Instant messaging can be a valuable tool in the workplace for enhancing communication between employees. This is especially important when several people work together on a project. There are some arguments circulating in the corporate world currently whether or not enterprise instant messaging has any practical use in a business.
Quick Communication
Enterprise instant messaging is effective because messages can be sent very quickly. If someone is working on a project and suddenly remembers a question he meant to ask a collaborator, he can IM the other party in seconds, and likely receive a response just as quickly. By contrast, a phone call would take several minutes, and the other person might not be available to speak, which would result in everyone’s favorite game of phone tag. Even emails are less efficient because the other party may not respond for several hours or even days. Part of the efficiency of enterprise instant messaging comes from the ability to identify oneself as available or not; employees don’t waste time trying to talk with someone who isn’t there.
Questions, Meetings, etc
This isn’t to say that IM will replace phone calls, emails, or face to face meetings. All of these methods are valuable for different types of communication. Enterprise instant messaging is suited to very short communications. Activities such as asking a quick question, scheduling a meeting, and adjusting schedules are all ideal for IM. Scheduling meetings may be the most helpful use of IM, as it can be very tedious to try to coordinate a meeting between several people by phone.
Focusing on Work
Enterprise instant messaging can also be used to cut down on social conversations and interruptions in the workplace. Studies have shown that those who use instant messaging for social purposes at work actually spend less time talking with friends than than those who don’t because IM is so quick. Employees still communicate with friends, but they do it over the phone, which takes up a lot more time. Also, the enterprise instant messaging feature that lets others know if you are available or not cuts out on distractions. An employee’s friend or family member will know not to bother someone who is “away” if they are using instant messaging; in contrast, someone who uses the phone won’t know if it is an inconvenient time.
