Communication is Key – But How?

What do you know – another blog post on communication and the effects COVID-19 has on it – shocker! 

Between quarantine and all the virtual meetings when we worked from home, I find myself groaning every time my phone rings. Talking is exhausting. 🥱 I would much rather, and I can’t believe I will say this, get an e-mail rather than another conference call. 😬

Most unified communication applications offer many ways to communicate. While working from home, it was nice to explore all the different options available. Instead of always scheduling a conference call, group chats became more popular. The novelty of video conferencing wore off when the majority of us realized we enjoyed comfy clothes to our regular ‘business casual.’ However, most preferred virtual meetings because of the screen share feature. 

Basically, we tried switching things up to find a way to communicate that works best for all of us. Now that we are back to the office, why are we back to only using our desk phones?🤔

Effective communication is essential in both your personal and professional life. If a message is not delivered correctly, it can turn into a disaster if it is misinterpreted. The last thing you want is a cranky customer and a confused sales representative. 

The best way to communicate is circumstantial. Are you meeting casually? Are you closing a sale? Is this to hire or fire someone? Can you deliver the message in person? Some many factors and opinions play into the best route to choose for communication. 

Instead of narrowing it down to scenarios, let’s look at what each method allows you to do. 

	EMAIL	CHAT	VIDEO	CALL
Has a place to reference back to	X	X
Quick, to-the-point conversation		X		X
Is more personal			X	X
Requires a timely response	X
Usually scheduled in advance			X	X
You can sense the tone of voice			X	X
You can see the facial expressions			X
Receive immediate feedback		X	X	X
You can share your thoughts at any time	X	X
Has written proof	X
Confidential				X
Allows you to share materials easily	X	X	X
Gives you time to think of a response	X	X
Easy to forget about	X	X
Easier to distribute your workflow			X	X
Requires a quiet place to talk			X	X
Would lead to a call if communication was misinterpreted	X	X
Would lead to an email if communication was misinterpreted			X	X

As you can see, different methods of communication have their strengths and weaknesses. What works well for one member of your team may not for others. However, it is important to understand how your employees prefer to communicate and how they would like to be contacted. Also, how they do so while working from home and in the office can be completely different. 

Check-in with your employees, switch things up, and start utilizing all the tools your unified communications application has to offer! 

Are you interested in learning more about Bicom Systems UC desktop and mobile application, gloCOM and gloCOM GO? Learn how you can start with a chat, click to begin a call, drag-and-drop to a conference, and create a meeting all in one place! 

Check out our website or send our highly skilled sales staff an email at sales@bicomsystems.com.