Chat With Your Team Without Losing Productivity

In many workplaces, conversations between team members happen through a communication tool that is constantly running. Chat tools offer exciting possibilities for communication, but for some, using a chat tool can feel like an all-day meeting that hinders productivity.

This happens when your team members don’t know how to efficiently use communication tools. Without a guideline to follow, group chat can become strenuous, stressful and unproductive. If you’re struggling with group chat tools, it’s time to update your collaboration culture. Here’s how you can do so.

Create guidelines

Tell your team your communication hours. Communicate to your team members what you’re doing, and be transparent about your office activities. Many team members may work remotely, and potentially in different time zones. This makes it important to establish boundaries and practices. Let your team know when you’re available for communications. Write this in the group chat or pin it to the noticeboard so your whole team is aware.

Respect the working hours of your team members. Before sending them a message, consider if it is an urgent matter and whether your team is already busy. You don’t want to break your team’s productivity.

Close the app when you’re finished with work for the day. However, consider letting your team know that they can message you during an actual emergency.

Remember that trust is fostered by transparency. The more your team members feel they can trust you, the more productive they will be in collaborative team work.

What next?

The good news is that establishing guidelines and boundaries is simple: you just need to communicate your communication. Don’t wing it though. Instead, create understanding and develop common practices. Be open and honest about the way you work and your productivity goals. Take time to learn about how your team members want you to collaborate with them.

By chatting with intention, and learning and trialling the best ways to use the group chat, you’ll create a collaborative culture for yourself and your team that works with your organisation’s workflow. You’ll see that group chat delivers better communication and collaboration to your team.