it can be a great implementation to make. If you feel that your employees may abuse the use of text messaging, then you should be wary of letting text messages become involved in your businesses communications.
