Digital employee communication with messenger services
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Threema and Telegram have become indispensable in private life. But what about within a company?
Are such messenger services a suitable alternative to telephone calls, e-mails and text messages or is their use even associated with problems for internal employee communication?
What is meant by employee communication?
For everyday working life to work, employees and employers need to communicate with each other just as much as colleagues need to communicate with each other.
Whether it’s a quick request for a callback, passing on customer information, an urgent sick note or a reminder of the new deadline for a project – there are countless reasons and occasions for employees to contact each other and exchange information.
Effective employee communication is the be-all and end-all in every team and for every task. If information is missing or not everyone is on the same page, misunderstandings, loss of time and dissatisfaction can quickly arise.
What exactly is a messenger service?
Well, what would you answer? We say: A messenger service is one of many types of telecommunication.
This is a mobile short message service that can be installed on various end devices, such as smartphones or computers.
Messages are delivered immediately after they are sent, so the messenger service enables a real-time conversation – provided that all communication participants are online at the same time.
With reputable providers, only people invited to the conversation have access to the messages sent.
Advantages of digital employee communication with messenger services
In companies, the use of messenger services can help to save time. And that’s what it’s all about in the end: efficiency.
A short message is formulated more quickly than an email because it is considered less formal. In instant messaging, for example, a greeting is usually omitted at the beginning and end and the request is described directly without any frills.
There is hardly a shorter official channel than the exchange of short messages via a messenger service.
Another plus point: you can see whether a colleague is currently online, or more precisely, when your message was read. This gives you a better idea of when you can expect a reply.
Depending on the provider, many messenger services also offer the option of creating topic-specific groups, searching for specific messages and attaching documents – to name just a few of the many possible additional functions.
And not to forget: Many people find the conversation history in a messenger more visually appealing than a long email thread.
All advantages at a glance
– Time and cost savings
– Better clarity
– Group chats possible
– Easy operation
Disadvantages of digital employee communication with messenger services
It’s tempting to reach for your smartphone. Hardly anyone thinks about what actually happens to the data they send. Is anyone reading it? Are the texts saved? This can become a problem if the same device is used both privately and professionally.
Security issues such as these must be clarified in advance and employees must be informed accordingly in order to rule out any potential risk of data misuse.
Moreover, quick is not necessarily better: careless mistakes or a casual tone can creep in more easily than in a well-formulated e-mail. But even in a short message, the tone makes the music.
The messages should also be formulated clearly so that queries do not unnecessarily prolong the communication process or even complicate it in the end.
And anyone who uses WhatsApp or another messenger privately knows only too well how difficult it is not to look at their smartphone. Yet very few people want to be constantly available everywhere for questions and notifications from employees and managers.
All disadvantages at a glance
– careless expression
– Permanent availability
– Security gaps
– Data protection issues
The most important messenger services
Since messenger services are not only in demand for the purpose of employee communication, but play a role in all areas of life, there are a correspondingly large number of offers.
We would like to introduce you to the most important and best-known ones below:
WhatsApp is the most popular and most used messenger service in Germany, also in the area of employee communication. Registration is required to use it. The app belongs to Meta Platforms (Facebook Group).
Facebook Messenger is another service from Meta Platforms Ireland Limited. To use it, you need to register with an existing Facebook profile or a cell phone number.
If you want to communicate via Skype, you need a Microsoft account. This requires either an e-mail address or a cell phone number. Users can decide for themselves whether their data is visible to other users.
Telegram is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative messenger service. Using the app also requires registration and protects personal data using various encryption techniques.
The makers of Threema are based in Switzerland. With their service, they enable the anonymous exchange of messages without transmitting personal data. Threema Work is a special version for companies.
The Signal app is based on both end-to-end encryption and the “zero knowledge principle”. In terms of data protection, this messenger service is therefore one of the most secure.
There are also other messenger services, such as Ginlo, Wire, iMessage (only for Apple devices) and Snapchat (without end-to-end encryption). Messages can also be exchanged via Instagram and TikTok.
As experience shows that technology is constantly evolving, it is only a matter of time before the next provider conquers the market.
What about data protection?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been revised several times in recent years and sets high standards for companies in particular when it comes to handling personal data.
Not all messenger services comply with the requirements of the regulations. It is therefore important to find out in advance exactly how the operators of an app handle user data.
When selecting a messenger for employee communication, make sure you choose a GDPR-compliant and highly secure service that relies on strong encryption.
This is the only way to ensure maximum protection for both employees’ personal data and company content.
Teamhero as support for internal communication
Employee communication with messenger services is a good supplement to the internal exchange of business information via e-mail, text messages and telephone calls.
Teamhero, on the other hand, is a personnel planning software with which all information relating to personnel management can be communicated securely, quickly and centrally.
From automatically generated e-mails and personalized text messages for predefined occasions to the management of contacts including contact data, Teamhero offers all the important functions for smooth employee communication.
Teamhero even has its own data protection-compliant in-app messenger module, which project managers can use to communicate centrally with individual employees or entire teams.
The project manager can decide whether live responses are possible in the team chat or whether each employee response is sent to the project manager as an individual message.
This Teamhero in-app can completely replace other messenger services that may not be used for data protection reasons.
This increases the security and motivation of employees, as they now only have one place where they can call up and request all personnel and deployment information.
Our conclusion: Messenger services in employee communication
In our view, WhatsApp, Telegram and the like are also modern and effective means of communication in the workplace. It is important that their use is regulated and the protection of personal data is guaranteed and that the tools are not used to exploit a person’s constant availability.
The requirements that apply outside working hours and when overtime begins should therefore be precisely defined.
A guideline for writing short messages also ensures an appropriate tone. Provided that these points are observed, short messages via smartphone are an efficient way of exchanging information.
