Chris Smith is a pioneer in applying "coaching" principles to technology planning for small & medium-sized enterprises. He is founder and owner of TeknoCoach™, a company which is committed to helping small businesses "make technology their #1 employee".
What does intra-office communication look like in your workplace?
Are employees standing around waiting to speak to one another? Are there too many interruptions of important meetings, discussions, and phone calls? Or has communication become so impersonal that you're sending emails to the person who sits next to you to ask simple questions?
Technology is a wonderful conduit for communication, but it should never be used as a buffer (in other words, nothing beats good ol' talking). There is, however, a solution that helps streamline intra-office communication while maintaining active conversations... instant messaging.
There are many instant messaging solutions available, almost all of them are free of charge. Here are a few of the most popular:
- AIM® (AOL® Instant Messenger)
- Windows Live Messengerk
- Yahoo!®
There are a few risks in using this solution. Mainly, you're opening up some of your communication to the external world (this traffic is going over the public Internet), but that's really not a significantly greater risk than talking on the phone (particularly if the phone traffic is going outside of your private company switch). You're also taking on some risk that the tool will be abused by employees (for instance, talking to a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse at some other location), but if that's a real risk for you, the root problem probably exists whether you're using instant messaging or not.
The main benefit is the ability to actively and professionally communicate with colleagues and employees with little interruption to other ongoing communication. Imagine being able to flag one of your employees down to retrieve some information while you're on an important conference call (without having to place the conference on-hold or run down the hall, abandoning the call temporarily). Or imagine the ability to ask simple questions of a colleague (that really don't merit interruption and that can be easily fielded) while he/she is on a conference call. You can find a wide variety of applications of constructive instant messaging in the office.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
Most Importance of sd cards in the market
By: John Kendrick | 28/12/2009Now a days importance of sd cards is increasing across the globe. Normally users should be aware of different kinds of sd cards coming up in the market.
Free Movies Download PSP GO – How To Download PSP GO Movies For Free
By: Sarah Brown | 28/12/2009Do you want to get access to unlimited download of games, movies and music that can be played on your PSP GO handheld? Do you want to download PSP GO movies legally from the internet? This article will show how you can download PSP GO movies for free.
Introduce With a new world of entertainment with Online Television
By: Sal Lingo | 28/12/2009A pre-teen with loads of study pressure, a teenager with lots of time to entertain, a service holder with busy time schedule, a housewife with enough free time – television is such a provocative mass medium which has successfully penetrated millions of minds of all these categories.
Pass4side 133-S-732.2 practice exams
By: Adela1987 | 28/12/2009All the Pass4side Avaya 133-S-732.2 exams is written by IT professionals who had years of experience on IT certification exams researching, which guaranteed the quality and accuracy of 133-S-732.2 practice exams.
Pass4side LOT-824 exam brain dumps
By: Adela1987 | 28/12/2009Pass4side offers free demo for IBM Certification LOT-824 exam. You can check out the interface, question quality and usability of our practice exams before you decide to buy it. We are the only one site can offer demo for almost all products.
Pass4side 132-S-710.2 practice test
By: Adela1987 | 28/12/2009Avaya 132-S-710.2 exam is one of the core requirements of Avaya Certification, and Support certification. Passing Avaya Certification, and Support exam is easy. Pass4side designed this exam preparation guide in such a way that you do not need to search for other books and helping material about 132-S-710.2. This examination guide contains everything you need to pass your Avaya Certification, and Support exam.
Pass4side 132-S-720.1 Exam Details
By: Adela1987 | 28/12/2009Pass4side offers updates to its 132-S-720.1 Certification Training Tools absolutely free of charge. For the duration of your Pass4side 132-S-720.1 Preparation tool Subscription, you will get the latest and updated 132-S-720.1 Training Tools from Pass4side.
Pass4side 132-S-713.4 Training Tools
By: Adela1987 | 28/12/2009Pass4side Avaya 132-S-713.4 Practice Questions and Answers with Explanations are downloadable anywhere anytime for you. You can not only use Pass4side 132-S-713.4 Practice Questions & Answers with Explanations on your PC but can also use it on any PDF reader device easily.
Oh, What a Tangled "web" We Weave
By: Chris Smith (The TeknoCoach) | 08/08/2007 | Information TechnologyIn talking to business owners about their Tekno Plan one question keeps coming up... What should I do with my website? Most businesses have a website, but, to date, it simply represents something that they poured some money into awhile back and have since largely forgotten it. It's a box that's been checked on the got-to-have list (along with business cards and other key marketing material). So, what is the first step with this powerful, yet often underused business tool?
A Quick Tour Through Quickbooks
By: Chris Smith (The TeknoCoach) | 08/08/2007 | SoftwareAre you searching for a solution to a business accounting or financial bookkeeping crisis? You have, no doubt, heard about QuickBooks from Intuit. But is it the right solution for your business?
Tekno Solutions (instant Messaging)
By: Chris Smith (The TeknoCoach) | 08/08/2007 | Information TechnologyWhat does intra-office communication look like in your workplace? Are employees standing around waiting to speak to one another? Are there too many interruptions of important meetings, discussions, and phone calls? Or has communication become so impersonal that you're sending emails to the person who sits next to you to ask simple questions? There is a solution that helps streamline intra-office communication while maintaining active conversations... instant messaging.
Do I Need a Smarter Phone
By: Chris Smith (The TeknoCoach) | 06/08/2007 | Cell PhonesIf your cell phone works just fine and you're a little skeptical of all the hype around "Smartphones", you may be asking yourself, "Do I need a smarter phone?" If you have already been hooked by the "Smartphone" revolution, you may be looking for the right entry point. In either case, read on to find out more about these devices and how they're reshaping how we communicate with each other (and most importantly, how/when you should jump on the bandwagon).
The Vista for your Business
By: Chris Smith (The TeknoCoach) | 02/08/2007 | Computersvis-ta [vis-tuh] (n.) 1. a view or prospect, esp. one seen through a long, narrow avenue or passage, as between rows of trees or houses. 2. such an avenue or passage, esp. when formally planned. 3. a far-reaching mental view: vistas of the future. Certainly, one of the hot technology topics for 2007 is Windows Vista™. For business owners, the big question is, "When should I upgrade?"